CA legal conversion
09-27-2016, 08:42 PM
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CA legal conversion Hopefully soon I will be starting my sleeper. The trouble is, anything that would fit the bill for a sleeper car is also newer than 1975 and thus will have to pass smog inspection here in the Peoples Republic of Commiefornia. Most pre-76 cars are either too heavy or will raise eyebrows such as a Vega or Pinto (been done to the point that they've lost sleeper status). It is legal to do a conversion and be given the blessing from the referee in the form of the a BAR (Bureau of Automotive Repair) sticker on the door jamb. They do have some unfavorable requirements in order to pass this inspection though.
1) The engine must be the same age or newer than the vehicle it is going into AND must be a CA legal engine (they run the serial numbers)
2) The engine must be from the same weight class or LIGHTER (i.e. I cannot legally put a truck 5.3 into a Fairmont, again with the serial numbers)
3) Everything must be used from the donor, engine/trans/manifolds/computer/catalytic converters/etc.
4) Anything changed must be replaced with a CARB (CA Air Resources Board) legal component
If everything checks out thus far, it is put on the rollers and if it passes the sniffer, then the vehicle is given the sacred sticker for the door and will be tested as the donor.
There are a few LS cars on CL right now in the neighborhood of $3k so I hope that some still pass SMOG. I'm still trying to decide what my sleeper will be but lets say for sake of argument that I get a 1979 Fairmont and a 2001 Camaro. Once everything is done in good graces with the state, said Fairmont will be inspected as a 2001 Camaro. My plan is to have it set up in that manner only for inspections, the other 23 months between biannual check ups will consist of whatever I feel like. Thankfully they only run the ID code on the engine block, so I can run whatever heads and intake I want. They won't have any way to tell what cam and rotating assembly is inside either. I will keep the stock brain in the garage and use a Mega Squirt for play time since the factory ECU won't have any history of tuning and/or O2 sensor readings.
What do you guys think? Is it worth the hassle or do you think it's too much BS to try to go the street legal route and to just build a strip car?
1) The engine must be the same age or newer than the vehicle it is going into AND must be a CA legal engine (they run the serial numbers)
2) The engine must be from the same weight class or LIGHTER (i.e. I cannot legally put a truck 5.3 into a Fairmont, again with the serial numbers)
3) Everything must be used from the donor, engine/trans/manifolds/computer/catalytic converters/etc.
4) Anything changed must be replaced with a CARB (CA Air Resources Board) legal component
If everything checks out thus far, it is put on the rollers and if it passes the sniffer, then the vehicle is given the sacred sticker for the door and will be tested as the donor.
There are a few LS cars on CL right now in the neighborhood of $3k so I hope that some still pass SMOG. I'm still trying to decide what my sleeper will be but lets say for sake of argument that I get a 1979 Fairmont and a 2001 Camaro. Once everything is done in good graces with the state, said Fairmont will be inspected as a 2001 Camaro. My plan is to have it set up in that manner only for inspections, the other 23 months between biannual check ups will consist of whatever I feel like. Thankfully they only run the ID code on the engine block, so I can run whatever heads and intake I want. They won't have any way to tell what cam and rotating assembly is inside either. I will keep the stock brain in the garage and use a Mega Squirt for play time since the factory ECU won't have any history of tuning and/or O2 sensor readings.
What do you guys think? Is it worth the hassle or do you think it's too much BS to try to go the street legal route and to just build a strip car?
