A question not even DMV seems to be able to answer...
 

Just what precisely is the requirement for engine swaps? I have this 91 I4 Ranger in the yard and my 87 F truck with a V8 and another 302 block in the basement. The iron in the basement is out of a 68 Fairlane (I think Lenny posted a question about it somewhere) via a Mustang. The F truck is looking down the barrel of a loaded rebuild and the old lady says the Ranger either gets fixed or it has to go.

DMV took their time about answering my question and eventually sent me an EPA form letter saying the federal gov't requires same year or newer.

So. Do I need a 91 or newer mill or can I build the iron in the basement?

As long as you can pass emissions for the year of the truck who cares what engine is in it and how are they going to find out what year it is! IMO

That is correct. The question is where do you take your vehicle to get it inspected? If it is a by the book sort of place they will fail you if you put the older engine in. If the place just does the inspection on face value they will not know the engine is older then the truck unless they check the engine numbers and know the coding. :-yeahrigh I doubt that they would take the time to do that other then if you brought it to their attention. Otherwise I agree with Jason, who is going to know?? BTW, 1995 and older vehicles don't have to pass emissions. It is just a safety inspection.

incorrect for those of us downstate. vehicle must be more than 25 model years old to not be emissions tested and must pass.

JD - thanks for that correction. I forget you guys have different rules. Are you already doing the dyno inspections there? I know they want to roll that out across the state or least they have been talking about it.

benn doing them for a few years already unless the vehicle is awd. but i think they are going to be doing even those soon. more equipment for the shops to have to buy.

So stuffing that 302 mill into a once 4 cyl truck won't hurt? I know I'll have to change the title to keep it "all legal". I'd like to keep it legal. God knows we have enough other things to worry about, no?

I do have a place I can take it. The guy in question is a Toyota driver, but he's a good enough friend I won't hold it against him. He's also a good enough friend I won't ask him to do anything that could cost him his job (he works for a dealership) or cause him any other trouble.

Yeah it is all a scam. The shops have to buy their equipment from only one vendor that NYS has approved. No competition or need for the vendor to control costs. Those roller dynos will eliminate all the mom and pop shops which is a shame.

You might want to check it out with an inspection station to see what emmission equipment is required for that model year. All Inspection reports in upstate NY are now sent directly to Albany by computer at the time of the inspection, which is recorded with the VIN. As far as the vintage of the engine goes, you may be limited by the required emmission equipment. Maybe a swap from an F-150 or Mustang would be more do-able for you. A Ranger with a 5.0 Mustang engine sounds like an awesome ride!!! Ford made an F-150 Lightning with a similar setup. Good luck with your project, keep us posted...

sfd512

since it's pre-96, I don't think they even connect the computer (ODB) to the shop's POS (computer) and sent to DMV....

That's right. pre '96 or OBDII they just do a visual inspection of the emissions system for upstate.25 years and older and it's exempt but it's supposed to still be there. They just can't hold it against you if it isn't. like mine.:-X14
You highly doubt we'll ever see dyno testing upstate. By hooking up to the computer on OBDII they know the motor is within operating parameters. If it doesn't operate in that range it throws a code. That's all the dynos downstate are checking anyway. I'd bet the dynos go by the way of the dodo bird after many of the pre OBDII vehicles go to the scrapper and the shops make their money back on the dynos of course.