Smog-legal engine swaps?

This just got too long, even for me, so I took the liberty of starting
a new topic-





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Daniel J. Stern wrote:

> Think about it: I drive in with my theoretical '76 Valiant for a CA
smog
> check. All of the Valiant's visible original-equipment
emissions-related
> components and devices are in place, functional and correctly
adjusted.
> The car passes the tailpipe and evaporative emission tests. Now, how
> likely is it that the smog tech is going to say "Sorry, you flunk.
Your
> engine block is a casting number 2121730, which was supplanted in
October
> of 1968 by casting number 2482765. Furthermore, you've got camshaft
> P4120243, which is a 244/244/28/0.436 unit, and not the 3465770,
correct
> for '76, which is a 244/244/26/0.414 unit. Also, you've overbored the

> engine by 0.060", which means it's no longer to spec, and you used
the
> 1963 intake valves", etc?


> Not gonna happen.


> DS



Oh, you're absolutely right. Not gonna happen, never has. That car
will "pass" inspection, no question. Remember, this is California DMV
were talking about, they live in an irrational world of their own. I
haven't lived in CA for 7 years and they can still make my teeth
itch...!

While no average smog tech will think to question, say, a 360 Dodge
engine in a '76 Plymouth Valiant, provided it passes tests, all the '76

smog equipment is there and assuming the VIN check shows it's an
original V8 car, not a 6 cyl. It's visually identical to the original
318 so the tech won't bat an eye. The car is still technically
illegal, even though it passes. And once it passes, it's registered.
Next renewal, its illegality is even less obvious, since it's been
passed once already.


Another example: The ZZ4 350 Chevy is a popular replacement OEM motor,

yet (in NV at least) is technically illegal, since as a "crate" motor
it was never installed in, or intended for, a PRODUCTION car. Yet
they're used ALL the time, since no one can tell, at a glance, that it
isn't the "correct" motor for that '82 Camaro or whatever.


Internal mods are obviously invisible, unless radical. Ex: A cam with
lots of overlap and a really lumpy idle will simply fail at the pipe.
Most likely any production cam will pass. An overbore is not even
considered, since it can be a result of one or more rebuilds for
maintenance or repair. After all, the test is for percentage (or ppm)
of pollutants, not gross amount. A displacement increase alone doesn't

change anything.


NOW, If you wanted to install a stock Viper aluminum V10 or an Rx-7
turbo rotary in that '76 Valiant (don't ask why, just assume you're
insane) or a carbureted Chevy V8 into an '83 911, or an LS1 in an '87
Porsche 944... Even the dumberest of teenage smog techs can tell the
difference between a carb and FI, or count cylinders. Whether or not
they pass it anyway, is another question. A question of $50-$100,
generally, hee hee... ;-)


Remember, we're not talking about the $7.50/hr Smog-Hut inspector
checking engine casting #'s. Some of these guys can't find the VIN
with a bar code reader. This is info YOU have to get from the dealer,
and show to the DMV Referee (not the kid at Jiffy Smog) for the car's
INITIAL inspection after an OBVIOUS swap, one that won't "slip by".
Small Block Chevys, for example, are put in Jaguars, Mercedes,
Porsches, Toyotas, Volkswagens, Miatas, Jeeps, what-have-you. People
also like to simply upgrade: a 2001 LS-6 is a much better motor for
that '82 Camaro, a vast improvement over its original carb'd 305,
especially in economy and emmissions. This was actually illegal not
too many years ago.


These policies of CA DMV, copied here in NV, allow these swaps to be
legal, which is a VAST improvement over the earlier policy when these
swaps were just banned outright. It only makes sense- newer motors get

MUCH better emmissions AND fuel economy (and more power, hooray). If
it costs more to repair an original Jaguar motor than to replace it
with a good, used, newer one from any make that gets better economy and

cleaner emmissions and is more reliable and is faster, the state
should, and does, allow me to do it, though Jag purists will have a
hissy-fit. It only took them a couple of DECADES, and gazillions of
cubic dollars worth of lobbying (read: bribery) by SEMA et al. for CA
to come around to this radical notion...


Another note- DMV's Referees can disagree! Wow, they're actually human

beings with varying opinions! If your nearest ref rejects your swap,
take it to the next-nearest, make your case. If he disagrees with the
1st, he signs off on your car. Seen it happen.


Anyone else care to share their own swap stories, tips, fantasies?


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