California DMV engine change rules...?

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pishta

pishta

I know I'm right....
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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.
 
Been a long time since I've read any of this but generally in any state, I believe you have to go by the year of the vehicle or the engine, whatever is newer. Otherwise people would be "fixing up" so called "1965" engines in every rig "West of the Pecos"
 
75 and older no smog required in ca. New hemi, 12v or hellcat swap.. no smog required
Different animal when we are talking later model swaps in ca.
 
So it would still be an 82 and test as an 82...but what CO/NOx limits? I can probably tell you a 2bbl 273 V8 in 64 dress is gonna be a gross polluter by design, maybe not NOx as a low compression motor but probably CO compared to a 2.0.
 
I seriously doubt you can equip a 273 to pass smog in an 82 vehicle.


Alan
 
looked up 66 smog specs..(in PPM and %?)
at idle: HC 700, CO 6.5
at 1500 HC 500, CO 4.0
(No NOx was measured or cared about as they hadn't linked SMOG with NOx yet)

82 specs are idle (?) HC 63.2, CO .37 NOx 850
xx xxxxx *** 15mph HC 139, CO .43 NOx 1315
xx xxxxx *** 25mph HC 205, CO 2.16 NOx 2260

Look at the reduction of HC (hydrocarbons) over the years, no wonder LA skies are not (always) brown anymore.
 
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.
 
Cuda Al said:
I seriously doubt you can equip a 273 to pass smog in an 82 vehicle.


Alan
Click to expand...
If it had all the same standard smog equipment of that year put onto it and it was not a worn-out motor I don't see why it wouldn't. Good thing about the older years is there's no real way or even checking it's the right cubic inch.
You're probably speaking for his direct example while I'm just kind of doing a general like if it was already a 318 or something and you put a 273 from the 60s in it but you kept all that smog equipment it would probably be just fine.
 
Moparofficial, thats probably right, old nasty motors in newer cars is not an option. Interesting that the emission levels I saw dont seem to care about the CID of the motor, only the GVW. So an '82 1.8L has the same levels as a 5.0L..?

ccr_t16_s3340-42-70.jpeg
 
Sure glad I live in Iowa
 
For any California vehicle '76-newer (older vehicles are still required to have original smog equipment, but there is no bi-annual testing. Year may have changed, but I'm not sure) the engine MUST be the same year as the vehicle or NEWER. The vehicle will have to be smogged for the year of the engine and is required to have all original equipment for the engine.
 
The last time I looked into that type of swap in Ca I believe the law states it has to be motor and chassis of the same manufacture and a smog referee is also involved. '75 and previous are not smog inspected.
 
zeebeeone said:
no smog inspection required on a 1972 vehicle
you put anything you want to under the hood
Click to expand...
Whereas this may be true it isn't the way the law is written. If for what ever reason a car is needed to be checked it will need to pass the OEM under hood check for that year. If your car was reported for blowing smoke out or...? Has it ever happened? Can it happen, yes.

You are only exempt from the biennial inspections, not the other aspects of the California smog code.


Alan
 
I looked into this because I knew of a Jeep Comanche pickup that was almost free due to the 4.0 that resided in it was used up and with the help of a smog referee a 5.7 Hemi would be a legal swap. The referees are difficult to locate to say the least :lol:
 
I have a 1971 toyota fj40 with a 350 chevy in it
I had to get it approved by a reff. back in 1980
I had to take it back to the reef. every 2 years until the law changed in about 1985 & it has never required inspection again
I know many others with hot rods older than 1975 that replace engines with no questions ask when they register them
 
I also have a 1933 ford 3 window coupe & a 1965 fastback mustang I have registered with no questions ask about what's under the hood & it's not what came in it.
 
I'm seeing good deals on 60's and early 70's ford trucks.

Looks like they haven't been dragged up by the recent increase in 67-77-ish gm truck prices, and 72-80 Dodge prices.

Get one of those and be totally exempt. That would be my plan.
 
You can't put an older engine in a newer car in Kalifornia, Nor can you bring in a car that has an older engine in it. I remember looking into this in the 80's when I had a 1980 Mirada with a 69 slant 6 in it. I was told I could not register the car in Kalifornia at the time. So this new law Just tightens the lunacy of anyone wanting to live in Kalifornia.
 
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