Turbo Swap CA smog for out of state car?

[bens1088]

I have a 79 280zx which originally came from North Dakota. At that time, the 79 zx was the only car that did not need a cat. So right now I have straight pipes to a muffler and its legal for me here in CA. I am looking to do a swap now, but what are my options? Either turboing the stock engine with low boost? Swapping an entire turbo engine?

Basically are there any loop holes that will allow me to not have to get the swap certified and such that anyone knows of thats still "smog-able"?

 

Thanks

[Tony D]

Basically are there any loop holes that will allow me to not have to get the swap certified and such that anyone knows of thats still "smog-able"?

 

No.

 

If you swap a turbo engine in, (this is covered in the archives) you recertify to that engine year specification, and all equipment for that year/model. And in your case, that means adding the cat, since a 79 CA model had a cat, and your chassis is identical to the 79 CA chassis.

[bens1088]

No.

 

a 79 CA model had a cat, and your chassis is identical to the 79 CA chassis.

 

so i typed up a whole paragraph and accidentally hit the back button.

Isn't the chassis NOT identical if this was a different version?

basically in 79 there was a 49 state version and a ND version. If i sold my engine, the person who bought it wouldn't have to put a cat on right?

 

Also thats like saying if I brought a 49 state car into california, did a swap with a 49 state model, I would have to swap all the emissions parts on the car to the california version standard.

That doesn't make sense to me...

 

Sorry if these questions are dumb, I really dont understand CA smog laws and everytime i talk to a smog tech i get different answers. One said i could bolt on a turbo and pass it, but he might of said HE would pass it lol.

 

Thanks Tony

[Tony D]

Argue if you will, do the work and argue to the referee and see where it gets you.

 

My bet is when you put an 81-83 Turbo Engine (or variant thereof) into the chassis, you will be required to refit all emissions related components to the system that were there, OEM. And since 79's in EVERY market save 49 state cars had CATALYSTS on them...you will be fitting the catalyst as well.

 

But you can skip it, and run it through the smog test. Report back and tell us how your experiment went, I'm pretty sure I know what the Ref's answer will be, though...

 

You are reading it wrong, you are NOT bringing in a 79 Fed car and being told you are having to refit CA emissions (which they CAN require in some instances...)

 

You are being told because you are doing an ENGINE CHANGE and regardless of sourcing Federal OR Cal-Spec, EVERY TURBO CAR HAS A CATALYST IN THE USA, and for an ENGINE CHANGE all emissions related parts must remain with the vehicle. And normally you are NOT required to refit a catalyst to a CHASSIS not OEM equipped with a Catalyst---the fact of the matter is your 79 chassis WAS designed to have a Catalyst in it...my JDM 78 S130 has a catalyst, but because it's registered in CA I am not required to have a catalyst in it because it's registered under FEDERAL smog requirements. There was no Federal Turbo available in 79, so that 79 Fed to 79 Fed swap you mention is not a possible option. And even if you found a federal 81-83, they would have a catalyst, so guess what that means?

 

Confused yet?

 

And if I were to refit a Turbo Motor into my 78 S130 (July 78 Manufacture Date) I would then HAVE to run a Catalyst...even though it came OEM with one, but I am currently legally running WITHOUT one now due to being registered and smogged under FEDERAL guidelines.

 

You aren't selling your engine. But if you sold your 79 engine to a guy who was putting it in an 83, YES, he would have to install a catalyst on it, he can not 'backdate' the engine.

 

This is all in the archives and under the smog stickies.

 

People try so hard to get around rules that are so simple to ocmply with it's sometimes funny. Just put the engine in with a catalyst and the run through the referee will be smooth and take less than 5 minutes (providing your car passes the sniffer).

 

Do it without a catalyst on it, and try to agrue the point, and I know how it will end.

[ckolander]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but the S130 has a bolt on catalyst(at least mine does). A viable option is to bolt on for smog check, then bolt off and replace it with test pipe until you smog again in 2 years.

Studies show however that removing the catalyst will only give you a gain of 2 to 5 horses. So you could always leave the cat in, remove 10 pounds somewhere, and you just got your horsies back.

Funny part of all of this is, I just moved from Cali to N. Dakota, and got away from smog laws......Muah hah hah hahhhhh

[Tony D]

A viable option is to bolt on for smog check, then bolt off and replace it with test pipe until you smog again in 2 years.

 

No, not really. Besides being totally illegal, which I won't get into, the frequency of random compliance checks, roadside dyno checks, and remote onramp monitoring make that sketchy at best as a 'solution'...

 

The 'solution' is to simply comply with the applicable regulations. They are exceedingly simple to meet, and as you mention, are without performance penalty.

 

As I posted earlier, the effort people go through to avoid some stuff is blown all out of porportion to the effect of simply complying. CA Smog has some stupidity to it (run course away from further political commentary) but really it's not that big of a deal for a properly running vehicle in proper tune.

 

And the final caveat for your post should be, more aptly "got away from Smog Laws...for now"

 

Muahahahhahaha!

 

The coming 2010 Fed Standards will make almost every state of the union posess a 'non-compliant' area within their borders. That means smog testing is coming. There will be no hiding before too long.

[Daeron]

The coming 2010 Fed Standards will make almost every state of the union posess a 'non-compliant' area within their borders. That means smog testing is coming. There will be no hiding before too long.

 

Aww, crap.. I guess its time fer me and Paw to go set fire to the ol' motor oil-dumpin hole again!!! Better git er done now before its too late!

[ckolander]

They may impose "emissions standards" federally, but in a state which has one of the lowest populations in the country, and also is the richest state in the union(only 3 states are not in debt and ND is up top). I honestly don't think that smog laws will be taken seriously.

Of course I'm only an hour away from Canada, I could just have my friend register it there, I mean heck, I'm already trying to find a GT-R from up there.

[Tony D]

They may impose "emissions standards" federally, but in a state which has one of the lowest populations in the country, and also is the richest state in the union(only 3 states are not in debt and ND is up top). I honestly don't think that smog laws will be taken seriously.

 

ND is not exempt, take a look online at some of the emissions compliance zones the EPA is charting. Outside the cities, sure, there is not going to be testing for a while. But many of the larger cities are 'non compliant' and as a result have localized emissions testing that can be FAR more onerous that CA testing in some cases. I was amazed when I looked at current standards compared to 2010 standards and the radical increase in 'non attainment areas'---places where you NEVER would think there is a smog issue. It's a 'decreasing goal target'---eventually if you raise the bar high enough you will fail anywhere you go.

 

While your state may be fiscally solvent, they do have a large length of interstate highway running through it, and if they don't comply to the federal demand for setps to be taken to insure compliance within the states 'non-attainment areas' your federal highway funds go away. Even if it's one city (say, Fargo) they pull the funding till you make your plan, and the plan is always cookie-cutter, and taken from someplace else. (Wanna guess where? Ask the guys in the Northeast...)

 

It's a big stick, and a big carrot. And given current political realities, those sticks have gotten porportionally bigger each time in realation to the items in question. This is digressing too far from the original topic, and should be gone PM if you want to discuss it further.

 

As for the 'oil burnin' pit'...I just filled mine in. Now we just let it seep into the ground, and when it don't soak no more, we cover it with a 6" concrete cap and call it a 'parking pad' or 'driveway'....