OK, a 20B is illegal in the USA. When you put one in your car, you are talking a risk that insurance will not cover you and that the feds may give you trouble. This is not an issue for many of you in a day to day operational sense, but what about in the case of an accident?

Now, if you were to modify a 4 banger and change out the OHC for DOHC heads does the open you up to the same insurance/fed problems?

If not, then under this same theory of modification of an approved engine, can you modify a 2 rotor - adding a 20B concentric shaft and another rotor housing and get away with it?

I would think not, but I do wonder if anyone looked into this?

 

I think there something in federal law that states that you can't modify your vehicle in any way. Theres also state laws that play into it all. Chances are an adjuster wouldnt care if you swapped a motor into your car, but getting extra money for the motor in case of an accident could be another story.

Simple answer to this is, No. This has been gone of a zicktillion times before.

 

And yet there is a company thats put jet engines into trucks and motorcycles and they are street legal. How does that work.

 

I am an insurance agent for farmers. I promise you can get it covered. It just costs more.

 

Don't get collision, comp, or any of that bullshit uninsured / uninsured crap.
Basic liability baby.

FC owners should be doing this in the first place.
FD owners are out of luck.


-Ted

 

Two words: trailer queen.

 

One word: Wrong

 

couldnt you just get collectors insurance if you really wanted to do it? i know they cover custom cars and highly modified cars. and my friends older brother had an r33 skyline gts-t and was rear ended. he told me that he actually made out on insurance because he had the car insured for 40k$. so what i got is that you can modify anything and insure it as long as you pay the bill. you could get your car covered for 100k$ if you wanted if you payed 5k$ a month for insurance. how else would those custom cars get insurance?

 

the 20b isnt epa certified, so its illegal. theres no real reason why you cant insure it though. although ted is right, if you've got full coverage on an fd, or even an fd at this point, ive got a bridge(port) to sell you.

this is totally different from putting dohc heads on a 4 banger, usually its an engine that was available here anyways.

your modifiying an approved engine thing doesnt work either, i had a 20b in my fc and nobody looked at it.

the difference between then and now is that the cops have a little book, and when they pop the hood of your 240sx they know how to find the SR20, basically its an instant ticket to go see the smog referee, and they have a book with engine and ecu numbers...

people are putting the KA's back into their 240's here, because they cant get away with the SR's anymore (they dont pass smog out the tailpipe, 20b will)

 

Look guys anything is legal just as long as you go about it the right way. In order to put a 20b into any engine bay everything in the swap has to be smog legal. Every sensor, every vacume, all the cats, everything has to be in good working order. Not only for the visual inspection but also the smog test. Everything has to be in running tip top shape. I have done this many of times without any problems. Just making sure that everything works on the harness was the hardest part of the whole deal. It also gets pretty pricie. But in the long run you don't have to worry about cops giving he/she a hard time about an illegal swap. When everything is said and done and the motor passes visusal and smog you will be given a ref stick that goes in on the engine bay for cops to verify.

 

You can't be legal with a 20B swap in california, other states yes, but not CA.

 

No, it's not.
The blanket rule from the DOT / EPA is that if the engine was not certified to pass FEDERAL emissions specs in the U.S.A., it is illegal, period.
The (Cosmo) 20B was never imported into the U.S.A.
The 20B engine is illegal to stuff into anything in the U.S.A. that will hit any U.S.A. street or highway.
You're breaking federal rules, period.
Now, if you get caught and enforced on those rules is a whole 'nother matter...


-Ted

 

How is it that cars imported into the US can be legal. There are a number of gray market cars that I have seen at local car shows that where legal, and thats in CA. I'm sure that they didn't convert to the US spec version of the cars engine, that is if there was one. I'm not just talking about japenese cars, Ive seen euro market only BMW's and others.

 

Yea, but I still woulnd't take the chance haha

 

That's exactly what the term "gray market" means...
The technicality is that if it's legal in one U.S. state, all the other states have an agreement that the car is legal in other states.
This is how you "wash" a title on one of those cars - enter the car in a state with relaxed car registration rules, and then transfer to another state...
But, go read up on the rules for DOT and EPA - if the car was never certified to enter the U.S., it is not legal to be driven on U.S. streets and highways (i.e. street legal).


-Ted

 

So does a gray market car thats been legalized have to pass smog?

 

"Smog" is a requirement of where you live and where you're trying to reg the car.
In Cali (where you life), then the answer is yes.
Down here in Hawaii, the answer is no.


-Ted

 

sort of. when you bring a car into the COUNTRY, the DOT, and EPA, both look at the car. DOT, looks at the bumpers, lights, etc, the EPA looks at emissions, if its not the same USA vs whatever you have, they actually do want to emissions test it. once its FEDERALLY legal, the state does whatever the state does.

thats the way you're SUPPOSED to do it, you can do it backwards and reg it with the state first (its easy in CA, they want $$), and get license plates, etc etc, but if the feds get wind of it, they will just come and take it, and then find the guy who brought it in...

so the GREY market cars, are just that. some are here on visitors permits, some are here because before the late 80's the rules weren't enforced/existing, and hev been grandfathered in, some are here because they actually have been thru the epa/dot/federal process and are actually legal.

 

Just did a little research. It seems that any vehicle of 25 years old is not subject to import restrictions. I was thinking of importing a 1974 Rx3. So based on that I shouldn't have any problems.

 

i was hoping that after i had the motor installed there would be a way for me to get it leagalized in a lengthy process through DMV and other agencies. It seems that theres no way around having a 20b in your car besides getting a fake smog certificate for it, and hoping you dont get pulled over. problem is if you get a test only station request, or DO get pulled over then you are in serious trouble. any thoughts on having a 20b swing in CA? i know you had one in your car for awhile... is it still in there? if you have any hints or tips that are not appropriate for the general public please feel free to PM me. im really distressed about everyhitng since ive dumped so much $$ into this car so far.

BTW did you used to work at the mazda dealar in san jose by any chance? i was in there and talking to the guy at the parts counter about my 20b, and he said an employee that used to work there had a white FC w/ a 20b in it. i live in oakland but i just happened to need a oil cap and saw the S.J. mazda so i popped in. just wondering if that was you he was talking about. -heath

 

Yep, sounds like j9...

My suggestion?
Move from CA.


-Ted

 

Register your car in another state that doesn't have smog. Or get a Mail box, from a service that FWDS mail in an area of CA that doesn't have smog. There is a map on the DMV website, most of CA going by landmass dosent have smog. Some states will even let you register by mail without ever seeing the car.

 

yep, thats me, we're up in redwood city now...

the 3 rotor is a funny situation, most smog guys dont know what to look at/for, and if they did the 20b HAS the same smog equipment as everyother rotary mazda, so if you made it pass out the tailpipe (a stock jc cosmo will) then you can have your smog cert.

the trouble is the engine is STILL not really supposed to be in the car, in reality the chances of getting caught are small, as nobody really knows, and nobody really cares too much. its different if you're doing an SR20/240sx, cause those guys are the ones taking down light poles with their mad skillz!

i sold my 3 rotor, i had a troublesome e11, and it left me stranded too many times, and also i really didnt feel like spending the money to put a 3rd ecu in the thing (i had an e6k before that...).

 

yeah im not really worried about the local smog guys (im friends with the smog guy near my house, and as long as im passing smog he wont care whats under the hood). the real issue is when i get sent to a test only station. they WILL care and most likely will notice, so im not sure what to do in that situation.

people suggested getting it registered out of state, or in a county "far far away" but if i get pulled over and have my name and address on my licence, and then have my name and kentucky on my car, it may also get quite ugly. really the only solution i can think of is become VERY good friends with a test only guy.

PS was that the e11v1 or the v2? i seem to recall a bunch of people way back when overheating, and or frying their e11's. was the 20b really just not worth it to continue to persue ECU options? just wondering.

 

Another thing you can do if you can stand to not drive your car for a month. When you get the renewal notice to smog in the mail, sign a declaration of facts to the the DMV saying that you plan to be out of state with the car untill after the registration is due. You have to provide the with an address to send the tags to out of state. This should buy you 2 more years.