Civicthusiast

Hey fellow californians -

This is a question for those that have an engine swap -
I assume that most of you do not have the engine barred and, etc..

I'm coming to the point where I need to swap out an engine, and acquiring and installing a USDM B16 type engine, is financially impossible for me.. thus, I guess I HAVE to get a JDM b16..

Problem, is I'm worried about the options for me to find places that would "Smog" my car.. and the possibility that a po-po would inspect my bay and recognize the swap..
that would be a nightmare..
I love my car, and want to keep it running..

Post your experiences with the swap and legality issues here in CALI..

P.S. - I never street race, and usually do not draw obvious attention to myself.. like crazy exhaust noises, etc..
don't like to draw attention to myself, especially the cops..

bakomack

honestly dude its everyones nightmare.

I have a b16a2 swapped into my 95 hatch, all converted to obd1 so I cant bar it.

the only thing you can do is play stupid and keep as many carb legal parts you can, like intake and header.

I have a blox intake manifold, with aftermarket fuel rail, blox FPR and guage. when I got busted for no plates (wouldnt pass smog) they made me pop my hood, first words out of their mouth is that I was running nitrous and they kept bitching for me to show them where I hid the bottle.

most cops dont know ****. I told them I had just bought the car and the motor was already in it. what was even funnier is that it took them about 5 minutes to write down the numbers on the block to run em, what they never realized is that the vin plate on an obd2 motor is down behind the header by the oil pan, not on the block under the b16 stamp.

they even argued with me about my aem intake, it has been cut at one of the bends so I can take it on/off easier and it has a rubbler coupler holding it together, state ref even says this is legal, but the cops said it was modified and not legal.

highway patrol are not trained in identifying aftermarket parts on imports, they leave that to the investigators.

RedRevolver

Honostly it seems like as long as you keep it low key, and you can find a place to "smog" it for you, you'll probably be alright. Like bakomack pointed out, they aren't trained to identify these things, so unless you get really unlucky and a cop actually knows his stuff, the cops probably won't know its JDM.

ekb16

iTrader: (1)

took me 9months and 5 trys to pass Bar wit my jdm gsr swap

Hanmin

if they just put 2 needles in your muffler to smog your car, just retard the dizzy all the way, I pass it every time like that.

iwanttokillgod

^^^this might work hanmin but unfortunately the bar checks ignition timing

victor.m

Never, EVER moving to Cali. Ever!

cracker1252

statistically speaking, the women per capita have more original teeth present.

It is difficult, but if you can avoid it, try to get USDM instead of jdm. that way you don't have to run around finding different cats's and sensors. if you dont have that option, it will just be a big learning experience and a large drain on your pocket book every 75$ you pay to fail the BAR two times. good luck sir.

[note: if you have huge ***** and want to risk it, just swap anything and every two years for smog or when you get a REF ticket, swap the stock back in.]

bakomack

I cant bar an obd2 motor in a obd1 car with out converting all wiring to obd2, and state ref's dont like jumper harnesses and im on s300 so I dont see myself doing that anytime soon

Arthas

What would you need to do to convert that OBD2 motor to work on an OBD1 car?

Is it throwing any CEL's because its missing the 2nd o2 sensor??


And yes, cops now ARE trained on aftermarket parts on imports. The cop that popped my brothers hood asked him why does he have a JDM ZC on his car without papers.
Cop knew his ****, he let my brother go though, even with NON-CARB exempt I/H/E.

ekb16

iTrader: (1)

you can try and pass as obd1 and run a p30 ecu like in the del sol dohc

Adankid

Well this is from my own experience
. I'm currently running a 94 gsr in my 99 hatch. I got pulled over by a chp right by the corner of my houseand he told me to pop my hood. I did as he said. Then after about 5 to 7 mins of inspecting my bay, he told me the FPR gauge was illegal and he to me write me up for that. And he gave me a state ref for it. I coulndt drive my car for a month it had to stay parked in my driveway. I never went to the ref. I just waited for my court date. I went to court and just paid the fine and I was back on the road.

Adankid

Well this is from my own experience
. I'm currently running a 94 gsr in my 99 hatch. I got pulled over by a chp right by the corner of my houseand he told me to pop my hood. I did as he said. Then after about 5 to 7 mins of inspecting my bay, he told me the FPR gauge was illegal and he to me write me up for that. And he gave me a state ref for it. I coulndt drive my car for a month it had to stay parked in my driveway. I never went to the ref. I just waited for my court date. I went to court and just paid the fine and I was back on the road.

ekb16

iTrader: (1)

well this was my experience

it was about 11pm and i was on my way to my girls place. i was stopped a redlight waitin to make a left turn. as the light turned green, i started to make the left turn and at the same time i saw a CHP just speedin thru the parkin lot of RiteAid, gets behind my *** and turns on his lights. i pull over and the officer comes to my window and asks:
chp: do you know why i pulled you over?
me: no
chp: your car is too loud?
me: oooook
chp: got any illegal modifications under your hood?
me:nope
chp: pop your hood please

now another chp officer shows up that was waitin in the chp car and they are both checking out my engine bay...they tell me to sit back in my car while they took about 5 min to look at everything...they close my hood and go back to their car to grab a camera and come back to my window to tell me to open my hood again...they start snappin pics of my engine bay and after about 10-15min of this **** they gave me a ticket for noisy exhaust, modified emissions and a visit to the ref..

long story short i went to court and they dropped my exhaust ticket but i still had to pay the modified emissions ticket of $365..i COULD still drive my car but didnt wanna have to pay another $365 or wutever for the next time i get pulled over so i decided to make my motor legal..and after 9month its FINALLY legal

bakomack

I would need all stock intake manifold, throttle body, cams, fuel rail and injectors, fpr, new cat, stock exhaust manifold, p30 ecu, and a new engine bay harness. its cheaper to stay the way I am

bluebomber

iTrader: (2)

Why are you even considering a B16? Get a USDM B18C1, they are way more plentiful and make a lot more power.

And you can pass BAR in Cali as long as the motor is the same year or newer as the car, and all the smog equipment is hooked up and OEM, or has a CARB number if not.

mattyfo0z

qft.

bluebomber

iTrader: (2)

Quoted For Truth, or Quit ****ing Talking?

Jedi_Sol

My experiences with a jdm swap as a californian:

Did tons of research. Decided to make everything easy and legal by deciding to go with a USDM motor. Saved up some money. Did the swap. Turns out they installed a JDM motor instead of the requested USDM motor. Did a ton of more research on how to make JDM motors legal. Applied what i learned from research to my motor. Went to the Ref. Failed. Did the fixes the Ref laid out for me. Went to the Ref again, passed.

Post swap:
One time while driving this cop car drove past me. This other time while driving, this CHP car zoomed right past me. This other time while waiting at a red light, this cop car pulled up behind me. Then when the light turned green, he changed lanes and drove past me.

Long story short, NOTHING has happened to me since my swap, because I dont drive like a douche. I never have to worry about smogging because everything is legit.

BTW: You never mentioned what car you plan on swapping a jdm b16 into? If you plan on staying legal, obtaining a P30 ecu is REALLY hard. Like bluebomber said, it'll be easier with a USDM (or JDM) GSR motor as they are more plentiful.

ekb16: Congrats on deciding to be too legit to quit!

Jdmvillageidiot

I'll throw in my experience then

Came back from out of town and driving up a main highway late one evening and I noticed alot more fixed up imports. Must've been a meet or show earlier. Anyways, I got pulled over by the city police and right away he asked me to pop the hood. In my head I was saying " aw $hit, he'll get me for my intake, headers and jdm b16....Dang!"

All he said was "Hmmmm, everything looks legit" and just asked me where I was coming from let me go. I was stunned. I guess he didn't know engines but did know about carb exempt parts. I had an AEM intake and DC Sport headers which both have carb exempt placards. I guess it was good enough to convince him. I would get the jdm core and dress it up with carb legal parts. Attract their focus on the bright colored, shiny legal parts. Just like a slide of hand in magic. That's just my opinion.

TeamGEN

If your in socal go to the junk yard thats where i bought my b18c1.

Civicthusiast

cool posts fellas..
interesting stories about the run ins with the coppers...
There should be a thread about that topic now..

BTW - thanks for the headsup about the B18C1 - will look into that..

ykni

Niice . Just thaught id bring this thread back from the dead with my story .anyways today I got ****ed by the popos .they popped my hood an identified my jdm b16 by ready the japanese writing on my feels headers.the ****er flagged me down as he was towing some other guys truck , any shops out there that'll do this conversion for a reasonable price ? Thanx in advance .ps **** you officer thomas lake forrest pd .!!!!!!!!

SarahVTEC

What happens if you say "no" to them popping your hood? If you say "yes," aren't you giving up your rights? *curious*

geneeunit

i passed bar first try. :D

its not as hard as most people make it.. its common sense really, make the motor run as it should and dont half-*** it.