BAWC Forums

Chris GTO TT wrote: ↑Thu Oct 23, 2025 8:24 pm Sure if I had the skills and funds too. Also I'd have to be cool with tax dodging too.

Are you really tax dodging or just following the rules that are laid out?


Coop

It's 100% illegal

Chris GTO TT wrote: ↑Thu Oct 23, 2025 8:48 pm It's 100% illegal

So people just don’t get caught?


Coop

DCIV wrote: ↑Fri Oct 24, 2025 1:03 am

Chris GTO TT wrote: ↑Thu Oct 23, 2025 8:48 pm It's 100% illegal

So people just don’t get caught?


Coop

Plenty have been caught, but it's usually more of the super cars registered to 'fake' LLC's. Some places have setup task forces to seek out those fake LLC's. Basically every state has some legal requirement to register your vehicle in the place you reside. Creating an out of state LLC for the sole purpose of dodging registration fees and requirements runs a foul of those laws. The other complication is insurance. You're required to carry insurance where the vehicle is registered, and some insurance won't insure a vehicle registered to an LLC. Insurance will also question why you have a Montana business but live exclusively in another state and will likely deny a claim if it believes the vehicle is registered fraudulently.

im not entirely against paying the taxes and fees, when theyre within reason (california, seattle area, etc, are not). but i think another big part of it is avoiding emissions testing hassle.

IMO californias restrictions are entirely out of line. you cant ecoboost swap a starion but youre more than free to keep running the terribly emitting 80s tech junk. want to mpfi swap it and pout on a better cat? nope. put a new, modern engine? nope.

why not just test cars as needed per their year. if its modified add in a tailpipe test for obd2 vehicles in addition to monitor readiness. this can all be done and determined by the smog techs, no reason for a state ref.

Trust me I get both sides of the argument. It's not just tail pipe emissions though, it's evaporative, and crank case emissions. I love your faith in smog techs, but it's totally miss placed. They're usually all dumb as rocks. I had to actively convince one that one of my stock cars was actually stock. Another one took no joke 20 minutes to look up the carb eo number on the aem intake I had on my NB Miata, and he still didn't want to pass me.

The reality is they don't want that 80s tech on the street they want it to break, and cost so much to repair that you replace it. That's also bullshit because not everyone can afford to replace a car when an unobtainable emissions equipment device fails.

Our emissions are a necessary evil because without them our air quality was basically unbreathable. It's a product of our geography and the sheer amount of vehicles we have. I hate how hard it is to enjoy cars here anymore but I love having significantly cleaner air to breathe compared to when I was a kid.

evap and tailpipe are monitored by the pcm. when engine swapped the vin will return out of the pcm and test accordingly. swapped with a wiped pcm? fail. "control pack"? fail.

crankcase is also (on most vehicles) monitored through fuel trims. sure....MAP systems cant see it. this is why we would need at least a basic understanding to be certified to test. test the tester too. in your case consumer submits a complaint, tech gets contacted, interviewed, and retrained if needed. (if the vehicle owner is unwilling to participate in this process then the complaint is dismissed)

I think it makes perfect sense to swap a modern engine into an older car, but still require it to meet emissions requirements. Like if you want to put an LS3 into a Miata fine, but that LS3 has gotta have all the emissions stuff on it that it came with from the factory. Like no open breather valve covers etc., gotta have the PCV system etc.

aaronatstate wrote: ↑Fri Oct 24, 2025 5:27 pm I think it makes perfect sense to swap a modern engine into an older car, but still require it to meet emissions requirements. Like if you want to put an LS3 into a Miata fine, but that LS3 has gotta have all the emissions stuff on it that it came with from the factory. Like no open breather valve covers etc., gotta have the PCV system etc.

this is what im saying.

vr4 wrote: ↑Fri Oct 24, 2025 6:14 pm

aaronatstate wrote: ↑Fri Oct 24, 2025 5:27 pm I think it makes perfect sense to swap a modern engine into an older car, but still require it to meet emissions requirements. Like if you want to put an LS3 into a Miata fine, but that LS3 has gotta have all the emissions stuff on it that it came with from the factory. Like no open breather valve covers etc., gotta have the PCV system etc.

this is what im saying.

Oh I'm agreeing with you 100%

Like maybe you lose power doing it, but most vehicles have way more power than most people are ever going to use anyway. And even if they did use all the power, they aren't going to be doing so legally most likely...

I'm alright as long as it meets the cars original emissions specifications. Don't care about the motor.

https://www.facebook.com/share/1DYgEXaJL8/

That's tempting to offer 10k on.

I really think it's going to be an opel gt. She really wants one. Just need to find the right one and figure out how much work I really want to put into it.

Duck Vader wrote: ↑Sun Oct 26, 2025 5:08 pm https://www.uniqueclassiccars.com/vehic ... l-gt-coupe

That looks pretty nice

That looks really nice. I like the color.

How hard is it to find parts for them?

I like the Nova choice better. Nice nostalgic muscle, good room, and plenty of parts availability.

alienviking wrote: ↑Mon Oct 27, 2025 4:00 pm How hard is it to find parts for them?

Not as hard as you would think, but not like you can just pop over to the local auto parts store and be ok.