Passing the BAR .. in CA ... For a rattle-trap track car.

So the long and short is I'm probably screwed, but being someone who loves basket cases, I've gotta try I suppose.

I think the main thing is I don't have a dashboard. I passed emissions in Portland, OR which is pretty damn strict. I keep getting conflicting accounts from various sources, some say you're screwed no matter what you do if you have a car modded at all, some don't seem to think it's a big deal.

Anyone have experience with this particular scenario? I think I'll probably have to swap the header to a carb legal one, as the bisimoto isn't going to fly. Cam and ECU to stock and then? It's OBDI, so I'm concerned that I'll need my full dash back for the warning lights?

Of course the car in question: http://grassrootsmotorsports.com/forum/build-projects-and-project-cars/95-honda-civic-hb/65822/page1/

It may look like a desperate situation, but the car isn't really that modified, it's a mostly stock d16z6 that runs clean. A lot of suspension changes, but I don't think they care about those.

Double post for fun....

I suppose another issue will be the engine swap w/o papers? It's an engine that comes from the same chassis, so I don't think it will be an issue?

Gah, what a headache.

Well, actually Cali emissions is more strict than Portland's. In Portland, you just have to pass the OBD test or the tailpipe and noise tests for the year of the vehicle. In Cali you have to have all of the emissions equipment in place for the year of engine and it must pass a visual inspection. So that means any mods you do to the engine must be stock or CARB exempt.

The lack of dash means may mean they can't verify mileage or the VIN and that they need access to the OBD port (if so equipped).

Either take it off the road and trailer it, register it somewhere that doesn't require emissions check, or go through the rules and make the car completely legal and be ready to defend anything to the referee when you get it tested.

Sucks, but that's how Cali's moronic government has decided to "clean up" vehicle emissions there. When in reality, all that matters is what comes out of the tailpipe and that is all they should be testing for.

yea.. I never understood Cali's emissions laws. Back in the 70s several cars came with "thermal reactors" instead of cats. Cats are more reliable, lighter, and do a better job of reducing emissions.. but according to Cali's laws, you have to put the original thermal reactors back on even if you are running a legal cat set up.

I'll be the only nay nay-sayer here. I grew up in CA and fondly remember days where the air smelled like sulphur, as if someone was tarring their roof next door. That was all pre-catalytic converter days, and I haven't smelled a day like that in 45 years. So yeah, while there are some moronic rules, overall, it's had the desired effect.

Portland's law sounds more reasonable- why not just require each year car to pass emissions for that year, mods be damned? I'd agree with Kurt- I don't want any part of bad air, but if someone updated their 69 MG, for instance, with a modern, fuel injected japanese engine, it won't pass smog, no matter how much cleaner it is.

I want to clear up any confusion about my post. I agree with vehicle emissions controls and testing. I just wanted to point out that Cali is wasting time and money regulating the wrong things rather than regulating what actually comes out of the tailpipe.

I'm not debating that it hasn't made positive improvements, because it certainly has, but that's mostly because it has removed a lot of decent older cars from the roads because their poorly engineered emissions equipment were removed and cause them to fail visual inspection.

Honestly, it isn't hard these days to get a car running well enough to pass emissions without going through a bunch of gyrations.

You will need those dashboard lights

Doing an engine swap legally in CA is a major PITA. The motor needs to come from the same broad category of vehicle (car vs truck) and must be the same year as the chassis or newer. You need to swap the motor and every emissions-related component from the old car to the new one, all unmodified (or replaced by CARB-approved components). That means the motor from the air filter to the cat, the ECU, the eval system, etc. Then you need to take it to a smog ref, he can certify it (or more commonly fail to certify it because you missed some trivial little detail) and then you smog it like it's the car the motor was swapped from.

If the normal smog tech can't tell the difference on the motor (i.e., it looks mostly factory), then theoretically one can just not tell him about it and smog it as if it's a normal car. 1.8 swaps into early Miatas often go this route. Your car is going to raise red flags, however. :)

You might want to just sell the car in Portland. I see modded cars with swaps sit on craigslist for weeks and weeks in CA because they are basically useless except as track cars.

mr2peak wrote: You will need those dashboard lights

That and with the cam it will not pass, plus the aftermarket chip will get flagged on the OBD read. If its a swapped car you will need a REF signoff which is more then likely not going to happen unless you have full history on the motor. IE a receipt of sale and the vin of the car it came from.

They could care less about the condition of the body and interior, I dropped my viper off with the entire interior missing on full slicks and a three foot tall wing they passed it with flying colors.

They could care less about the condition of the car itself.

wearymicrobe wrote: That and with the cam it will not pass, plus the aftermarket chip will get flagged on the OBD read.

There's no OBD read on a pre-OBD2 car.

The condition of the rest of the car is not part of the test, however a car that looks like a heavily modified race car is going to generate more scrutiny from the tech, and will sometimes result in techs declining to smog cars. The BAR is getting nasty with their sting operations, and smog techs make their money on Camrys, etc. The $50 to do a car they're not sure about isn't worth potentially losing their smog license.

Yeah, I think I'll probably just get a dash and shoehorn it back in. The cam and ECU is an easy swap. Headers are going to be annoying but perfectly doable.

Thanks for the input.