Is Engine Swapping Legal?

hi everyone.. im new to this whole thing but im desperate for some information.

im turning 18 soon and i am planning on purchasing a 2001 GS-R body without transmission and engine.

i have also found a b18c5 package for sale on ebay and was wondering if its legal to swap the engine into my GS-R. people have said it was illegal and other say its not.

so my question is: Is it legal to swap the b18c5 in? who can swap it for me? how much would a swap cost?

thank you for your time, responses, and information

I believe in Cali the motor has to be the same year or newer than your car, and the motor also has pass emisions (which a JDM, Japanese motor has to be screwed with to do so). But maybe ask in the California forum if no one else can confirm. Just search for a local shop to do it for you, make sure you check on their reputation and make sure they're not just going to rip you off or do a half-assed job. and the price will probably depend on what each shop charges.

as long as the motor is newer than the car its going into, and that all emissions controlling devices on the body of car are connected and working properly, you should have a legal swap.

be careful with ebay engines. Alot of the motors on eBay are crap. alot of the time they're the motors that people buy from junkyards and sell for TONS of profit. Check out the "lower prices elsewhere" link at totaljdm.

As crxlvr stated the engine must be the same year or newer and the emission control devices have to be working properly. Also I was under the impression that the emission control devices had to be from the U.S. version of the car and not the jdm version- even if the motor itself is japanese motor. We discussed this in a previous thread a while back.

thanks for the info everyone

and thank you gtr for that link... i'll be spending about $450 more because of shipping, axles, and shift linkage, but at least its a brand new JDM, instead of that 20k mile one i was about to get..

Newer engine and Same cylinders also, I believe you cant swap a V8 into a civic legally in the US.

thanks for the info everyone

and thank you gtr for that link... i'll be spending about $450 more because of shipping, axles, and shift linkage, but at least its a brand new JDM, instead of that 20k mile one i was about to get..

No prob. The engines at totaljdm are USED but they are in MINT condition and have a startup warranty.

Does anyone know where I can get a brand new b16a2 or a3?

www.hmotorsonline.com has fairly new motors, but for a brand new 0miles motor, honda is your only option. expect to spend near $10,000 plus for a new motor.

if you are in Northern cali i can get the motor for you and install as well. hit me up [email protected]