so I'm goin to look at a 97 civic ex tomorrow to see if its worth buying. the guy says its running a JDM b20 which could be a problem cause from my understanding a JDM b20 wont pass smog. my question for you guys is are there any easy ways to tell if it really is a JDM b20? i know its probably a stupid question but im new to this so bear with me. also, if it does turn out to be a JDM b20 are there any ways to get it to pass smog? ive heard that you can take the smog stuff off a b18 and put it on but idk. looking forward to feedback, thanks.

 

b20 jdm or usdm wont pass smog in a civic anyways , the motor is considered a lite truck motor

 

^^ only in Cali

for the rest of the world its fine.. as for the smog, make sure you hook up everything and tune it correctly and you should be fine.

 

@esotericimage unfortunately i live in cali. this place has me banging my head against a wall with how difficult they make everything...

 

yea man, no B20 for you then. sorry dooder

 

If your gonna buy a car in CA that has a swap. Don't touch it unless it has a BAR sticker and the paperwork behind the swap and everything else. Anything else is not worth touching unless its gonna be a track car because it won't pass smog unles you make sure everything is there. Even if it has a smog legal swap, make the SELLER BAR/smog it. The seller is REQUIRED to smog and make sure the car is fully legal before selling unless it is agreed that you are buying it as is and its gonna be a off-road vehicle or your gonna do all the work to make it roadworthy again.

Cliff notes:
Save a little more money and buy a fully smog legal car.

 

My friend purchased a sticker and passed

don't know if it's real or BS though he could be lying I guess

 

yeah but i dont wanna be takin any chances. i need something i can drive and not have to worry about it gettin impounded. i dont have the money for that.

 

Man, remind me never to move to Cali.

As for discerning if it's USDM or JDM, if it is stamped B20Z it's USDM, 99-00. If it's stamped B20B, it's either JDM 96-00 or USDM 96-98. I'm not sure if you can tell beyond this. The 99-00 B20B and B20Z are the same motor, it's a higher compression version of the earlier one.

 

b20z is wut comes with the 1st gen 99-01 crv's