engine swap...., is it illegal or not? Options

[aznpnoy12]

hey guys. i live in north california, and i was just wondering if it were illegal to swap in a 4age or a 3sgte into my car. i drive a 94 clieca st and i kno how strict california smog laws are over here. i also heard that the only swap i would be able to do over here is the first generation 3sgte in order to make it smog legal. is that tru or not. am i also able to swap in the 4age and still make it legal?

[Coomer]

Welcome to the board! I'd think that the 4A-GE would be illegal because it's a JDM engine, but I'm guessing that any USDM 3S-GTE(I'd strongly recommend the 2nd gen from an ST185 if you go that route, but then you'd have to change motor mounts and transmissions and stuff) would be legal. You could swap in the USDM 4A-GZE from a MR-2 probably though, because that engine is available in the US. I'm not completely sure about California laws however.

[celicagtpnoi]

I've actually sent emails to CARB (California Air Resource Board) about this. If you live in California, you are pretty much screwed as far as engine swaps go. In the state of California, you can swap an engine in your car that is the same year or newer. So you can swap a motor from a 1994 and up, but not the other way around. THat would eliminate the possibility of getting an older 4A-GE or a 3S-GTE from a 90-93 Celica All Trac. You would also have to keep all smog devices intact i.e. EGR Valve, 3 way catalytic converters (both of them), and both 02 sensors as well to pass the visual smog inspection. I have a 1999 Celica GT, so I am pretty much screwed as far as trying to do a legal engine swap.

There is hope for you however. You have a 1994 Celica. The MR2's were sold until 1995, I believe. You could try to find a 1994 or 1995 MR2 turbo motor and swap that in to your car as long as it is USDM and is for a California emissions car. Even if you do that though, you still won't be legal, yet. When you get a smog check you will fail, even with all the smog devices intact to pass the visual inspection. You will fail on the dyno because your emissions will be that of an MR2 turbo and not a Celica ST. In California, you must have an engine swap certification tag. If you swap a 94-95 MR2 Turbo motor into your Celica, you will have to go to a Smog Referee Station to have it certified. They will smog your car to make sure it meets the smog guidelines for that particular engine. If it passes
they will issue you a certificate and place a bar code sticker in the engine compartment of your car. That is your official notice that you are legal. When you get smogged again, the smog station will scan the bar code sticker to verify your legal engine swap and instead of your car being smogged as a Celica, it will be essentially smogged as an MR2 Turbo.

I hope that answers a few of your questions. Coomer, I think this may be worthwhile information to place on the website.

Joe
celicagtpnoi

[Coomer]

QUOTE (celicagtpnoi @ Dec 24 2002, 07:45 PM)

I've actually sent emails to CARB (California Air Resource Board) about this. If you live in California, you are pretty much screwed as far as engine swaps go. In the state of California, you can swap an engine in your car that is the same year or newer. So you can swap a motor from a 1994 and up, but not the other way around. THat would eliminate the possibility of getting an older 4A-GE or a 3S-GTE from a 90-93 Celica All Trac. You would also have to keep all smog devices intact i.e. EGR Valve, 3 way catalytic converters (both of them), and both 02 sensors as well to pass the visual smog inspection. I have a 1999 Celica GT, so I am pretty much screwed as far as trying to do a legal engine swap. There is hope for you however. You have a 1994 Celica. The MR2's were sold until 1995, I believe. You could try to find a 1994 or 1995 MR2 turbo motor and swap that in to your car as long as it is USDM and is for a California emissions car. Even if you do that though, you still won't be legal, yet. When you get a smog check you will fail, even with all the smog devices intact to pass the visual inspection. You will fail on the dyno because your emissions will be that of an MR2 turbo and not a Celica ST. In California, you must have an engine swap certification tag. If you swap a 94-95 MR2 Turbo motor into your Celica, you will have to go to a Smog Referee Station to have it certified. They will smog your car to make sure it meets the smog guidelines for that particular engine. If it passes they will issue you a certificate and place a bar code sticker in the engine compartment of your car. That is your official notice that you are legal. When you get smogged again, the smog station will scan the bar code sticker to verify your legal engine swap and instead of your car being smogged as a Celica, it will be essentially smogged as an MR2 Turbo. I hope that answers a few of your questions. Coomer, I think this may be worthwhile information to place on the website. Joe celicagtpnoi

Wow, that's very helpful information and it's very interesting to know. That's really too bad that California is so uptight about emissions and everything. Do you know if it would be legal to swap in a same year or newer JDM engine such as a AE111 Blacktop 4A-GE('96-'00), or does the engine have to be USDM?