As far as I know there is nobody in Cali with a legal V8 swap. People have been swapping V8s into RX-7s for quite a while longer than the 240s and there is only 1 Cali legal V8 powered RX-7.

 

v8s in 240's dont pass smog so there illegal

 

V8s could be made to pass smog in a 240, however it would be cost prohibitive for some if not most.

 

yeah especially when you can goto a fake smog shop (not that i condone it) and have it smog just dont get pulled over by the cops

 

yeah especially when you can goto a fake smog shop (not that i condone it) and have it smog

Exactly, that reminds me, the smog for my WS.6 is coming up. :devilfork

 

Yes if you so choose but you will probably lose power

 

I thought any engine swap in general was illegal in cali? thats what I always understood anyways, I dont live there or anything so im not sure or anything.

 

There are basically three guidelines for an engine swap in Cali.

1. The engine must be the same year or newer than the chassis it's going in.
2. You can only use engines out of the same type of vehicle. Only car engines can go in cars, only truck engines can go in trucks ECT.
3. The new engine must have all of the emissions equipment from the donor car (or a like vehicle) installed into the new car and be operational.

Say you have a OBD I 240SX and legally swap in an OBD II LS1, your car will be viewed by the state as an OBD II car and you can never go back to OBD I again.

 

High Performance Auto Parts :: SIKKY Manufacturing

 

do it yourself and save alot of money, build your own mounts, wire harness, etc and with all the money saved buy new sensors for the swap, if you did the right job it will pass, i just moved from cali and will only go back to visit, i moved to one of the states where you dont smog your car "Wyoming" where the red necks in cummins diesels "roll cole" all day so none of this is and issue for me. in cali i almost never passed emissions in any of my camaros ( ive owned 5) because of strict epa guidlines. "if you build it they will come" (the epa)

 

Trust me, if the SMOG tech knows the difference between his ass and a hole in the wall he'll notice that there is a V8 under his hood and send him to a Ref. A emissions legal V8 swap won't be for the faint of heart, it would literally be a Orwellian task that would be almost impossible to accomplish. I, personally, have thought about "moving" to Reno, NV just so I can get away with easier emission tests, lower registration renewals and things like that. However, I have yet to make any moves. Also, it's "roll coal" (I love my CTD Ram!)

So if you only have to follow those guidelines then is it technically possible to have a smog legal sr20 in CA.

If you're talking about the FWD SR20s that were available in California, then yes. If you are talking about the RWD SR20DET that wasn't available in California, or the rest of the US for that matter, then no.

not too sure about sr's did you give up on the ls swap? i had an lq4 in a 94 camaro and it passed the smog, but i used all the sensors and computer and also changed the gauges to a newer 98 and up obd 2 ones, to keep the check engine light functional, in california you can have 2 flashing icons and pass the smog, any more than that it is a promised fail. just do more research and youll find what your looking for.

I could see getting away with an LQ4 in a LT1 Camaro, all thought an LS1 in a 240SX would definitely be a no-go. What do you mean "you can have 2 flashing icons and pass the smog"? I'm pretty sure that if your SES light is on you automatically fail.

 

There are basically three guidelines for an engine swap in Cali.

1. The engine must be the same year or newer than the chassis it's going in.
2. You can only use engines out of the same type of vehicle. Only car engines can go in cars, only truck engines can go in trucks ECT.
3. The new engine must have all of the emissions equipment from the donor car (or a like vehicle) installed into the new car and be operational.

So if you only have to follow those guidelines then is it technically possible to have a smog legal sr20 in CA.

 

^ 'cept the part that the engine came from japan, so from my understanding SR is illegal with these guidelines.

 

not too sure about sr's did you give up on the ls swap? i had an lq4 in a 94 camaro and it passed the smog, but i used all the sensors and computer and also changed the gauges to a newer 98 and up obd 2 ones, to keep the check engine light functional, in california you can have 2 flashing icons and pass the smog, any more than that it is a promised fail. just do more research and youll find what your looking for.

 

Theoretically you can legally swap an LS1 into a 240SX. Problem is, if you have to modify or fab things up like headers, its not a legal swap. If stock everything fits into the 240 though, I'd recommend starting with a 96+ S14 for ease of adapting OBDII systems rather than trying to convert an OBDI car to OBDII.

And no on the SR, it's actually an illegal engine *everywhere* in the US, as it does not meet EPA standards. Thing is, you can get away with it in places that are not as strict as California, but it is still illegal to run technically.

And yeah I've considered trying to find a place to register my cars out of state as well, just to make life easier. However California has rules that if you have a residence in California and have your car here for more than 2 weeks it must be registered with the state of California. Retarded in just about every aspect, but the state is greedy, what do you expect. Still, they would have a hard time proving that you didn't "return" home if you left town for a day or so.

Oh new idea, group buy an apartment in Reno (or maybe Vegas! lol) for California residents! Or somewhere in AZ, or Oregon, all 3 have looser laws than we do (hell if you live outside the major population areas in Oregon, you don't even have to smog your car!)

 

move to tn. i think 1 out of 3 counties dont smog lol not only can i sr swap, i can test pipe. or do whatever the hell i want to with it lol

 

When you buy the 240 and get it smogged, you never have to have it smogged again unless you switch names. From then on, if you ever get pulled over with the LSx in it, just turn off the engine before you come to a full stop on the side of the road. and wait for the cop to drive off before starting the car again. OR you can do what i do on all of my swaps (SR20DET, LS1, and RB) find the hook ups in your area. There are always some. or you can also do what i did.. and move out of cali.