Many of us wonder how illegal/legal it is. It depends on many factors like the State, the Car year and model, the engine type, the county you are in, etc.
I can not cover all that but here's the little I learned today
I visited my lawyer today and he informed me on a few things – I want to share them with this board as I hope they would be helpful in preventing any losses.
If you are interested in engine swaps in a county/state/country that deems the activity illegal by such a jurisdiction you might end up dealing with a few offices that regulate such activity.
Anywhere in the US, such will fall under the Federal laws per the Clean Air Act (Act), 42U.S.C. 7522(a)(3).
Also in the US, the Particular State at which such an activity takes place has a separate – but also enforceable – code. For Instance the EPA in California can enforce its own codes independently.
Unfortunately once the law enforcement gets news of the activity the problems escalate on two levels:
The Federal Penalty is Impound + Administrative Citation + $2,500 Federal Fees. If an impound takes place then the State will also administer a State Administrative Citation + $1,500 State Fees.
Either way it is really horrible and will set someone severely back.
There is an office in every county where one can contact to report such illegal activities, and the findings can be used to establish a criminal case.
