does the ref check the year of the motor? how can they tell?

 

When I went to the BAR ref, he just asked me what the engine came out of, and I told him "98 Acura Integra LS", and he said "ok" and that was it. I watched him as he looked up the emissions diagrams and stuff on his computer and he would go over and look at the car every now and then with printouts of pictures showing where everything should be. As for how they can tell what year the engine was made, most heads will have a circular stamp on the front of the head with the year of manufacture(mine looks like this: 9|8 = made in '98). Of course, if your car is supposed to be OBD-II, andyou show up with an engine that is obviously OBD-I, he's sure to be suspicious. Since you're in California, you probably now that, in order for a swap to be BAR certified, the engine needs to come from the same year as the car or newer. Besides that, the ref will check to make sure that you're running all the necessary emissions equipment, as well as check your ignition timing and run an emissions test. If your car is OBD-II, they'll also hook a scanner up to the OBD-II diagnostic port to check to verify it is functioning properly and retrieve any trouble codes. If everything checks out, they print you a nice sticker, and if you have to smog within six months, the test performed by the ref will count towards that. I've heard a lot of horror stories about going to the BAR ref, but my experience was completely positive. The BAR ref, as well as his two assistants were all very friendly and helpful.