Alrighty Y'all,

There is a possibility I will be getting a '79 Vette from a friend. It needs a lot of cosmetic work (New interior, new paint). But mechanically it seems great. He couldn't get her started so I brought it to my house and it sat for a few years (he had back surgery and can no longer get in it), long story short, all it needed was a new battery and new fusible link at the starter. Once I fired it up and adjusted the timing it ran great and I fell in love, took it for a spin and had to have it.

Back-story out of the way now down the meet of the question; I am assuming since this is in California it has the L48, regardless its still a 350 with 3 speed automatic. If I get it I would want something more.

My dads friend has an engine rebuild shop and can get a great deal on a 454 long block. My question is; what are the requirements for swapping engines and keeping the car smog compliant in California? I tried looking up things specific to engine swaps in California but all i could find was regarding newer vehicles that are OBDI or II controlled.

Or, would it be less hassle to pull the 350 and have it bored and stroked?

Thanks guys, I look forward to being part of the Corvette Community!

 

You should call the DMV and find out if the car has to be smogged. I never had to smog mine (lived in Ca most with the vette about 12 years) but it was a '69, but I'm betting yours is too old.
Having just swapped a big block in place of a small block in my car, make sure you get a realistic estimate on how much time/effort it will take. Depending on what you want you may just want to stay with a modified small block. That being said I'm glad I put a big block in but it's not for everybody.....

 

Unfortunately it does need smogged. Anything '75 and newer in California.

 

1976 and later for smog in Cali. I have 75 I have now and have registered it twice since I bought it. She is now cat free with true dual exhaust. Saved all the smog stuff in the garage

 

Welcome.

The engine ID stamp on the pad will tell you what you have. You are correct that only the L-48 auto was available in California for 79, provided your car was originally destined for California.

 

I wonder, then, how hard it would be to comply. I'm betting there is not much to comply with for your car. You would of course need to do a lot of research, or you could just move out of state!

 

Call your local smog referree not your local smog station. 454 was never offered in the vette BUT they may (longshot) let you do it provided the emissions are in place

If it were me stroke it get some good EO# heads like AFR a HR cam intake recal the Qjet etc. Thing is the stock ex manifolds should cover their 180 heads not sure about the 195s. You could still use the 180s and make a super torquey street motor though.
Noone says you couldnt swap in some headers every 2 yrs not a big deal.

 

1976 it is I guess.

 

I agree that it wouldn't need much to comply with for that Year. But I just don't want to spend thousands and have it not pass smog. Job permitting I would love to get out of California for good and do what I darn well please this is still a free country right?

 

Nope....not any more.....

 

I think you'll find that if the car runs well it's pretty easy to pass smog. It's being judged by 1979 smog standards. I used to have a car that was marginal and I started putting 25 percent methanol in the tank for the smog test, car would easily pass and I would immediately run the tank dry and refill with gas so as not to corrode the system. It had the added advantage of making me feel superior....

 

Hi Zack,

My experience on this from a swap standpoint, if the car was not equipped with a size/type of motor in California, you can't put it in. Doesn't mean it doesn't happen.

There is a lot that can be done within the "type" know as Small Block Chevy that will yield better performance and can be made to pass. It is possible to convert from a carb Small Block to an EFI Small Block and be compliant and get a sticker on the door jamb saying it is. This would mean you could go for Crossfire, standard TBI, Tuned Port or even and LT1/LT4 motor, install and run and be compliant. I have done this with a 79 GMC van with an I6, upgrading to later style TBI 350. Did a clean install with all of the correct smog for the donor motor and got the sticker on the door. Fun when the test guy sees it and says it's not legal, and then sees the sticker.

The biggest things the CARB wants you to have are all emissions the original car had and all emissions the donor motor had. Most all witll overlap. Some motors may not have had a given smog feature or device, you would need to work that out to make sure the referee would approve it. For example, my van had AIR from new, I would have been able to install a motor/management system that didn't have AIR if that was what I had and the system was intact as it came from the donor and running correctly.

Later Vans did have 454's in them, my model years biggest motor was a 400SB, so I couldn't have installed a 454. Nowadays, I do hear of people installing LS-type motors in older smog-era cars and getting them approved, so maybe the 454 thing could work too, but a 79 454 with all of the smog running might be kinda grim.

There are also many things you can do that will make the engine have better power that won't show up during a smog check, visual or sniffer. You just have to not go too overboard and take everything off like we did in the 70's and 80's and expect the car to pass.

Good luck, hope this helps,
Tom

 

My experience smogging older cars was that I knew more about the smog equipment on the car then the smog station did. As long as there wasn't any obviously disconnected smog parts it passed the visual.

This being said, it has been a few years since I've had to smog anything. I certainly wouldn't take my word for it. Perhaps you should get hooked up with your local Corvette club???

 

Welcome to the Forum Zack

Since the 454 was never offered in a C3 in 79, a smog shop will flunk the car on visual regardless of the emissions....that said there's a few things you can do to the 350 to make it smog legal and still make it fun to drive. As mentioned in an earlier post, you could run an L98/LT1/LS motor, it would have to pass emissions for whatever car the motor came out of

Where in CA do you live?

 

I see carcraft and hotrod beating their heads against the wall on every project in California because of the smog police. It seems California goes by the engine vin and it must be the same year or newer. Also I'm not sure if they will let you go bigger since the 454 was never an option in 79? I think you are looking at a very big head ache.
With that said, an LS engine will lay down the same horse power and the retro aftermarket has really stepped up to make it easy
That would be the route I would use if I lived in California IMO.

 

1974 and earlier are smog exempt

You can do 430HP Erod LS swap, that is CARB approved for anything up to 1996 as I recall. Just can't do 1/2azzed butchered installations. I'm in the middle of a OBD2 swap right now that doubles the HP of the vehicle I'm working with and is CARB approved (1989 model year) The fine details of the OBD evaporative emissions requirements can burn up time in fabrication....soon I'll be done then back to my LS3 swap project

 

Yeah that's what I have been told by my cousin who is a full time mechanist.

I am in the Antelope Valley.

 

Bore it, stroke it, roller cam and you'll have big block power with the original mill

 

Thank you everyone for your suggestions, it really has helped. Me try and wrap my head around this.

After talking to various different people, as of now, I think I want to keep the same block and see what we can do with it. Leaning toward a 383 stroker with aluminum heads and intake. Aggressive Roller Cam with around a .5" lift and 300 degree duration. That with a rebuild Q-Jet should put her in the 400-450 Bake HP range with high 300's for torque. I think that will serve what I desire very well. Parts (heads, intake, pistons, crank, rods, cam, lifters, etc) will run about 2,200 and labor on the block (bore to .030 over, check tolerances and install the rotating assembly) should be around $300 if my dad's friend does it. The rest of the labor I can do myself and the entire build should be in the $2,500 to $3,000 range. It's even cheaper than a 454 as a 454 long block is around $3,500.

Needless to say I would also ditch that 3 speed auto in favor of a 5 or better yet, 6 speed manual gear box.

Now I just need to actually get the car and save some money. Hahaha, and finish my other car projects.

Thanks again to everyone! I look forward to sharing this project if and when I comes to pass.

 

I was in the process of posting my latest post while you said that. Exactly what I've decided.