[SeaDweller]

Well, the sad thing is, the car will easily pass emissions without ANY of the smog equipment, not even a CAT. This is meaningless to the California Air Resources Board however, as it has to have all of the smog equipment, regardless of whether or not it will pass without it.

I've thought of getting an engine that will satisfy the SMOG police, but then I'd be pulling an engine, installing another one, trying to sell one, etc. Also, I'll end up way back where I started, with an engine with an unknown future.

The car has to be registered within 30 days, or there are financial penalties. Believe me, I've been looking into this for a year now, and while there are ways to circumvent the "law," if you get caught, they can fine you and impound the car until it's made legal for use in CA. I used to live in CA, so I'm aware of what I'm up against. If this car were a weekend warrior, I'd consider it, but this is my daily driver, and I'm sure sooner or later I'd get nailed with Florida tags on the car.

Is $10K an unreasonable amount to expect to get for the car whole?