Can you bring a illegallly swapped car into california then fix it?

Dumb but quick questions.

Lets just say that I had a 400i Ferrari with a carb'd 350 swap in it. Illegal in California to no end.

If I dragged that car home, then did a proper swap with a E-rod kit what exactly would be the legal status of the car. I need to bring it into the state, can I do that as non-op. Once it is here they want to inspect the VIN for sure and they will find the wrong motor in it does that get it flagged as illegal.

Can I just bring it to the ref and have them go through it after I am done or does it need to be running and registered before it gets here.

I'd say yank the carbie out before you brought it to the DMV for inspection and title transfer. What they don't know won't hurt you.

Depending on the year of the engine and the car it may not be as illegal as you think. As long as the engine is newer than the car, and from a car and not a truck, then all you need is the engine to have all the emissions equipment from the donor and you are fine. So even if the Ferrari was efi, if it's a '78 and you swap in a carbed motor from an '80 Malibu the right answer for Cali is to keep it carbed.

Totally legal to bring in, just not to register and drive. Bring it in, do the E-Rod swap, then go to the DMV and get it registered. Easy peasy.

I think the biggest questions would come from the exhaust system and making sure the cat's used are 50 state legal.

I would imagine there's a number of shops in the state that would know how to put this thing right with the DMV.

Wait, people actually want 400i's?

This looks awesome though.

this might be helpful http://www.bar.ca.gov/80_BARResources/07_AutoRepair/Engine_Change_Guidelines.html

I was also looking through some www.arb.ca.gov sites for some help of the actual rules.

In reply to alfadriver:

The E-Rod is a direct from GM 50-State compliant package that includes all emissions controls. Hot Rod did a great article on installing one in a 79/80 Camaro in California including all of the little CARB nuances.

From what I understand no, you can't transfer ownership of a non street legal car newer than 1975 into your name in California. I think you have 2 weeks after you buy the car to register it once you bring it into the state. I think what you are talking about is certainly doable, except for being able to legally own the car until its street legal.

Nobody would ever do this, but if you had a "residence" in another state you could conceivably keep the car titled and registered to another state.

Never, EVER move to California.

Problem solved.

In reply to Junkyard_Dog:

Bring it to Arizona. Close enough for weekend trips to San Diego, gun friendly state and in the middle to southern no worries of car cancer.

Sorry for the thread hijack

Travis_K wrote: From what I understand no, you can't transfer ownership of a non street legal car newer than 1975 into your name in California. I think you have 2 weeks after you buy the car to register it once you bring it into the state. I think what you are talking about is certainly doable, except for being able to legally own the car until its street legal.

So it is illegal to buy a car that doesn't run? This does not compute...

mndsm wrote: I'd say yank the carbie out before you brought it to the DMV for inspection and title transfer. What they don't know won't hurt you.

This seems like the correct answer. Therefore, you bought a shell with the intention of sourcing the original motor

singleslammer wrote:

Travis_K wrote: From what I understand no, you can't transfer ownership of a non street legal car newer than 1975 into your name in California. I think you have 2 weeks after you buy the car to register it once you bring it into the state. I think what you are talking about is certainly doable, except for being able to legally own the car until its street legal.

So it is illegal to buy a car that doesn't run? This does not compute...

It's California, I can believe that.

singleslammer wrote:

mndsm wrote: I'd say yank the carbie out before you brought it to the DMV for inspection and title transfer. What they don't know won't hurt you.

This seems like the correct answer. Therefore, you bought a shell with the intention of sourcing the original motor

That's what I was thinking.

singleslammer wrote:

Travis_K wrote: From what I understand no, you can't transfer ownership of a non street legal car newer than 1975 into your name in California. I think you have 2 weeks after you buy the car to register it once you bring it into the state. I think what you are talking about is certainly doable, except for being able to legally own the car until its street legal.

So it is illegal to buy a car that doesn't run? This does not compute...

Its not illegal to buy it, but any 1976 or newer gas powered vehicles or 98 and newer diesels have to pass the emissions testing to register them in your name. And if you buy a car that is currently registered, you only have 2 weeks from the date you purchase it to transfer registration. Obviously there are a lot of ways to work things out if you need to, but if you follow all the rules thats how it works here.

Travis_K wrote: Its not illegal to buy it, but any 1976 or newer gas powered vehicles or 98 and newer diesels have to pass the emissions testing to register them in your name. And if you buy a car that is currently registered, you only have 2 weeks from the date you purchase it to transfer registration. Obviously there are a lot of ways to work things out if you need to, but if you follow all the rules thats how it works here.

Officially, it is the seller's responsibility to ensure that a car passes smog before it can be sold. It's unclear what happens if the seller says the vehicle is sold "as-is", you buy it, and then discover it's impossible to pass smog with it. I suspect one might be able to force a reversal of an in-state sale in that case.

As far as the 2 week deadline goes (I think it's actually 10 days, not 2 weeks), that's the deadline to pay the fees and use tax, not get smog. The CA DMV gets very concerned if you don't pay the money on time, but they're willing to give you as long as you like to get it to pass smog, you just can't drive it in the meantime. The same thing applies on renewals -- make sure to send them a check promptly, even if the smog hasn't been done yet. The late fees will easily double the registration cost if you wait too long.

Junkyard_Dog wrote: Never, EVER move to California. Problem solved.

that was going to be my suggestion

wbjones wrote:

Junkyard_Dog wrote: Never, EVER move to California. Problem solved.

that was going to be my suggestion

I live here and I agree.

The motor is a stamped as preior to the year of the car.

Might be able to buy it as non-op, pay the taxes and then bring it in for inspection.

If you remove the motor and stand in the engine bay and push, I bet you couldn't fail emissions. Just don't eat beans before hand.

In reply to 93EXCivic:

That might depend on what he had for lunch.