Moving to California... what to do with the Miata?

As the topic says, I've recently landed a pretty cool job in Southern California. I currently live in the land of unfetterred vehicular freedom which is South Carolina. Having grown up in California, I'm familiar with the smog check, CARB EO, modification nazi rules and so I'm looking for some suggestions. My Miata... will not pass California inspection. Relevant specs:

95 Miata, 03 VVT swap, MS3, EFR6258 turbo, 3" exhaust (no cat), no charcoal can or EGR. Mostly a track car at this point but I keep it reg/ins for mountain drives and occasionally putzing around town when the weather is nice. Cruising around the SoCal beach scene and up CA-1 would be a bucket list item, but I also have a motorcycle that would work equally well. 

My options:

* Sell car :(

* Ship it over, deregister, throw in a catalytic convertor (I've been meaning to do this anyway), just drive it on track 

* Leave it registered at a friend's place in SC - how illegal is this? 

* Swap stock 03+ intake and exhaust over, cap oil+water lines, reconnect EGR and charcoal every other year - this car is pre-OBD2 so the fact that it's got a megasquirt shouldn't matter? What else am I missing for smog passage? I'm guessing unless I become good friends with a guy, a disconnected intercooler might give an inspector some pause? 

You wouldn't need the cat if you're just driving it on the track.  But I'd applaud you doing it all the same. 
 

even pre obd2 can't have anything not carb-legal changed so your ms would cause a fail. 
 

having a connection would solve the problems, yes. 
 

keeping it registered out of state is not legal but it happens a lot.   If you get pulled over you'd have to convince the officer of a good reason you have a ca drivers license and an out of state car, or that you haven't been here for more than ___ days (might be 90?) and are planning on leaving the state within that time frame. 
 

I'd suggest making it smog legal or buying one out here that already is. 
 

de register and make track car or sell it..  everything else is a lot of work.

I don't see much point in adding a cat if you were going to go "PNO" (planned non-operation) and use it the track only.  The lifetime of a cat would be very short in that environment (turbo, lots of boost, 12:1 or richer, lots of WOT operation) and even during that short lifetime it's only going to be of limited effectiveness.

CA law requires registering vehicles within a couple weeks of getting here and if/when they figure it out they'll charge you back registration plus a ton of late fees plus the ticket itself.

I don't know of anything illegal about having a disconnected intercooler hanging in the bumper.  It might cause a smog guy to check extra close, but it shouldn't fail a car by itself.  Note though that OBD1 does not mean it's legal to swap the ECU, just that most of the functional tests won't find it if you do.  If the inspector sees the megasquirt it will still fail the visual.

To be legal with the motor swap you need to transfer everything smog-related that came from the donor car, this includes the stock 03 ECU.  You also need to get it certified by the smog ref, and after that they attach a sticker and it gets smogged as if it's a 2003 instead of a 95.  That said, I know of people who've run swapped motors and just relied on the tech not looking too hard at something that looks OEM.

Gotta have all the emissions stuff from the newer engine, including OBD2 if that's what it came with.

Either non op the car and make it a track only car or sell it.

I can't comment on the difficulty of making the car pass in California but I can encourage you to try your best to keep the car. That car would be awesome to drive around the canyons of SoCal and it sounds like you have modified it to your liking. Good luck either way with the decision and move across the country.

If you add the EGR and Cat, do you have any reason to suspect it won't pass the sniffer?

I'm thinking you could add the cat, the EGR and the canister to pass visual, then take it to a referree for an engine change recert.  It's a 95, so they don't do a plug-in, just a visual and sniffer.

Otherwise, the fact that it's a newer engine is good.  I have found CA smog referrees to be very much on the side of logic instead of dotting I's and crossing T's.  I had lenghty discussions with referrees when I worked at the custom shop.  We would often get 70s cars for customization and they were very forgiving.  I had planned a Viper V10 in my 96 Impala, and he specifically gave me authorization to more or less shove the V10 in front of the Impala Cats and not worry about all the technical stuff like using the Viper's charcoal canister and air filter.  He was pragmatic about it knowing that those ancillary devices don't really amount to a hill of beans.... and that was on a 49-state car.  He didn't care.  I registered that OBD2 car for 7 years in Los Angeles, and no one batted an eye.  Plug in, no CEL.  Sniff, pass.  Visual, yup.

I would say that a phone call to a CA referree might be in order.  If it looks like you can get it registered there, take it with you.  If not, sell it in SC and get another toy in CA.  They're plentiful, rust-free, and cheap out there..

Welcome back ! 

I've moved in and out of CA 5 times during my adult period. I've also imported European cars into the USA while living in NorCal. I'm also attempting to do a motor swap and comply with CA rules. Sounds like you have the situation well understood. I'm not a Miata expert but the amount of changes you have in the engine bay sound like enough that even a "car guy" BAR referee would struggle to look the other way. Here's some thoughts:

What's the downside of trying to get it to pass - but then fail and have to sell the car? I see ads like that occasionally - you wouldn't be the first.

There are lots of out of state vehicles - especially in SoCal due to military and large flux of people moving in/out all the time. It is not going to stand out around here if you have South Carolina plates and up to date tags. On the other hand...

I had a car with Oregon plates and tags when I lived in NorCal and eventually one of my apartment neighbors (probably) ratted me out to the DMV. On the other hand...

I know several people who either keep vehicles with out of state plates or who revert their engine bay back every 2 years for the smog check and they never seem to get busted.

So maybe bring it with you and have S Carolina tags as fresh as you can get. Keep it that way forever or until you are "caught or ratted". Attempt to change things and see if you can pass. This will be months/years down the road and you will have had time to do your bucket list drive up the 1. Good luck! 

Edit: getting caught years after you have moved is not as big a deal as others are making it sound. You just tell the DMV that the car was in storage up until a few weeks before you were caught.

I'd sell in SC.  Some "work arounds" have been discussed but if the work arounds fail when you are in CA you will be left holding the bag on a car that then has little value in CA due to its difficulty to sell to anyone else in CA.  

Example.  Leave it registered in SC but drive in CA.  
Now, you are in CA with a car that you can not easily sell to anyone else living in CA.  You'd might have to keep it forever or take a huge loss on the sale.  I'd sell in SC for full value.  You also save the dollars of moving the car to CA.

Sparkydog said:

 

I had a car with Oregon plates and tags when I lived in NorCal and eventually one of my apartment neighbors (probably) ratted me out to the DMV. On the other hand...

Last 19 years, all my cars have been registered in Montana or Oregon.  Due to OR/MT plates being used by us tax dodgers, the CA CHP created the tattle law, which your neighbor probably knew about... 

https://sacramento.cbslocal.com/2017/07/12/california-out-of-state-plate-crackdown/

Here is the cheater website for reporting:

https://www.chp.ca.gov/notify-chp/chp-reg-(out-of-state-registration-violators)

If you're not going to revert back to stock for smog I would sell it and buy another out here. Having a fun car like that and not being to use it on the roads out here would drive me crazy. They're built for Miatas 

edit: there are some unicorn carb legal FI kits for various cars. I was looking hard at FMs supercharger kit for the NC when I was shopping those. It just seems much less stressful to me to buy something legal out here and add legal bits to make it what you want. No tickets, no fines, no anxiety. 

What is the car's value in SC as a mostly track car vs what is it's value in CA as a track only car?

Is your standard of living going to increase due to your dream job in CA?

Do you own a tow vehicle and trailer?

Do you have a place to store a trailer and car at your new digs in CA?

My first instinct is to say just sell it and get something that is compliant in California.  Now if you're not going to take a hit financially,  already have a trailer, a place to store the trailer and a place to store the car, then I would keep it.

Sell its where its legal and buy something else in California that is legal there.

  If you try to sell the illegal car in California you will lose.

Otherwise you would be like an American trying to bring his Remington 1100 semi-auto shotgun to Australia.  Ain't gonna happen.

In reply to mr2s2000elise :

Does having that out of state registration put you in a potential bad place with your insurance company? Effectively you're declaring the vehicle is based in Butte Montana and pay much lower insurance rates.

Bring it with you, build it into an exocet, SB100 and you're good to go!

It's probably not worth trying to get it fully legal and smoggable - I'd be tempted to try out of state plates but the downside is gonna be pretty bad if the hammer gets dropped on you. 

Thanks for all the input guys... Too bad Supermiata S2 never took off, the car is basically perfect for that series, and was located in socal. No idea what turbo Miata track toys sell for otherwise.

The megasquirt is in the stock ECU location, which is behind the passenger seat and under the carpet. Not sure why anyone would bother to look there in a pre-OBD2 car but I guess it could mean trouble. Swapping the turbo/exhaust and intake out could be done in an afternoon - not that much work. I'm sure it'd pass the sniffer. I'm not sure what other visual things I'd get in trouble with if the stock intake and exhaust are there, as well as the charcoal and egr? Just tell him I'm running the 1995 ECU? 

I do have a tow vehicle, and wherever I move in socal, a garage is a requirement. Not sure what the value would be in California, but out here I doubt I'd get $8k for it. I'd probably be better off parting it out and selling the straight shell to a spec miata racer. There would be something serendipitous about bringing it back to California - I bought it there when I was in college. 

What kind of clothes should you put on before jumping out of a pan into a fire? Uhhhh... sell it. There is a big reason why more people leave California than move to it, and if you're one of the ones moving IN, that means you can probably just buy another fun car once you get there (or two, or three).  

Hey, if you buy a house from someone over there and they say they're planning to move to San Antonio Texas, do me a favor and tell them it's a E36 M3hole. ​​​​​​​

Rons said:

In reply to mr2s2000elise :

Does having that out of state registration put you in a potential bad place with your insurance company? Effectively you're declaring the vehicle is based in Butte Montana and pay much lower insurance rates.

 

No different than snow birds and all military personnel ... 

when insured via LLC, insurance company is clearly told vehicle is not primarily driven in registered state. 
 

to clarify, not Butte, but rather Flathead Lake

OK you have a tow vehicle, trailer and place to store a race car, lots of people in CA own track only cars not a big deal.

Next how much track vs street driving will you do? if it's a 90/10 ratio then just keep it as a race car. If it's 50/50 then get something else.

If it's a 8K car in SC and only a 4K in CA, do you care about the 4K? My answer on this is I'd eat 4K if the car is well sorted and I liked it.

to get the smog  check it first needs to pass visual inspection  , and its not going to !

it does not matter if it passes the sniffer test , you are not going to get that far  , 

and you have to do this every 2 years ,  and sometimes every year if the DMV computer decides you might be a gross polluter ......we have a 87 Nissian hard body truck that has to be smogged every year , 

Hate to say it but sell it back there ,   you cannot legally sell it in California if it does not pass smog , 

Hey but the weather is nice , 72F and sunny right now

Good Luck

Tom1200 said:

OK you have a tow vehicle, trailer and place to store a race car, lots of people in CA own track only cars not a big deal.

Next how much track vs street driving will you do? if it's a 90/10 ratio then just keep it as a race car. If it's 50/50 then get something else.

If it's a 8K car in SC and only a 4K in CA, do you care about the 4K? My answer on this is I'd eat 4K if the car is well sorted and I liked it.

I'm leaning this way... get it out there and enjoy it on the CA tracks again (last time at Laguna Seca and Thunderhill it was totally stock) for a while and then part it out when I want to get rid of it. Trackspeed turbo kit and gen 2 xidas are pretty popular, so I'm sure I could get something back for them. VVT engine w/ flat top manifold is also a hot combo if I can keep from blowing it up for another couple years. 

Regarding keeping it registered in SC, I advise against it.

When I moved there, the law said I had X days to register it in CA.  I didn't rush on it because I had several months left on the PA registration.  I got pulled over for a burnt out tail light bulb.  The cop was totally cool, just informing me of my bad bulb, until he saw my CA driver's license and my PA registration.  I didn't get a ticket, but darn close.

There was one other time where I got a ticket for not displaying my front-mounted registration.  I had to explain that the car was registered in PA where front plates aren't required.  The cop was "nice" and told me that my record would indicate that he gave me one week to get it registered in CA.  If I were to get pulled over after [insert date] or if a law enforcement officer ran my plates as a matter of course, the car would be impounded.

They were actually being nice in both situations.  I think the law says 14 days.  I could have lost the car or received a ticket both times.  My cousin skated by for three years out there with PA plates and license.  She just basically lied if she got pulled over and said she was just here visiting.  I'm not a good enough liar for that.  She also had big boobs which may have helped.

californiamilleghia said:

to get the smog  check it first needs to pass visual inspection  , and its not going to !

 

This is why I suggested a call to the referree.  The referree might say that it needs the VVT ECM, the correct cats, and the EGR, and the Evap, or he/she might say to just slap a cat and an EGR on it and they'll snif it for an engine swap recert.

It's at least ammunition he could have before making the choice.  If he likes the car, it's at least worth a phone call.

CA smog is not that bad IMO, and I'm one of the ones it should affect most - an engine-swapping fool who would straight up put a Powerstroke in a Hyundai for kicks.  Here's the secret with smog checks.  Visual is easy.  One of my cars I had deleted the cat, ripped off the heat shields from the old cat, and tacked them onto the delete pipe.  It passed visual twice, and with some careful carb tuning, it passed the sniffer with flying colors.  Of course, at 7.8:1 compression and a Qjet modified so that I could limit the primary step-up with a flathead screwdriver before the test was the key there.  Several of the Impala SS guys in the club had a trophy they would pass around for whoever made the most HP out of their LT1 and still pass the sniffer.  As of when I left the area (and the club) the trophy holder was putting 511 hp to the wheels and had spent weeks getting the tune right.  Max HC was something like 45ppm, NOx was 393ppm for his 96 and he squeaked by with something like 43/390.  There were several other guys who simply kept a stock LT1 and ECM sitting around.  Every two years they just swapped the stocker in for the test, then the next weekend they would put their hopped up engine back in.

The shorter version is, if your vehicle is operating outside of those parameters, something is genuinely out of whack.  If you can get a referree to sign off on a swap recert, getting it to pass visual and sniffer is the easy part. 

Curtis73 (Forum Supporter) said:

This is why I suggested a call to the referree.  The referree might say that it needs the VVT ECM, the correct cats, and the EGR, and the Evap, or he/she might say to just slap a cat and an EGR on it and they'll snif it for an engine swap recert.

It needs the ECM and cats at a minimum.  You might get away with using the NA evap stuff, but there are people who've been told they needed to swap the gas tank as an emissions part.  EGR shouldn't be any different on an 03 than a 95 (so yes, it needs it, but there's nothing special about it).