Would a 1970 Pinto with a RB26 motor be street legal? I know 1975 and older cars are "smog exempted" but I am unclear as to the extent. Since RB26 motors were never used in an production vehicle in the US, would the motor be street legal in a smog exempt car?

 

You want the "technical" answer or the "in practice" answer?

"technical" : not legal

"practical" : legal, since they never smog it unless there is a change of ownership.

So in real terms, this means that you're fine as long as you don't try to sell it to someone else in the state of CA

 

Smog exempt vehicles are exempt from smog tests.. even with a change of ownership.

 

I think I found the answer: no.

http://www.championmotorcars.com/ca_smog.htm

 

It's like impalla said, it's not legal unless it is a motor originally available in that car (i.e. you intall a 454 motor which was available as an option, into a 73 vette that originally had a 350). If you use anything else it is not legal, technically. However, since you will never have to take the car in for smog checks, you can get away with it since no one will ever find out.

-Chris

 

Not exactly. Any motor as long as the motor was unmodified and was available in a road legal car in CA.

 

yes I just went through this on my 75 Spitfire,

no smog ever, not for change of ownership, and they stopped the rolling 30 years at 1975(w00t!) and it will likely not get any newer from here on out.

but there a big BUT

Your car can still not be identified as a possible gross poluter, meaning visible tailpipe emmision, or you could be sent to a ref, at which point you will have to pass emmisions aplicable to that model year, sigh, its all a bit confusing ...

 

Do the conversion and register the car as being non-driven. You'll be able to use it on the track which is the only place you'll probably want to drive an RB-powered Pinto good luck!

 

I'm sorry, but RB26 and Pinto in the same setence made me laugh out loud
I didn't think such a mating was physically possible!

 

I remember reading about a couple of guys who stuffed an 84 mercedes 300D with a big block chevy and were tooling it around. Since it's a diesel they would never have to smog it.

 

I wonder how this conflicts with the laws that weigh the cost to fix the polluter vs the year it was made. In 1990 I had a '74 Datsun B210 that couldn't pass smog, but the cost to fix it was more than some law said I should have to pay to fix anti-smog parts on a car of its age. So my car became exempt, ordered by a ref.

jason

 

But you had the stock motor. If you had swapped the engine out for a SR20 or something, you'd have to bring the engine into compliance, I suspect. The laws are dumb.

 

I'll ask one of my buddies today. I know there's some loophole. He has a 70 Bronco with a supercharged 98 cobra motor in it and he says it's still exempt.

 

i think the point here is: once you have exemption status....