Some of you may have seen my thread for my 1991 Z28 LS1 swap, if not look at my other threads. http://www.thirdgen.org/techboard/lt...-z28-swap.html (LS1 1991 Z28 Swap) I am in the Army and they are sending me recruitering. I am going from Texas, to California in a few months. I know I can keep my car registered in Texas, what I dont know is if California will make me go through their emissions testing. Anyone? I have thought about selling my car, but there is no way I would get what I want out of it, so here are my other questions; What do I need from a 2002 Camaro to make mine emissions legal? I was told I would need the fuel tank from a 1998, and then turn my emissions back on in the computer, what else? I know it runs well, and clean, would it pass an emissions test with only a catalytic convertor? Is it 20 or 25 years old that you no longer need to worry about emissions on a vehicle due to its "classic" status?

in california it was 30years, but they stopped that in 75 i think, so all vehicles 75 and newer must be smogged. you need all emissions equipment in check from the donor vehicle.
You will only have to smog it if the vehicle becomes registered in california.

Thanks for the prompt reply, I guess I dont need to worry about it until I get out of the Army. I think I will go ahead and start getting the missing equipment. I just need to figure out what those things are...

If you don't say anything about what you put in there, and if it passes the sniffer test and SES light, I'm sure there are some shops that won't care about the visual check.

What is an SES light? Thanks for the heads up, I need to put my egr hoses back on....

Actually, I should have said to make sure you don't throw any codes, which will turn the check engine/service engine soon (SES) light on.

And do a pretest before the actual smog check. If you don't pass the actual, you have to go to the smog ref. A pretest (which is the actual smog test without being entered into the computer) will let you know if you pass or not.

Last I remember, if you're active duty, you can register the car in your home state, & drive it indefinitely in whatever state you're stationed in - as long as you're active duty. (Of course, it's been a while since I've had to worry about that too...)

Might be worth checking out - if that's still the case, it could save you some money & hassle...

I seem to recall while wandering around So Cal recently a discussion about requiring emissions in order to get a base permit for the car.

Could be wrong, though.

I know some people who can hook you up with smogging it.

I will keep that in mind if I retire in Cali, I only have 8 years left, and hope to finish my time recruiting, I am tired of being deployed! Thanks

When I did the 2002 LS1 swap in my '84 T/A I went through the hassle of getting it certified so it was legal.

go here for contact info:

http://www.arb.ca.gov/html/contact.htm

they gave me 4 rules to follow:

1- has to be the same year or newer engine.

2- only a car engine into a car. truck engine into a truck

3- has to have and use all smog equipment from donor vehicle.

4- if it's a "50 state" (california emmision) then it requires a "50 state" engine.

When I went to the state referee the guy and his monkey apprentice went over my car with a fine tooth comb. they used mirrors to check underneath, they asked questions, they plugged equipment up I've never seen ,etc. it was a long drawn out (nerve racking) experience. Then, they failed me because I didn't have a factory "oem or carb approved" intake and I didn't have my check engine light within driver's view.

So, I ended up using the intake from a 2004 GTO since it's an LS1 factory intake and it was the only thing that was close to fitting. I also relocated the check engine light to the factory spot in the dash (my wiring harness was from Speartech and he had an LED next to the data link port which I had in the engine bay)

the referee also warned me about my exhaust that "legally" anything with the emmisions equipment can not be altered/ modified. We all know this is impossible to not modify the exhuast to make the LS1 work in a third gen.

I finally got it passed, so it is legal. Then, I sold the car recently so I'll never know the joys of actually trying to smog it.

It pissed me off that I went through the extra expense and effort to try and comply with the laws and they made it difficult for me. It would have been much cheaper/ easier to just smog it illegally. There isn't much incentive to do it legally, imo.

good luck.

I'm all for clean air. But failing because of your intake manifold? These people must have no souls.