California laws - IDI Engine - VWDiesel.net The IDI, TDI, and mTDI source.

• California laws by Possum79 on 28 Mar, 2008 20:57
• I just thought I would ask if anyone has gone through the process of getting a gasser and putting a diesel in it LEGALLY. Ive wondered about it and cant really find anything about it. Most who convert dont live in california and that makes it easy. :lol:
• #1 by dillenger1 on 29 Mar, 2008 03:18
• well i dont live in cali,but i do live in ohio.here you have to obey all emmission laws for the year of the vehicle,also you cant put a diesel in a car that didnt come with a diesel.So i follow older car newer engine,with diesels its kinda obselete,as they dont follow the same standards for emmissions,but here they will still test for petrol emmissions
• #2 by Possum79 on 29 Mar, 2008 11:59
• Hmm thats what ive been told here. Cant put anything older in a car. I knew the emmissions have to be the same but what about a diesel. I recon if the car came with one like a rabbit or golf or something you could do it. I was just wondering if anyone has and how tough it was to get it done.
• #3 by Gearhead on 29 Mar, 2008 15:46
• I'm in Atlanta, GA, and I'd like to put a 1.9TD or TDI in my '85 Cabriolet.  It just doesn't make sense that this was never an engine option. Those engines came in heavier cars.  In 2010, the Cab no longer has to pass emissions.  Ha ha.  I'm curious, too.
• #4 by Possum79 on 29 Mar, 2008 16:26
• So Atlanta does the go for so many years then you dont have to worry?
  
  California used to do that untill the terminator came in as governor. Now anything has to pass SMOG after the year 1975. sucks for everyone that has a 76 or 77 that now has to smog it always. I was looking forward to getting an old car and waiting for the emission law to go by me. now i cant.
   :evil:
  
  There still is certain places in CA that dont require smog and i know peope who register their cars there. Only thing is a technician told me that CA is going to make the smog soon.
• #5 by 914turboford on 29 Mar, 2008 22:37
• In California you can put any smog legal (epa approved) engine in any vehicle as long as the year of the engine is the same as, or newer than, the year of the car. An exception is you cannot put a heavy duty engine in a light duty engine. Don't put a Detroit 12V71 in your Civic. You can put a diesel in a gas powered vehicle. I've done it. My buddy has done it. In both cases we were checked at the DMV. The clerk said start it up. S/he said "yep, that's a diesel" and we received a new title with the precious "d" for fuel type in a couple of weeks. No smog check ever required again. Supposedly, you can be sent to the BAR referee but that is not very common from what I've heard. Everyone seems to think California is the worst but the more I hear about other states the more I'm pleasantly surprised about how things work here. My understanding is that smog counties in Nevada test everything, with no cutoff year. Got a 1909 Curved Dash Olds? You get to smog it.
• #6 by Possum79 on 30 Mar, 2008 08:14
• thanks for the info. Good stuff. My friend moved out to utah and he said where hes at they dont car what you drive you smog it.
• #7 by moldyoldy on 31 Mar, 2008 18:28
• I'm pretty sure things here in New York are about as screwed up as they are in California. NY is probably one of the most non-diesel friendly states around. You can no longer buy a new diesel car in NY - if I went to the VW guy down the block and said "I want a Jetta diesel wagon that gets like 50 MPG" He'd tell me, nope, sorry, can't get one. BUT if I go to the Dodge guy and say "Give me one of those Ram Charger pickups with the 24 valve twin turbo Cummings that gets 12 MPG on a good day" His reply would be - How many do you want, it's a truck, it's different.  HUH?   I asked at motor vehicle one time about the policy of engine swapping, and they said all you have to do is re-title it once you do it. Sounds waayyy too easy, especially given all the other clean air stuff we have going on. Maybe they figure, how many screwballs like me can there be out there, who'd go through the time and trouble to build his own car? I dunno, I have to look into it further before I start playing around. Of course, the easy way to avoid the whole mess is to just use a car that's 25 years old or older, then it's exempt.  I remember one time when my old Mercedes diesel still had to be smogged, I forgot to switch off the veggie-oil tank, and you should have seen the guy doing the test! He thought his machine was broken, because here was a diesel burning almost as clean (maybe cleaner) than a gas engine!
• #8 by Possum79 on 31 Mar, 2008 18:55
• I think I'm going to call in the next few days and see what the local DMV says. Sometimes they have no clue what's going on though.
  
  I don't have a car nor a spare engine to do this so it doesn't really matter. Haha.
  
  Being broke is not cool. :roll:
• #9 by Black Smokin' Diesel on 31 Mar, 2008 19:26
• Quote from: "Gearhead"

  I'm in Atlanta, GA, and I'd like to put a 1.9TD or TDI in my '85 Cabriolet.  It just doesn't make sense that this was never an engine option. Those engines came in heavier cars.  In 2010, the Cab no longer has to pass emissions.  Ha ha.  I'm curious, too.

  
  
  No diesel in the cabriolet is all about not having to smell the exhaust with the top down.
• #10 by Gearhead on 31 Mar, 2008 20:30
• Ha ha.. that's WHY I want a diesel in the cabriolet.  I'm thinking I should put a 5" miter cut stack through the hood and drop the top.  Ha ha ha!!!
• #11 by dieselsnowmobile on 01 Apr, 2008 18:19
• Why not just route the exhuast through the firewall directly into the cab? Then you would get that smell.  This is probably what you would do to that cabriolet.
  
  
  
  Photo-shopped, but but you get the idea.
• #12 by oldskool rich on 01 Apr, 2008 19:29
• in the UK we just dont tell anyone, just put it in, no one gets caught for that ***
  they too busy pulling over innocent speeders
  
  sum of my mates hav done there conversions in 1.3 petrol golfs just so they fall into a lower tax bracket :lol:
  
  i went cali last year, lovely place, but i dont get why they are so anti diesel :?
• #13 by VWCaddy on 01 Apr, 2008 22:12
• Contact you local referee station and ask them what they need to inspect.  I know a few folks who have done gas->diesel swaps in CA.  A lot depends on the referee, some just see the engine is a diesel and sign off on it.  Others are really picky.  One guy I talked to in San Diego did the swap on a Rabbit.  He even had to go so far as to get a diesel gauge cluster, since the one on the gasser had "Unleaded Fuel Only" over the fuel gauge.  Also had to get the "Diesel Only" sticker for inside the gas door and also you need the diesel filler tube and cap for the gas tank.