98civdx

^^ what he has is legal because it was ment for that car, now if he put that motor in my 98 it wouldnt,

these laws are so fing stupid,i feel like shooting the person that came up with them and i dont even live in cali!!
if it passes smog or what ever they have it shouldnt matter what engine it has, because it meets the standards, this is why i love wa, they could give 2 ***** and a f what motor it has as long as passes emmisons.

Cortez_h

To all the people that have gone through the ref process I have a question. In a lot of pictures you see people with transmissions that the rivet holes for a VIN plate. Has anybody got their car ref with a transmission that have rivet holes with no VIN plate?

esoomenona

For a 97 Civic, you can drop in a B16 from a Del Sol Si without having to BAR it because it was an option engine for that year. To put a USDM B18C1, you would need to get it BAR'd.

raidacaipo

gotcha thanks! so in order to put in a 99-00 civic b16a2 I would have to get that bar'd because its a 99 model? since my car is 97? also Can i drop in a 97 integra gsr motor without having it bar'd? since my car is a 97 too

low&slow

cali makes everything a big deal!

esoomenona

No, because a GSR motor was not an option for Civics. To have a B18, regardless of which Integra it came from, you would need to have a USDM one, and get it BAR'd.

thumper64

Just an idea, but what about stamping an extra number after the engine code on a JDM engine? Like the 1 after B18C, 2 after B16A.... Metal stamps are cheap... Or drop a B18C into a Civic Si and make a big old gash or paint over the engine code so it can't be read legibly.
I know it's shady and immoral as well as illegal, but a GSR swap has proven more fuel effiecient than a stock D15B7 for me.

esoomenona

The thing about OBDII engines is they have VIN numbers on the engine and transmission. If you try to take a JDM engine in like that, they'll look for VIN numbers and you will not pass.

thumper64

There are 1994 and 1995 GSRs and OBD1 B16s to drop into OBD1 cars...

raidacaipo

even if your able to stamp a 1 on a jdm b18c the numbers under the stamp dont lie.. I beleive that the numbers for a jdm motor starts with a number instead of a letter like the usdm motors.. I could be wrong but I know its different and theres no way to fool that

white_chris

Just a heads up, I had a JDM B16A swapped into my EG, and it passed smog fine. Swapped it over to OBD1 and because of that it was exempt from certain criteria on the smog test. I had Inline Four up in OC do it, and they did a great job on the swap and making sure the car was legal!

NEVERSELLMYEG

This is funny stuff, with so much hear say and the best part about this information on this forum is that half of its wrong. I use to work for the Smog Ref station in Rancho Cucamonga at Chaffey College in fact I got my smog license through their smog program and now I work for the college in the auto tech department. The best thing to do is to talk to the referee yourself and he can give u all the information that you will need to do the swap so it will pass and what u can and cant do, they have it all on paper and can give you copys if you need it. Getting your car bard with a swap is not difficult like everyone makes it seem. If you think a civic with a b-sereis is hard to get bar'd, try doing 1980 cj7 jeep with a tuneport 350 now thats a b*tch and it can be done if you know what your doing.

Fabulous

I've had a "gross polluter" since 2002. You just need to know the right people and you can get your car smogged. As far as Cali sucking, we do have among the, if not the strictest emissions regulations in the country. But we also have 12-month a year driving thanks to the weather, plenty of tracks, and endless amounts of roads for everyones' tastes. Sorry for my digression

Fabulous

Start networking and eventually you'll find someone. You just need to find the right person and gain their trust And expect to pay between $200-$300

Westtz

That is some good information. I'll start looking around as to what is needed for a legal California bar'd test.

zerovandez

iTrader: (1)

I'm not going to attempt and try to correct you here. But think about what makes a JDM motor a "JDM" motor. Sensors? Different intake manifolds? A sleight increase in compression? Now think about it. If you can "trick" a few of these sensors, put on an OBD2 intake manifold, have a muffler shop modify the exhaust because you will need an CA OBD2 CAT (mine is from a 99 civic ex btw), and use the correct ECU, you can convert the motor into a true OBD2 motor. I actually "tricked" the crankshaft sensor and the fuel pressure sensor. I took it to the BAR ref just like that and passed. The real trick is to make everything look OEM. So after you make all of your wire splices etc, for the sake of baby Jesus tape that **** up so it's OEM looking.

So what am I talking about? Hmmmmm....I dunno I guess. But i'll tell you this much, I have a sticker on my driver shock tower that says my swap is legal. Oh and the motor and tranny did NOT have VIN numbers. Any more concerns?

zerovandez

iTrader: (1)

That's false information. I passed a JDM GSR WITHOUT the VIN numbers on both the block and the transmission.

raidacaipo

well I understand there not being any vin numbers for the transmission but for the block too? so your saying that under your stamped b18c or whatever engine you have, theres no identification number under that? then I must ask you how come? unless it was straight out from a honda factory or you bought a spoon block. Besides you need to definitely show some form of receipt and that means you need to be able to identify the transmission and the block. There may not be a green vin tag on the jdm transmissions, but there usually is a sticker next to it with a bar code.. at least that identifys it. And where did you get your motor passed at? since your from long beach, ca

zerovandez

iTrader: (1)

JDM Motors DO NOT come with VIN number plates on the block. The tranny does have the white sticker identifying the transmission type. Honestly, I don't think that matters. I went to the BAR station at El Camino College in Torrance. From what I hear, the technician there is one the most strict techs. I had the motor BAR'd at the end of last year, I'm not sure as to what the law is now for JDM motors. When I was there, he seemed more interested in the motor, it's sensors/ecu, and emissions. I think police are the ones concerned with where you got your motor etc...

JACOBKID

hahah cali is a bitch to swaps!!!

EM1978

wow i never knew cali was so strict ! . i love MA . its all literaly swap and go lol . good luck bro hopefully ull get everything straight .

NEVERSELLMYEG

In four years of being a smog technician I have yet to see a portion of the emissions inspection that asks me to identify what transmison the vehicle has, in other words it doesnt matter what trans your running whether its a jdm or usdm and why would it matter if the vins on the block and trany dont match when there are millions of these cars on the road that have had the motor or tranny replacements at one time in their lives. The only VIN verifications it asks for is that the paper registration vins match the vins on the vehicle thats going to be tested.

raidacaipo

what are you talking about? jdm motors do have an identification number stamped under your engine code.

Heres a picture of my old jdm Gsr motor with the identification number under the engine stamp. 1102465

JDW

ive done alot of reaserch on motor swaps in cali. I read through the thread and noticed some things havent been mentioned or explained correctly. First, yes the swap must be newer than the year of the vehicle. second if in california u must swap in a motor that was origanally sold in a ca car, not just usdm. If u swap in an obd2 motor everything must go to obd2, cannot back date. finally there are only certain swaps you can legaly do, pretty much any B or D series motor for civic or integra. There is a book at autozone that tells you what motors can be swaped in cali and what steps you need to take to do it legaly.

h22acd5

ive seen people do the impossible with JDM motors i have seen guys you have JDM H22A motors in there and get them reffed just do yuour swap cleanly dont slack on anything and you can get any motor to pass ref its not that hard i got a 94 del sol with a h22 but its isnt reffed haha but im sure i could just dont slack and youll be good