older motor in newer car

I've got an old fj20et that I'm planing on rebuilding and ive been thinking about putting into a newer nissan chassis (s13/s14/z32?) Is that legal for street use and if it isn't, is there anyway around it?

Also im NC

Sure, go for it! I'm sure it all depends on if you have smog requirements down there. Here in SE Virginia we don't have that, so it wouldn't matter. If I were you, though, I'd put that motor back in your s12 where it belongs! Your car is sweet!

Thanks for the kind words but it isn't so much anymore : ( its in ruff shape and tbh I'm looking for a new chassis to swap into... I wanted another clean s12 chassis but they are kinda few and far between... F kinda feel like a clean s13/14 would bee easier to come by and less complicated to set up suspension wise...

I dunno I'm not really sure about any of it lately

Yeah, if the s12 is toast I would say look for an s13. I bet somebody has done that swap already...it would definitely be unique! I don't know if I'd put it in an s14 or a z32 (too heavy), but the s13 would be cool.

Federally speaking, it's illegal to swap an older engine into a newer car.

On the other hand, it's also illegal to swap a newer engine into an older car if you don't use all of the emissions controls from the newer engine, and I don't see too many LS1-swapped older cars that have a functioning evap system, so...

Yeah I've heard the whole no older motors into newer cars but i do recall a c5 vette that had a carbber 502... Looked clean so i have no idea if new or not but i thought 502s were old caddy motors?

I dunno, i love the s12 but I'm willing to bet my s12's chassis has been comprimised at some point and i feel there's no point putting the fj into a E36 M3 chassis, even if its a euro car... Im kinda past that really meaning anything tbh... Its just a few different parts.

Maybe use a e36 318is? :D

VG30_S12 wrote: Yeah I've heard the whole no older motors into newer cars but i do recall a c5 vette that had a carbber 502... Looked clean so i have no idea if new or not but i thought 502s were old caddy motors?

500s are Cad engines, 502s are GenV/VI Chevy engines. At least, some of them are. Upping the displacement of a regular 427/454 is trivial, we won't even think of building an engine under 496ci anymore since a stroker crank costs the same as a standard stroke, and pistons is pistons. Lotta big-blocks in the 540-632ci range out there.

And yes, what's legal and what people actually do is two separate things. Most of the enthusiast-modified cars out there break Federal laws, they just don't go after the people who do it.

Even putting a "8200" (Gen V/VI 502)from a GM pickup, correct computer, smog controls and all, into a C5 would be illegal, since that engine was never type-certified for passenger car use.

I know some places are strict, but from what i did find that NC is fairly lax on its car modification restrictions...

Short of the twin AA-12 rotating turret i wanted to put on the roof of my Jeep ZJ ;D

As long as its older than 1996 your fine in NC.

What I found here in Charlotte was that when they saw the newer engine in mine ('82 Volvo powered by '91 5.0L Mustang HO) they ramped up the visual inspection that they're supposed to do as part of the safety inspection. So they were looking for catalytic converters, etc. This probably depends on who actually does the inspection. If the vehicle is pre-96 (OBDII) then they're supposed to do a safety inspection and a 'visual' inspection on the emissions equipment. If the vehicle is OBDII equipped, they simply connect to the diagnostic port and check for error codes. If there aren't any, they assume that all systems are controlling emissions as they should be.

VG30_S12 wrote: I know some places are strict, but from what i did find that NC is fairly lax on its car modification restrictions...

Yeah, Federal is one thing and state is another. My state doesn't seem to care what you do as long as you have lights, isn't terribly obnoxiously loud, and the car meets emissions if under 25 years old. (Unless you lived in one of the 80 counties without enough industry to fail Federal clean-air guidelines, in which case they don't care about that either) People drive sand rails on the street, so they must not worry about windshields or fenders/mudflaps or anything like that. (And yes, I thought of it)

Here in Michigan we have only one law. If you can screw a license plate to it, it's legal.

No kidding. Up there, I got pulled over for loud exhaust after the silencer fell off somewhere, and the officer and I ended up talking about cars and racing and stuff. No ticket.

He didn't even care that, just before he flipped on his Charger's party lights, I was sailing at a tad north of 80...

Incidentally, a Charger tailgating you is the second most E36 M3-inducing sight ever. They're way more badass looking than the P71 could ever hope to be. #1 is the new GT500, and God help us all if they turn those into police interceptors.