Crate engines in CA?

[addicted2speed]

Is it legal to swap in a crate motor if you live in California? I know that if you swap in an engine it has to come from a CA emissions legal car that is the same year or newer than your car, but what about crate motors? I friend of mine has a '98 Mustang GT and is looking into swapping in a 302 crate motor from Ford Racing.

[PNG]

Hmm... Is the engine sold as a direct replacement part? I'm guessing that because it's coming from Ford Racing, it isn't. Legally speaking, unless Ford says it's a stock replacement PN, then it's not gonna be smog legal. Practically speaking, the smog check people aren't gonna tear down the new engine to see if it's got non-stock pistons, cam, and so forth. A particularly savvy ref might check the casting numbers on the block and heads, but I'm having trouble imagining a scenario where it gets that far.

Bottom line: if the car passes the tailpipe test, and appears to have all appropriate smog hardware and looks stock externally, you can probably get away with it. But unless the crate motor is a direct, catalogged replacement part number for the stock motor, then it's not a legal swap.

[addicted2speed]

Thanks PNG, that was similar to what I was thinking. Another friend of mine swapped in a crate motor in his 3rd gen Camaro a couple years ago and has had it smogged checked twice at two different locations and passed.

[Black306]

Originally posted by addicted2speed
I friend of mine has a '98 Mustang GT and is looking into swapping in a 302 crate motor from Ford Racing.
Nope, not legal. Even though the engine itself might be new and from the factory, the specific configuration of the motor (IE block, displacement, heads, intake, cam profile, smog equipment, etc.) must have been used in the same year vehicle or older. Meaning, since Ford never offered a 302 in a '98 Mustang, you cannot replace the engine with a '95-older spec 302.

Using a crate motor with a non-legal heads, cam, etc. is obviously not legal. :D

FYI: Since the Cobra R used a 5.4 quad cam in '00, you could legally use a Cobra R spec 5.4 in the '98. ;) (Forget the fact you can't buy a Cobra R spec 5.4. :( ...... Details. :D )