Conversion laws in New Jersey
 

Does anyone have experience with conversions in New Jersey regarding emissions inspection? Does the motor year have to match the vehicle year? or do the emmission requirements match the motor year? I have a 96 Miata and want to convert to a V8. Still deciding on 5.0 or LS1. Answers to this post might sway my decision on motor choice.

I believe NJ is similar to PA in that anything over 1995 as a donor chassis is going to give you problems due to OBD2 regulations. I've built 4 V8's over here in PA and have used all OBD1 (1990-1995) chassis for that reason.

I have a customer in NJ who has a 331 Ford track car with a carb. There is no way he could register it in NJ so he just went and got a Maine plate for it. Problem solved.

I'm just over the Delaware River in Allentown if you want to get a look at a converted car in person and see how they perform. I'd be happy to let you get a look at it and go for a spin.

-Jason

Thanks for the invite. If I find myself in the area I'll stop by. I would think as long as I use a wiring harness from an LS1 camaro or firebird same year or newer with obd II and keep everthing functioning as designed it should work. It seems there are a lot of LS1's out there in newer Miata's.

states controlled by demograts are crazy,laws in new jersey are just insane,
it was hard to make new cars pass, used to buy mint cars in nj, bring to florida and make money, that would no pass the inspection , that whole tri state suggest register car somewere out of the tri state, even new yorks easier, than jersey, laws in jersey are nuts,
they can arrest you for expired tags,i use to live in that area,
remember car would not pass because the owner changed ride height ,

I agree laws in New Jersey are insane. It gets tougher and tougher to live in this state. I originally was thinking of building a Cobra Kit Car. What a nightmatre that would be to get on the road.

So...if I buy a miata made before 1995, I can put any motor in it as long as
there are cats? What about just putting in the OBD2 port from the Lsx
wiring harness...how would they know this is not stock. In NJ...they just check
for codes...they do not do a sniffer.

In PA at least, when they plug the OBDII scanner in to check for codes it brings up the VIN stored in the ecu. If that VIN does not match the one on the registration the test can not be completed.

-Jason

Has anyone from NJ confirmed that we can't get an 1996+ ODBII car inspected once you swap to a newer motor? I was thinking LS....thanks.

yes....I'm from Jersey....

I'm guessing there aren't many people who want to invest the time and money to test the system. Thats why it went the OBD I route. The offical response from NJ DMV is the motor must be the same year as the vehicle it is going in or newer and all of the computer and pollution controls must be functional. The tricky part is the actual test at the inspection station. It couldn't hurt to drop by your local inspection station and ask the folks how they would test it.

If I get the ECM with a newer motor won't it have an ODBII port? Like an LS2/LS3....

The OBD II port is not the issue. When you go to inspection they scan a bar code inside the drivers door. I"m pretty sure it has to match the computer they are testing.

Any computer tuner shop can change the vin stored in a GM PCM. If you run an LS1 there is a number things you would want to change in the computer anyway. (to start with tuning the cooling fans on 15 deg lower, disabling the fuel tank pressure sensor and setting the rear end ratio so the speedo reads right.)

The key to passing is leave the system as stock as possible. The engine and PCM doesn’t care if it is in a Camaro or a Miata so if the Camaro would pass the Miata should just as well. If you use F body stuff I would highly suggest 2000 or newer so you don't have an EGR to mess with and you get the good LS6 intake.

By the way if your 96 has ever seen a NJ winter run for your life! Sell the car and get one from the right side of the mason dixon line. I'm just bearly into my build and have already spend more hours dealing with rust and rusted bolts than anyone should do in a lifetime. My car is from northern Virgina.

Can they change it to a Miata VIN though? I've heard that while they can change the VIN to that of a car of the same manufacture it's a different issue when it comes to changing it to one from a different continent. I could be wrong though.

Has anyone done this and had the Miata's VIN inserted in the GM (or Ford) ECU?

-Jason

Yep. Probably depends on the tuner but I know HPTuners and Efilive will let you change it to anything you want. On a GM...

https://www.v8miata.net/attachment.p...ine=1363809726

Don't forget guys have been putting LS1s in everything from Mustangs to Dakotas to roller skates for a decade now and one reason for that is the good folks at GM made it easy.

HPtuners will only allow you to change to another GM VIN. EFI Live will allow you to change to a Miata VIN.