BartMaster1234's CRAPMOBILE - 450,000 Mile 1998 Tacoma 5-Lug v6 Manual [Build Thread]

I’d love to turbo my PreRunner one day. Problem is taking it all off every two years to do emissions testing. Lol.

 

I could see how that would put a damper on things.

Install a couple more catalytic converters? Better yet install another stock cat and install a bypass valve that dumps before the cats to open air. Close it for emissions and set it to open under boost for power

 

California visually inspects under the hood and gives the classic reach around with mirrors to make sure the exhaust is either stock or carb compliant.

 

You could install an extra carb compliant cat on the stock exhaust to pass, but you'd be limited like a supercharger though due to the cats and small stock exhaust. As far as under the hood goes...im not sure. I suppose the pcv would be the main concern?

 

Nope, visually he wouldn't pass because theres a turbo and turbo manifold where there shouldn't be one. It isn't the emissions they're concerned with, its the fact that the parts aren't certified for use in the state of CA and they won't certify mods that make the vehicle use more fuel.

 

dang that's really dumb.

I think the best mod would be to move.

 

California is a hard state to live in if you’re into cars. I wouldn’t move though, I like it too much here.

As for the Turbo, the only way I can realistically do it is find some shady SMOG tech that doesn’t care and slide him some extra cash. That’s how my friend SMOG’d his Hummer H1 that would never ever pass California emissions testing.

I don’t know. I might do a supercharger since the Magnuson ones were CARB certified at one point. A piggyback ECU or a 7th injector (5th Injector?) is far easier to remove than a whole turbo system.

The turbo is cooler though.

 

I can agree to the cooler part.

Well does cali exempt the 25 year and older stuff? I have 6 more years till mine doesn't need emissions at all lol

 

“California” and “Exempt” are two words that never coexist. As far as I know, all vehicles must be tested uin exception of 1976 and older. I believe Diesel is 1997.

 

Dang they even get classics...

 

Just keep the Vermont plates and do what you want...screw smog

 

I know the situations might be a little different, but I've registered 2 vehicles with just a bill of sale - an 81 Toyota pickup and a 96 civic that were on their last legs. They had me fill out an extra form. Maybe that changed in the past 6 years since I bought that civic.

 

We’re you able to get a new title? I don’t plan on keeping this truck which is why I’m going through the trouble of trying to get a title for it. If I didn’t want to sell it, I would drive it on the Vermont plates forever.

 

Yeah I sold both vehicles with a ca title when it was time to get rid of them.

 

That’s strange...

Were the Bill of Sales connected to the original owner? If there’s a paper trail of whoever signed the BOS then I feel like the DMV just did a Duplicate Title thing. In my case, my BOS was signed by someone not even associated with the truck. It goes back two owners without ever being registered.

 

Oh snap wait a minute - the situation was they had a title but it wasn't in the seller's name - my bad!

 

That’s even worse, it could’ve been stolen haha.

 

That's what I said, but the dmv didn't care lol. TBH I can't remember if the civic had one at all. That thing was a piece though. Aborted fast and furious project by the previous 5 or so owners. They might have let me register it without a title, but it was the second car I had ever registered so the details were all new to me. I know I had a bill of sale and that was the only thing the previous owner gave me that was in his name. Thing lasted less than a year and blew a hg that I didn't have enough experience to fix at the time. Sold it for $450 in 3 hours lol

 

When I changed the oil, I collected a sample to send into Blackstone Labs to take a closer look at the health of the engine. According to to Blackstone, there is nothing wrong at all and the engine is in great shape.

Here's what the oil analysis looks like on a 3.4l v6 5VZ-FE looks like after 442,383 miles.

 

Some good news.

I check my bank account, and Vermont cashed the check I wrote to their DMV. That means everything went through successfully, and he truck has been issued a Vermont registration and Vermont license plates.

Now I just have to wait for them to get here in the mail. I can’t wait.

I can actually park it on the street now since it’ll have legal tags on the truck without having it towed away.