California DMV engine change rules...?

pishta said

I understand a California motor change is installing a motor outside the original engine family (ie V8 swap in a mini truck) and the smog implications are on the new motor, ie the new motor ( ie.'86 302) must have that years smog equipment functional (egr, evap, pcv, etc) in the chassis it's being installed in (ie. 72 Ford Courier) and then the "smog year" of the truck is now 86 and is checked as an 86. With me so far? So.....what if I installed a '64 273 into an 82 Courier? I have them both laying around and was thinking that would make a snappy little truck. The 273 never had smog and the 82 smog stuff could not work on the 273 unless I used an egr intake with 66+ heads.....just thinking out loud here. 2.0 is 80hp and 120 ft/lbs on a hood day. 273 should be double the torque and HP.

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I've always known the law as you can swap a different make motor into it of the same year or newer as long as it retains all of that same year of the vehicle smog standardized equipment or newer.
I do not believe or understand the law to accept a 72 engine and an 82 or any required smog vehicle for that matter that would not pass it would not meet the standard of the Year vehicle therefore is dead in the water automatically. An example an 87 Volvo Wagon you can go and take a 305 Chevy truck engine out of an 87 and as long as that Chevy truck engine has all the smog equipment that came with it for 1987 it will be legal. I used that example of car because we've done that a few times.
So if the car was an 85 as long as you put an 85 or newer and all of its equipment for smog into it it is legal you cannot put an earlier motor into it and have it pass or be legal in ca.