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94 3.4 vert engine to a 95 GP SE swap


Steve
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Well depends on location. I know in California, you're not allowed to swap an older engine into a newer car. You have to get that year's engine or newer.

 

Other than that, I would assume it's about 80% plug and play.

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Thanks on the feed back

And yes Ca. is a pain in the butt, but 94 & 95 were unchanged to my knowledge so how could they tell? Was going to just roll the whole sub frame & all into the GP.

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I don't think it's a way of telling, unless they visually inspect the block, which usually has the car's vin on it. I think as long as you don't say, they don't care.

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Yeah I think your right, & even then i could say I got a rebuild. I think the big issue will be the engine size change even though it was offered as an option. It is Ca. & they can make up the rules to what ever they want:roll:

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I have the wrecked 94 vert & my good 95 vert & they look identical and the GP's we're the same. Trying to save some $$ I love my GP but blew the engine a few years ago & been sitting since, The 94 vert was rear ended & totaled & I was planning on disassembling & put the parts on a shelf & scraping the body

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I have the wrecked 94 vert & my good 95 vert & they look identical and the GP's we're the same. Trying to save some $$ I love my GP but blew the engine a few years ago & been sitting since, The 94 vert was rear ended & totaled & I was planning on disassembling & put the parts on a shelf & scraping the body

 

If you're parting out, let me know. I'm restoring a 94.

 

and as far as as the bigger displacement goes, what they will do is test your car as if it were the donor's car... meaning that if you swapped a 3400 engine from a 2000 Grand Am, they would test your car as if it were a 2000 Grand Am, even if your car is a 95 Grand Prix. That's where you might end up getting screwed over, and that's why AFAIK, you're not supposed to swap older engines into newer cars.

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Yes I have to agree with you both, the big question is what if there were no changes in those two years? Could just take a chance or do the impossible & try to get a hold of a state referee:lol:

As far as parting out I could let go of some parts, depends what they are & if interchangeable with mine. Getting harder & harder to find these.

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Yes I have to agree with you both, the big question is what if there were no changes in those two years? Could just take a chance or do the impossible & try to get a hold of a state referee:lol:

As far as parting out I could let go of some parts, depends what they are & if interchangeable with mine. Getting harder & harder to find these.

 

If we're talking 3.4's then it's just a matter of making it look like it's original, but the problem lies within the fact that you're upgrading from a 3.1 to a 3.4. Will they take your word on the fact that it came from a 1995 W or do you have to show proof?

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Well contacted the state referee & he said if there is no change between the years there should be no way of telling & should fly( but rules say must be newer )......but he also said he's never heard of a car that did not have some change between years. So I'm 95% sure that there was no change & now should I take the chance & do all that work or just bite the bullet & get a new motor.

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Well contacted the state referee & he said if there is no change between the years there should be no way of telling & should fly( but rules say must be newer )......but he also said he's never heard of a car that did not have some change between years. So I'm 95% sure that there was no change & now should I take the chance & do all that work or just bite the bullet & get a new motor.

 

That might be a good question to ask someone who's experienced with these engines. As far as I know though, 94 and 95 are the same, 96 and 97 had the reworked internal passages and different plenum. You should be a ok. As long as you can pass it off as a 1995.

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Isn't the age on the motor #? That's only thing that I worry about, if the smog tech really starts digging could be an issue. Both are 49 state cars so even that shouldn't be a problem.

Edited by Steve
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Big problem is there's a very easy way to tell, if the tech's paying attention. LQ1 cars show VIN code X in the VIN.

 

Well contacted the state referee & he said if there is no change between the years there should be no way of telling & should fly( but rules say must be newer )......but he also said he's never heard of a car that did not have some change between years. So I'm 95% sure that there was no change & now should I take the chance & do all that work or just bite the bullet & get a new motor.
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Yeah it will be up to how many times the smog station as been fined for missing things on the suprise checks the state does. Might be moving out of state in a couple of years so if it doesn't fly here might try it in Utah.

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Yeah it will be up to how many times the smog station as been fined for missing things on the suprise checks the state does. Might be moving out of state in a couple of years so if it doesn't fly here might try it in Utah.

 

The other 49 states are way less strict than California. I know here in DC, MD, and VA; they don't check the engine for its vin, they just plug in the OBD2 scanner and check it that way, or for cars older than 96, they will use the sniffer. A side note I should add, Virginia isn't an emissions state per se. Only one section of the state does emissions, so you could probably find other states that only do emissions in the metro area or better yet... none at all.

 

Big problem is there's a very easy way to tell, if the tech's paying attention. LQ1 cars show VIN code X in the VIN.

 

His problem isn't that he's upgrading the enigne. The real problem is that the engines have the car's VIN stamped on them and if they check, the fact that the VIN starts with 1G3 or the fact that it has an X instead of T on the engine doens't matter as much as when you get to the year portion of the VIN, in which his car would read T but his engine would read S. Upgrading the enginge's size isn't a big deal as the year thing goes. You could stuff an LS1 in the car but not a SBC, simply becasue the LS1 is from 1998 whereas the SBC wouldn't be any younger than say 1990.

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wait til its a classic and move to Pa....no emissions on Classics. Thats next year for you.:high5:

I'm a native Californian & have given up on the management of my state & retiring to Utah in a few years, very very sad it's a great place to live.:thumbsdown:

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i am in cali and it sucks man. In 2005 my cutlass needed a new cat, So I went to a local exhaust shop bought one and had them install it. It passed smog just fine. Now I have to show proof that i bought the cat a long time time ago since the rules changed and its an original cat nor a $350 "C.A.R.B." E.O. cat. the state is just after money. the ref usually has not idea what they are talking about. a 94 in a 95 should be just fine. They will test it as a 95 and tell them its a 95 motor. Truthfully though if the 3.1 in my cutlass ever dies (god forbid) i would most likely put in a stock L67. If i am going to have to hassle with the state might as well get some juice.

 

For the record my "illegal" cat cars pass smog every time with flying colors. C.A.R.B. and the bullshit rules they impose are simply to make money.

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i am in cali and it sucks man. In 2005 my cutlass needed a new cat, So I went to a local exhaust shop bought one and had them install it. It passed smog just fine. Now I have to show proof that i bought the cat a long time time ago since the rules changed and its an original cat nor a $350 "C.A.R.B." E.O. cat. the state is just after money. the ref usually has not idea what they are talking about. a 94 in a 95 should be just fine. They will test it as a 95 and tell them its a 95 motor. Truthfully though if the 3.1 in my cutlass ever dies (god forbid) i would most likely put in a stock L67. If i am going to have to hassle with the state might as well get some juice.

 

For the record my "illegal" cat cars pass smog every time with flying colors. C.A.R.B. and the bullshit rules they impose are simply to make money.

 

I totally agree!! i had a 1981 Toyota truck that I put a 1991 4.3 V6 in put all the required stuff in moded the headers for smog pump, the state referee says I have good news & bad news for you, good news is it passes smog no prob in fact puts out less pollutants than the 81 engine. Bad news is we can't cert it due to the headers have not been approved by the state, I ask him but it passed smog he tells me the header company needs to pay a $3500 yearly fee to get the sticker to put on the headers. It's ALL about soaking you for the $$$$$$ nothing more. It's this way for everything in this state now.

OK off my soapbox.... for now.

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I totally agree!! i had a 1981 Toyota truck that I put a 1991 4.3 V6 in put all the required stuff in moded the headers for smog pump, the state referee says I have good news & bad news for you, good news is it passes smog no prob in fact puts out less pollutants than the 81 engine. Bad news is we can't cert it due to the headers have not been approved by the state, I ask him but it passed smog he tells me the header company needs to pay a $3500 yearly fee to get the sticker to put on the headers. It's ALL about soaking you for the $$$$$$ nothing more. It's this way for everything in this state now.

OK off my soapbox.... for now.

 

Beaurocracy at it's finest! You know, if it puts out LESS emissions even with the non C.A.R.B. stuff, then why bother? It's doing them a favor by going green even if it's not certified.

 

The stupidity level is high!

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