Legality of a 16V swap...

I have a 1992 Jetta GL that has a blown engine, and a 1987 Jetta GLI

16V that has an awesome engine but a terribly rusty body. I'd like to merge the two and put the '87 16V in the '92 chassis. I'm in MD, and I'm not clear on the laws about emissions equipment and such. Would anybody even notice?

No reason why you can't, but it will still have to meet the emission standards. AFAIK the inspectors do not look for the existence of this piece of hardware or that piece of hardware, they just check emissions.

Anyone disagree?

I'm pretty sure this is illegal. That said, there are no inspections just emissions tests once you own the car. They technically are supposed to check for lack of a catalytic converter but I've never seen them do that. Most of the people testing the cars aren't very bright and probably don't know the law or what equipment came on what cars, so they probably wouldn't even know the difference.

Bottom line is, they are going to put the car on a dynometer and test it, and if your car meets 92 emissions limits, and your gas cap passes the pressure test, you pass.

snipped-for-privacy@gmail.com wrote: > I have a 1992 Jetta GL that has a blown engine, and a 1987 Jetta GLI > 16V that has an awesome engine but a terribly rusty body. I'd like to > merge the two and put the '87 16V in the '92 chassis. I'm in MD, and > I'm not clear on the laws about emissions equipment and such. Would > anybody even notice?

I'm pretty sure this is illegal.

************ What could possibly be illegal about swapping engines? We live in America, which is pretty close to a free country. You will have to have all your emission crap, if you live in a county/state that does those tests. ~ Paul aka "Tha Driver"

More children drown in buckets & pails every year then are accidently shot with a firearm.

Here in Mass., I asked that question about a 16V Scirocco I was considering putting a 5 cylinder Audi engine into. The guy inspecting the car said "I don't care what's in it. I put in the make, model, year, and number of cylinders. If it passes, fine. If not, it's your problem." I asked about the fact that there were no five cylinder Scirocco's. He just shrugged. I can't say for sure if that's the official postion, or it was just his personal opinion. But from the dozen or so cars I saw him inspect while waiting for mine to be done, that's exactly what he did.

- Bill

Sounds like he was just lazy.

Usually, although your state may vary, the car is subjected to the standards of the date of the chassis or the date of the engine, whichever is later. Shouldn't be a problem doing an engine swap. check your state DMV's site about emissions testing and it should say.

All of the original emissions equipment is required by law to be present, regardless of whether it is inspected. Similarly, the car would still be required to pass the emissions requirements of the year of manufacture not the engine. I have heard it is illegal to put an engine in the car that is older than the original. I don't know whether its true or not. Like I said, I think its highly unlikely most people inspecting the car would know other than a VW enthusiast, especially considering that the 2L

16V and 1.8L 16V visually look very similar and the 2L 16V was used in some 92 Jettas.

Being familiar with MD's emissions process, if you meet 92 emissions standards you shouldn't havec a problem. They certainly don't look under the hood and the people are too stupid to know what should be under there. Whether a state inspector notices or not is another matter or whether he cares (of course this is only applicable if you sell the car). The absolute most they'll do is check for a catalytic converter, and they rarely even do that especially if you pass emissions.

In NY any car OBD1 (pre 1996 usally) or earlier only has to pass a visual inspection. If it has a visible "cat" even a test pipe, and a muffler it should pass. My 92 Civic with a 93vtec motor, no cat(just a strait larger diameter pipe) and a strait muffler passes every time

-- ReDevil

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Your insurance company might be interested.

We have mandatory smog checks in parts of B.C., but all they care about is what comes out of the tailpipe. Your Jetta would be tested as a 1992. They don't care what's under the hood.

My 1986 Jetta GL sometimes fools them when they look underneath, 'cos it's one of the last made that didn't have a catalytic converter. It also has the MZ engine that's listed in the Bentley manual as "Canada only" - 1.8 litres, SOHC, hydraulic lifters, CIS injection, but intended for leaded regular gas.

Laura Halliday VE7LDH "Que les nuages soient notre Grid: CN89mg pied a terre..." ICBM: 49 16.05 N 122 56.92 W - Hospital/Shafte