So my mechanics says that its iligal to put a differant engien in a car. this makes me very confused. i can under stand if it was a racing engine and not a street legal one, but why would he say that its iligal for anyone to do it. also he said that i could do it myself and probilby get away with it if no one figured it out. is he full of **it or is there some truth to the matter? i happen to think that he is b.s-ing his way out of something, dont know what. and he dose not even know what engine i want to put in there, he says anything other then what was in the car is iligal to put in. dose this mean that all you guys who have done swaps are hidding from the law?

P.S. I need to know befor i go b*t*h him out over it. proff would help.

Most people dont know whats supposed to be under the hood anyway. The thing with the JDMs is the emission test. It can be passed but some have help from Mr. Benjamin Franklin. >>

Well I am not sure if its in every state but in Cali, you can put in a engine that is in the same year or newer year than the car you have.

JDM is illegal because it has no EGR and it is possible that it would not pass the sniffer test.

Oh and for hiding from the law...Honestly cops aren't allowed to check in the hood, the car, or the trunk with out permission or a warrant.

You can just find someone to do it.

Most cops won't know the difference anyways.

And if he does he will proobbly compliment you

-Jabberwock+Jun 2, 2004 - 7:50 PM

sccording to CARB if you use a JDM engine that was available in the same car from the same model year or newer you can pass emmisions with it, but you have to do a dyno load test and pass the same standards that are for your car. I believe this is correct, but i can't remember the source of this info could have been on this web site of celica.net

unless your state does inspections..... they'll never ask..... and it's not like you can't go to a junkyard and find the EGR manifolds and EGR stuff.....

hmm. other than imitions, it dose not really matter, the mechanic was talking more on the lines of if the motor messes up the car me is responsoble for the damage, but i dont under stand that because the motor is ment for that car. oh well, my insurence is trying to get me to approve that its a total loss, witch is bs. but might happen. then i'm off to find a new car >>

-creis+Jun 3, 2004 - 11:11 AM

A cop pulled me over at 2 in the morning, and asked me three times tht was i druck? wtf i was on the lane and going 45 mph...tht is crazy...the craziest thing is tht he asked me wht car i was driving....tht is so ****ing stupid and how the hell r they suppose to know what engine goes in wht car.

This post has been edited by zebt66: Jun 3, 2004 - 8:01 PM

1 day i wuz driving and cup tride follow me so i spidding to get away and he tern on hiz lites and pull me ovr and i sed wuz up and he sed sorry but ur car ingin year is older than car i goin half to rite tiket i sed how u kno he sed i can speak car and car talkin like old japnees man.

is tru dude. cups r smart.

-obi1kinob+Jun 4, 2004 - 1:06 AM

-dstrbcelica+Jun 4, 2004 - 2:20 AM

-obi1kinob+Jun 3, 2004 - 11:06 PM

haha yeah, i mean abbreviating for ease of typing is one thing, but thats just crazy. you are actually supposed to be able to read posts and replies on forums.

for those of us here in California, this is something you should know.

1. JABBERWOCK is correct about the engines. You can put any engine into your car aslong as it's of the same year of your car or newer. But it has to be USDM. JDM motors are ILLEGAL.

2. JABBERWOCK is some what correct about cops checking under the hood. A cop can't just pull you over and request that you open your hood. It's against the law.
BUT........ If the cop pulls you over for, let's say, speeding, loud exhaust, reckless driving, ect...., then he CAN make you open your hood. That's because it's considered "Probable Cause". If they have probable cause, then can check or inspect your car left and right.

3. Before, cops where dumb when it comes to knowing anything about engines in general. And they still are to this day, well, most of them. But for that same reason, the state of California is making sure cops take a small course on cars. That course explains to them the basic legal and illegal modifications that can be done to a car. They're doing this to crack down on street racers in California.

4. That mechanic has NO idea what the hell he's talking about. Like someone mentioned, he just doesn't want to do the work cause he can't. Just forget about that shop and take it somewhere else. The swap is easy to do. Can be done in 2 days MAX.. the only wait would be the wires. That's all.

This post has been edited by sphinx: Jun 4, 2004 - 10:49 AM

-obi1kinob+Jun 4, 2004 - 1:06 AM

JDM motors are NOT illegal..... good lord people...... the only thing that isn't legal is to have a car that doesn't pass emissions for it's respective year.... put a silvertop 20V into a 1980 corolla and it'll probably pass with flying colors....

or, for instance... take a 3s-gte from japan and put the USDM manifolds on it with emissions..... there ya go

it really isn't that hard to figure out

I thought that if your car was older than 83 or something that they didnt have to have emissions? Maybe the laws on swaps are different in different states. I really dont understand how someone can justify saying its wrong if your car at least passes emissions. Thats just gay.

if its 83 u can get classic tags or somthing like that because its over 20 years old and u get alot less rules to fallow.

here in cyprus we take our cars for cheek up every 2-3 years( depents on how old car is) and they cheek lights brakes ( if they work correct) engine nımber chasis number ect.. and what reads on paper of your car must be same on your car. if you change engine they ll not mach. but who cares.. we all do that. number on engine can be changed easly.

the 1980 was just an example....... my point is this.... unless you're in california where the emissions are stiffer than a (well, lets not go there).... then you *might* run into some problems... but as long as you're running clean and have EGR stuff in there, you'll be fine

i BARELY failed WA emisisons with my JDM motor with NO emissions.... i could have passed no problem if i had just tossed in my old injectors... i was running too rich.... and this is, again, NO emissions....

It was a joke. I don't talk like that. I guess I was too subtle.

is it just me or can almost nobody that posted on the first page spell?

C. (1) Modified Or Altered Vehicle

A vehicle originally manufactured as a U.S. version vehicle, but that has since been modified or altered, will not meet U.S. emission requirements. For example, if the engine has been altered or replaced with another type of engine, the vehicle is no longer considered a U.S. version.

This is taken from the EPA website. After a car is considered a non U.S. version vehicle it can only be licensed after it gets an EPA emissions compliance label. I think if you have a GT and put a newer 5sfe, then its fine. But after you put a 3sgte in it it is no longer legal.

Although I remember someone saying something about kit cars and how they can be licensed, but i can't remember what it was.... and i'm too lazy to look it up >>