CARB-legal LS Swap - It can be done!

[motorheadmike]

Meh... just get the LT1: https://www.gmperformancemotor.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Category_code=ERODE

Or man up and get the little 327: https://www.gmperformancemotor.com/parts/17802827.html it is on sale!

 

[CaliWagon83]

Dang...That’s pricey. And I definitely don’t think the blown 327 is CARB-approved. LT1 is the plan if I can scrape together the funds. Might have to “settle” for an LS3. Oh darn. 🙄

 

[pontiacgp]

I was just looking into this recently. The junkyards are LOADED with truck 350s with TBI from the late '80s and early '90s, and at first glance it looks like there are plenty of aftermarket parts. But it turns out some items are already unavailable, for example the vapor canister and its solenoid. There are others, depending on the year. For all such you'll make do with what you can salvage at the yard, and when that supply dries up you'd better be ok with what you have.

From what I read the rules in California is that you can put an engine from a car into a truck but you cannot use a truck engine in a car. The reason being is the emissions on trucks are higher than the emission standards on cars

 

[CaliWagon83]

From what I read the rules in California is that you can put an engine from a car into a truck but you cannot use a truck engine in a car. The reason being is the emissions on trucks are higher than the emission standards on cars

Broadly, yes. Specifically, it comes down to GVWR. I know this because I was looking into doing an engine swap on my Avalanche. At first I was looking at an LSA, but found out it wasn’t possible, because the LSA was never approved for use in vehicles with a GVWR of over 7,200 lbs or something like that. That left me with the option of supercharging a “truck native” engine. Then better sense got the better of me, and I figured I’d leave it alone. The Regal will become the new money pit. 😀

 

[Clone TIE Pilot]

Broadly, yes. Specifically, it comes down to GVWR. I know this because I was looking into doing an engine swap on my Avalanche. At first I was looking at an LSA, but found out it wasn’t possible, because the LSA was never approved for use in vehicles with a GVWR of over 7,200 lbs or something like that. That left me with the option of supercharging a “truck native” engine. Then better sense got the better of me, and I figured I’d leave it alone. The Regal will become the new money pit. 😀

Also I think the LSA crate engine has a lopey non low emission cam that makes it non approved for smog era cars.

 

[CaliWagon83]

It was offered as OE in the ZL1 and CTS-V, so I think it’s smog-legal. In fact, I think the cam profile is relatively conservative. From what I’ve read, forced-induction engines like high-lift, low/no-overlap wide LSA cams, which usually give a pretty smooth idle.

 

[pontiacgp]

Broadly, yes. Specifically, it comes down to GVWR. I know this because I was looking into doing an engine swap on my Avalanche. At first I was looking at an LSA, but found out it wasn’t possible, because the LSA was never approved for use in vehicles with a GVWR of over 7,200 lbs or something like that. That left me with the option of supercharging a “truck native” engine. Then better sense got the better of me, and I figured I’d leave it alone. The Regal will become the new money pit. 😀

I didn't read where weight had anything to do with it, it was all about the trucks having higher emissions than cars.

 

[pagrunt]

Just think, there are Third World nations that wouldn't care what you put under the hood or how clean it runs. But the Peoples Republic of Kalifornia makes it hard to upgrade an older car to run a cleaner engine & to recycle what would just sit & rot.

 

[CaliWagon83]

Just think, there are Third World nations that wouldn't care what you put under the hood or how clean it runs. But the Peoples Republic of Kalifornia makes it hard to upgrade an older car to run a cleaner engine & to recycle what would just sit & rot.

 

[jiho]

From what I read the rules in California is that you can put an engine from a car into a truck but you cannot use a truck engine in a car. The reason being is the emissions on trucks are higher than the emission standards on cars

This is one more reason I need to call BAR and try to thrash a few points out. I've seen people claiming that they have legally swapped light-duty truck motors into cars in California, but I don't know anyone personally. And you are correct, for the example I gave (TBI 350) the tailpipe "cut points" are higher for the truck you pulled it out of, than for the G-body you are putting it into. The motor has all the emissions controls, but at smogcheck the truck's tailpipe can spew forth more pollutants and still pass, where the G-body would flunk. But the rules say that after an engine change, the car is subject to the standards that apply to the engine, not the car. Maybe it's the more stringent of the two? I need to call BAR and try to get a statement out of somebody.

I also need to inquire about this LS swap, in particular the EVAP problem. CaliWagon83 has been dodging the issue of just calling BAR to find out. Apparently he'd rather spend money on an E-rod than spend time on the phone with somebody at BAR. 😀

I also have another question for them. Many G-bodies had a factory option for the infamous Olds 350 diesel. My reading of the rules is that if your car had that option and you were nuts, you could swap that diesel in and just turn up at smogcheck, without going to a referee first to get a sticker, and you'd be good, they'd just send you on your way. I still find this hard to believe, and I want to ask BAR about that. Because if that's true, and it's also true that you can put a light-duty truck motor in your car, then presumably you could get a referee sticker on your G-body for a 6.2L Detroit Diesel out of a Chevy pickup.

But I seem to keep forgetting to call BAR, so I don't know when I'll have any answers....