this will prolly sound like a noob question, but i am looking at an rb20 swapped, 1990 240sx. i looked at the nys inspection stuff but i got no definite answer. looking to hear from someone who does inspections or has gotten a swapped car inspected. Will it pass inspection? what is the deal w/emissions on a car from 1990? i just want to make sure it can be legalized and driven on the road.
thanks
You’ll be fine. 1996+ is when it gets hairy.
no emissions/engine check on pre '96 vehicles, as stated.
once you get into '96 cars, as long as the engine is as new or newer than the car you’re good.
rb20 240! nice, where at? 
technically yes, you’d have issues, in actuality, you’ll be fine… go nuts.
technically 1984-1996 are required to have all the emissions systems in place and not tampered with. However most inspectors dont look too closely.
its in PA. theres like no 240’s around here haha.
thanks for the responses guys. so the vibe im gettin here is that TECHNICALLY its not really legal but most inspectors will say eh, its 20 years old ill let it pass?
heres the set up: rb20 with stock turbo, no emissions equipment (obvously) and a three inch straight pipe. pretty simple.
i assume it would have a better chance of passing visual inspection or whatever if i at least slapped a cat on there?
again, thanks guys. i really want to make sure i can get it passed before i buy it.
You’ll need the cat and muffler or else it will fail.
so if i put on a cat+muffler they will overlook the swap and no emissions aspect?
no muffler needeed, not part of inspection (unless you live downstate)
hey man, ryan told me about you needing something… find me when you get the car here and well figure something out…
yea i was tellin him about it. youre the turbo escort guy right? im not sure i want to buy it if im not sure i can get it passed. you think id be able to get it on the road?
thanks, pm me about it if you want
theres also no power steering, and s14 rack. dont think this matters though.
if it came with it it does
AAHHHHHHHHH I HATE NYS REGULATIONS. it makes everything a pain in the ass.
No one is going to check the steering rack or power steering.
If it’s a pre OBDII car and post 1984 as long as the standard stuff works (lights, belts, ebrake, tires, brakes) and you have a cat you will be fine.
You are fine. Buy it and rock it out. No inspector is going to give you a hard time. Most of them will not even notice a swap was done. They just see an engine, and the ones that will notice what you have in there will not care.
lol @ this.
My 95 gsr has an obd2 LS motor with an obd1 LS Harness and i have a 98 GSR tranny
they dont care about motor swaps, just visual
depends where u go, some people wont care about not having a cat
you gotta be fucking kidding me, especially you pauly, you damn well know that all quick lube shops have no idea whats going on, if they cant sell you wipers or lights the car pretty much passes, fuck i remeber when we had to go through “training”, i took it for like 18 techs because they couldnt tell the difference between a piston and an EGR valve
god dont even get me started on tires, they barely know what 2/32nds mean or how to use the tire depth tool, and even if they do, some of the techs ive had to work with think the tires pass with chords showing through the sides as long as 2 consecutive tread lines are ok JESUS
some of my old managers that no longer work for valvoline used to tell me not to pull tires because “we cant sell brakes anyways and that doesn’t raise our NOCR (non oil change revenue”
basically to the OP, you can drop a helicopter motor in your car and no ones going to pop the hood or check anything at a quick lube as long as your wipers arent torn
/thread