Does it matter what year engine you use for the conversion in New Jersey? I am converting a 91 Miata and just looking at options

 

Hello Jonbon88,

I think NJ has the same rules as many other states regarding engine swaps. The rule is: the engine must be at least the same year or newer than the car into which the engine is going.

I don't think the inspection people will grind you down about the year of your engine, they just want to see that your car is safe and passes all of their tests. However, when you register the car, say nothing about performing an engine swap to the Division of Motor Vehicles (DMV), otherwise your life will be filled with a great deal of missery.

Your car will need to pass the smog test as well as the entire NJ inspection process (it's not as bad as it may sound). I think the inspection people can fail you if they notice any emision control devices are not hooked up (even if you pass the "sniff" test), but most of the inspectors are not well-versed in identifying every emission component on every make of car. But don't give them anything to trip you up such as a missing belt to a smog pump. And make sure you DO NOT have any illuminated warning lights on the dashboard; that gets you an instant spanking by the folks at the inpection center. And make sure your emergency brake is working.

My experience in this matter comes from a friend who helped me with some construction on my house. In 2008, he was building a Factory Five Cobra kit car. He got himself into a pickle with registering the car because his engine was a 1990's 5.0 EFI Ford out of a Mustang and the Factory Five Cobra was manufactured in 2008. I'm 99.999 percent sure he had to pass 2008 emissions standards. Where he got himself twisted in knots was with the DMV because he was trying to put an older engine in a newer car. I think he needed to produce paperwork indicating his engine was out of a car made in 2008 or later. I also think he took two attempts to pass emisions.

Good luck and I hope your build goes well,

Lawrence (Plainfield, NJ)

 

Thanks for the informaton. I actually was able to contact someone at NJ DMV inspection department. They basically confirmed what you said about the year being the same or newer and all the existing emission equipment in the vehicle must be operational. That was pretty much it. I'm due for inspection in Oct. 2012 so I'm planning to have the car inspected with the 4 cyl and then do the swap. It will buy me a little time before I have to deal with the inspectors.

 

Yes, it does matter. Your engine is important.