Hi I was wondering how old does a vehicle have to be to be smog exempt in California?
Oh and just curious would there be smog pass problems if a 300L6 would be swapped to a 351 in a 84 f150?

 

I can answer your first question, smog exempt from 74 and older.

 

If the 351 you are swapping in has the same emission systems installed as by the factory in your year it should have no problem passing an emission test. Where it gets muddy is when you have a engine not listed for the year model and some times depending on the state can throw a red flag if the displacement does not match a viable displacement at the time the truck was new.

 

CARB smog ***** aren't going to play well with any swapped engine.

They are going to see everything specific to the VIN and accompanying emissions calibration code.

 

Amen. The VIN tells what engine it came with, and they know that.

 

Each state has it's own rules on smog testing & motor swaps so he really needs to check with his state or someone from that state that has done motor swaps.


My brother lives in CA and has done diesel motor swaps in gas body 4x4's but never asked what is needed for smog.
Dave ----

 

Year model 1975 and older is exempt.

IIRC, the 351W was an OEM offering in your vehicle. If so, we are good so far. It has to be installed exactly as it was offered in '84.

The wheels come off these if you use a newer engine. You may have to meet the spec on the newer item--if you put a '96 motor in, it has to meet '96 specs, including CEL, computer etc.

Back to 1984. IMO if you find a HO spec motor, this would be a worthwhile swap. Otherwise, the standard '84 numbers are pretty pathetic. We always talk about what a pooch the 360 or 351M motors were, but the 351W was just a bad in the day.

Engine_Specifications

Straight from the horse:

Engine Change Guidelines

IMO rebuild the six.

 

He has done these and passed a smog test? The older diesels are exempt, but your registration is going to ask for a test if it was OEM gas.

 

It used to be the year of the motor, so guys were putting in pre 1973 engines.

Then California changed it to the year of the car to get around that. IIRC

 

In California vehicles that are registered 1975 and older are exempt from smog regulations all vehicles that are 76 and newer are subject to smog regulations for the specific vehicle model and year and is required to have all components vacuum lines catalytic converters charcoal canisters everything that originally came with the vehicle the day it rolled out of the factory line

you can definitely do custom engine swaps in California but the engine you are using has to be the same year as the vehicle or newer than the vehicle you're putting it into and it also has to have all the emissions and smog components it was originally equipped with in the vehicle it came from Once you have all the equipment installed and tested to be compliant with the regulations you have to make an appointment with a California smog referee and they will visually inspect the vehicle and its components to make sure that it complies to the emissions standards from the vehicle it came from Once the Smog Referee inspects and confirms that the engine meets or exceeds the smog requirements for its year and has all the components needed from the car it was pulled from they will attach a new emission label sticker either to the engine itself or the radiator core support with the new vehicle engine group family number and emission standards information label so that future smog technicians have the required information needed to perform the correct smog for that specific vehicle

if you plan on doing an engine swap make sure it's the same year or newer than the car you're putting it in and you start with a complete donor vehicle to be sure you have all the correct emissions equipment because piecing that all together can get very expensive and take a lot of time to hunt down every piece to the puzzle it's ideal to just use a donor vehicle