is a b16 in a 92 integra legal?

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nocturnalspirit

New Member
i have a 92 integra with a b16a swap my situation is im going to UTI and the place is always packed with cops rumors are they are cracking down harder on the students than before today a guy got his 97 integ towed at lunch for a "illigal swap" but the real reason remains unknown i dont speed or street race or anything but i need to know if this swap is illegal in california because i cant afford to have my car taken its my daily driver/commuter and a pretty decent ride so if anyone can help me out with this i would very much appreciate it.
 
god that almost sounds like a football penalty (i.e. lame cop reason for dicking people over); wtf could be illegal if it's under the hood and passes emissions - oh and isn't stolen??
 
I'm pretty sure the engine has to be the same year as the car or newer. If you're running an engine that's older than your car, then it's probably not legal, regardless of the emissions equipment. I think that's technically true everywhere, but most states (especially the ones that don't even test emissions) aren't gonna check.

If you're somewhere like California though, then yeah, it's probably not gonna fly...

Another reason why Cali sucks?
 
engines clean, not stolen and came with the car from a jdm 95 del sol its realy nice and dependable. its not even an emmisions issue its just a cop issue (i just threw a cat in 2 weeks ago to smog and passed with flying colors) im not trying to get my well invested project thrownaway by some asshole cop who needs to meet a quota. iv started noticing how hard it is on the honda tuners never had any problems with my dsm almost 400hp but never any problems with cops its realy a shame to see all the potential thrown away because of some b/s state laws
 
Well, I don't think you'll have any problems as long as the motor is the same age or newer than the chassis and you passed smog. You should be fine with a 95 motor. I can't think of any reason they would have to give you crap about it.
 
yeah same year and up for the motor and it is legal. here in ny, well nyc you can get pulled over for basiclly driving a honda in the wrong parts. then if the motor is stolen, car impounded and other legal difficulties. you should be good just dont attract attention
 
Yea, fuckin Cali man.....smog and all that bullshit. My car won't pass smog, so I kinda had to get a fake one done. I'm in San Diego, and luckily I haven't seen too many cops around. My swap is a boosted B20B in a 97 Civic, and I heard that if I get pulled over that they could take the car and crush it. Well, I haven't got pulled over yet, so I dunno, we'll see, lol. I guess I'll just have to be careful, but I live on a military base, so I do most of my driving on base anyway, and MP's don't know shit about the swap, or care probably.
 
AS long as you have vids on the motor and tranny recipets for parts ec and pass SMOG tell cops it is a XSI comes with a b16 vtec DOHC
 
iv heard cops have been getting special training to be able to tell the difference between a swap and stock unfortunately this motor is a 95 in a 92 body and not legal from what i hear like in San Diego iv heard the same stuff about possibly having my car crushed but i have heard theres a way to legalize a swap through B.A.R. referee and getting a C.A.R.B. sticker to legalize the swap ill look more into it and let people know thanks for the feed back guys i guess ill just be careful till i find a solution :ph34r:
 
well from what i know, like you guys stated, must be same year or newer motor, also satasifying what i heard; must be same OBD spec or newer.

they also check VIN numbers. that's how they tell. (duh? ;)) you can't just tell them it's an integra xsi (well you could, but u better hope they take your word), cuz when they run the paper work like they should, they send in the VIN and it tells what motor it's supposed to have. these charts are even freely available on wiki, if u didn't know. further, if the VIN on the body doesn't match the VIN on the motor, it's also suspectable.

now i can't say for certian if it's having different VINs period, or having a reported stolen VIN that gets you arrested, but my suggestion is go to the DMV, or the police station, or a court house, and ask. if you want to be 100%, you can't just go from hearsay.
 
Bah say screw it. IF the cop tow's your car away sue them... They have no right to pic on your car just because say 1 year ago you blew the orignal motor and got a swap... I find that plain hurassment. I don't see any of the newer cars with older motors getting pulled over... sigh*

CA suck!
 
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