So I might be getting a job in Silicon Valley. I am basically clueless about California's engine swap laws and emissions testing inspections.
I'm a Canadian and I have a 1990 Toyota Chaser GT Twin Turbo.
How old does my car have to be in order to NOT have to comply with California's insane inspections and laws?
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Pretty sure you only get to skip if your car was built during or before the 1976 model year. Sad times.
This but 1975.
Although you can swap a newer engine in. There are still restrictions on this, but I don't recall the details.
Commiefornian here.
No, engine swaps are not legal unless it's made before 1976 due to smog laws. There's 2 kinds of smog stations, STAR and non-STAR. When you get a CA license, it'll say if your car needs to go to a STAR smog check or not. STAR or non-STAR is determined by random chance.
If you have to, there is no chance that you can sneak by a swapped engine as they compare your engine bay to pictures of the legal engines, but if you don't need to go to a STAR station, as long as you fit a cat that will make it able to pass the actual emissions tests you have a pretty good chance of passing as they don't check your engine bay.
I have a friend with a turbo RB swapped 240 because he didn't have to go to a STAR station and snuck the engine by with cats.
As a side note, if you get pulled over, the police may check your engine bay if they think something's off, and they are trained to identify popular swaps such as BEAMS, 1JZ and RB20.
Yes, the laws suck, but the togue more than makes up for it. Norcal has some pretty good roads and they tend to have very, very little traffic on weekdays.
Oh yeah, I forgot to post that if your engine was offered on the same car with the same or newer model year in the US, you can swap it in. So, you can swap a turbo into a NA MR2 for example, but you can't swap a BEAMS because that was non- USDM.
You can swap an engine from any car from the same MY or newer so long as you retain the emissions devices, for instance you could put a LS7 in your car and not have to have secondary air injection even if it came with your car because the LS7 does not have it. In reality it's not really a challenge to run whatever you want in CA, there are no "safety inspections" like in other states so nobody really looks at the car and the emissions thing has many workarounds. Make some friends and it won't be a challenge. I live in the Bay Area but my post 74 cars are registered in another county that doesn't have emissions testing, even though my insurance and DL address is down here, the DMV/insurers don't care where your reg is sent to and that's what determines whether you need to do emissions tests or not.
Pretty much everything in your post is completely wrong and/or made up
Engine swaps are legal in California. You'll have to take it to a referee station who then ensures everything is in place, including catalytic converters and whatnot. They are notoriously picky, though.
JESUS CHRIST these laws are even more autistic than I thought. They actually look up pictures of 1JZs and compare it to your engine bay?!
What if I don't do an engine swap at all?
It would be a 1990 Toyota Chaser with 1G-GTE, which is an engine only used in Japan. It passes the 25-year rule, so is it legal to drive in California?
This cannot be real.
Which parts of his post are completely wrong and/or made up?
I don't know much about it, but I do now that the 25 year rule doesn't apply here. The cutoff is model year 1975 for emissions, and I'd bet engines fall under the same category. Either meet someone who can pass it, or it seems like you'll have to find another car
The import laws in commiefornia change a lot but from what I've pieced together, if the car is newer than 1975 and has never been sold in the US, you need to send it to a special facility to get it tested for emissions which can run up to 2k. If you can put on enough cats to lower the NOx, it should be legal. Generally this isn't worth it so you may as well buy a 3k civic or some shit.
What a shithole. No wonder everyone from California is moving to Idaho and Oregon.
Pre 1974 I think, then you can do whatever you want.
Enjoy being cucked.
It's not
Would take too long to pick apart, just read
Because that is reality. Source: someone who deals with these issues every day
>source: the dumbest nigger alive
California is pretty much the no fun allowed state.
If you can think of anything fun to do its probably illegal in California.
Why on earth is CA so tight on car laws? How did it all start?
I concede that I fucked up. Yes, you can swap an engine of same MY or newer if all the emissions equipment is carried over. However, OP still can't swap his engine because it's JDM.
Everything in my original reply applies to foreign engines, so keep that in mind OP.
cars are fun, and
Slightly related question:
So I'm interested in this car, but I looked up the carfax and it turns out it was originally sold/purchased in CA. I live on the east coast, so that's surprising.
Anyway, does this mean it has anything emissions related that could affect the performance of the car?
Quit ruining the air quality here, you fucking faggot.
Then I'm sure you can cite the correct laws that prove him wrong.
See that big green hole in the very center? That's called a valley. You know what valleys are good for? Holding onto contaminants, particularly the airborne kind. That and the LA basin are wonderful traps for air pollution, creating the need for these kinds of regulations. Out of staters who somehow know the state seem to forget this.
No
Most cars are sold 50 state emissions legal anyway.
Thanks. Couldn't find much info googling around.
Only stoners and degenerates care about commiefornia
you first, hb
Right, unless you want to bash it then you're free to pass your ignorance as virtue.
bar.ca.gov
Scroll down to "Engine Change Vehicles". Or just about any part of the page, it's fascinating.
Everyone is retarded here. Op you'll be fine, as long as it passes emissions test you'll be completely fine. They don't even open the hood, though in the checklist their is something called a "visual inspection". Then they stick the thing in the tailpipe and your good. You might need to get a 50 States cat, and since it's past 25 years it'll be much easier to register
It's actually harder to register older vehicles here. We don't have the 25 year exemption. OP if you want to sidestep all of California's smog laws, get a motorcycle.
its a 1990 toyota chaser
its an imported historic vehicle
it can qualify for collector plates, and historic plates
because it is 25 years or older in age it no longer is required to meet emmissions standards and it can be plated and insured as historic which gives you super low insurance rates
that being said you need to make sure you are a nice polite individual at the BMV and have all your paperwork titles recipets and licensing shit when you go to get plates so you ddont waste everyones time
and if that fails, because it has an aftermarket engine, suspension and other shit you could technicly classify it as a kit car which might require them to issue you a new VIN and good luck getting that done if you arnt a celebrity millionare with money out the ass to blow
this is what jay leno does with his really crazy shit
More wrong info. Is it really that hard to just type words into google? What compels you to make up random shit and post about it matter of factly of an anime imageboard?
People are retarded.
I really want to do a Cummins swap Volvo 740, but it sounds fucking impossible. Although it would then be smog exempt because pre-98 diesel...
>Idaho
There too now?
California's worst export is their people, right up there with their wine.
You're stupid. instead of calling people out why don't you try to contribute and help op if your so smart
Op, you'll need a 50 state cat and you'll be fine, nothing to worry about
How does California define "an engine"?
If I have a gen.4 3S-GTE in my MR2 but only gen.2 and gen.3 3S-GTEs were sold in USA, would they go through the effort of identifying that my engine wasnt available in USA?
>mfw live in a no retest county
listen to my straightpipe and stay mad plebs
ITT:
>what is the DMV?
>what are phones?
>what is google?
>what is dmv.ca.gov?
OH NO CARB TOOK OUR ENGINE SWAPS
NEED TO ACQUIRE SOME CATS
>A lot of my friends are cops all over the bay area
The only time they ever asked to pop the hood was because the driver had a warrant, was on probation, or was a known felon to look for drugs or anything else. The only time my friend told a guy to pop someone's hood was just out of his own curiosity, because the dude was driving a hellcat at 2am in the morning and it was fucking loud so he wanted to see if it was modified. OP, San Jose has a huge community of car enthusiasts. Good ones and shitty ones, so I think you'll be able to find a way to get by.
Just keep your Canadian plates and registration and it be a fucking problem retard.
Should have moved to Nevada and commuted.
>tfw live in Indiana
It sure is nice hooning around in a shitty pickup truck without a muffler on
Let's say I drive a 2009 crown victoria in California.
The engine dies so I put in a 2008 engine. (The same Ford modular 4.6l V8)
Will I be allowed to drive?
What if I put in an engine from a 2010 grand marquis? Will they be able to tell? Will it matter? It's the same thing
>It was loud so he wanted to see if it was modified
Exactly what I'm saying. They don't pop every hood but if your car comes under suspicion of being illegally modified they may ask you to.
Technically illegal, in practice there is no way that anybody will be able to tell. Go ahead.
Depends on the car. Look up that specific model year and see it it has a California compliant variant. If so, it should be easy enough to take it back to 49 state spec if you want.
>there is no way that anybody will be able to tell
OBDII port will tell inspector
yeah but you live in Indiana
No one cares. If you're running some illegal shit just swap it every 2 years.
Also we don't have insane inspections.. if your car is OBD-2 you get an OBD check. Otherwise you just get smogged.
That's literally it. I have a 1992 jeep with an sbc, headers, and megasquirt.
flyovers are dummies.