Date:         Fri, 8 Sep 2000 23:50:37 EDT
Reply-To:     FrankGRUN@AOL.COM
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Frank Grunthaner <FrankGRUN@AOL.COM>
Subject:      Re: Thinking swap? Some CA legality comments
Comments: To: mark_hb@hotmail.com
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII"

Mark,

Without the O2 sensor connected the Tiico conversion will never be legal in
CA. With the O2 connection it probably won't be legal unless the imported is
willing to spend the money on a CARB (California Air Resources Board)
exemption or certification. The latter is possible but will take time
perseverance and testing. In the CA inspector demands documentation about the
ECU, it won't be certified without help from Bosch and VW. Now If you bought
the Tiico kit and purchased the Motronics package from a 2000 VW  Golf or
Jetta, with the rest of the OBDII sensors and outputs, it could be done on an
individual basis. As I said before, the problem is that the engine is new and
therefore has to meet VW 2000 standards.

A particular problem is the non-crossflow head in that it was never delivered
in the US for the VW 2000 model year. Also one of the most important
differences in the Tiico kit is the special intake manifold. Strictly
speaking for a commercial exemption or certification the engine/electronic
management/exhaust package would have to undergo EPA emissions certification.
This says that the importer must have deep pockets, or Bill Gates must badly
want one, or the importer has a good relationship with one or more US
senators who want to see increased trade with SA.

To summarize, if I were to buy the Tiico kit, I would buy all but the ECU,
then I would buy a junkyard ECU (Motronic) with the full wiring harness. I
would then graft the two harnesses to support the used ECU. I would then
install the exhaust with the largest CAT I could mount. Then I would begin
the beg and weep cycle with CARB and the inspectors until I got a personal
exemption. Of course I would have data from the smog inspection station
showing just how clean the system was. I would also argue that I got
replacement parts from Tiico, not a complete warranted engine package.

The point is that personal exemptions are individual possibilities and a
retail license is a full bureaucratic commitment. Importation of parts is a
major loophole which an individual could walk through. A CARB licensed
mechanic could be prosecuted if he represented an imported engine as a sum of
parts.

As to future parts availability, this is a difficult call. No critical
internal parts should ever cause a problem, and exhausts are routinely
fabricated. The intake manifold, its connecting rubber/plastic tubing, the
ECU and the motor mounts are probably all unique. Someone better stock some
spares (importer, or the Loyal Order of Tiico-Vanagoneers). Having said that,
a good mechanic could solve a problem with any of these components.

Hope this is not done in my typically confusing style.

Frank Grunthaner