Hi folks,
I've done a DOHC swap, which is nothing to write home about these days. But I thought I'd share my experience on the legal side of it, for anyone who's considering dropping an M50, M52, M30, S50, etc in their E30. There's a lot of wrong info and heresay on the interwebs, also the rules are completely different between states, so information from other states is useless.
So the 3 options for an E30 DOHC engine swap are: 1 head in the sand, 2 "it's a factory BMW engine, officer" and 3 engineering certificate.
Head In The Sand Option
Drop in new engine > profit.
In day-to-day driving (unless it's very loud or somehow else you attract a police officer to try to defect you) you will most likely get away with it without dramas. Even when you get pulled over, how often do they want to look under the bonnet? Never, in my experience. Also, there is a school of thought that a defect is a defect and if an officer is out to get you, they will find a way to defect the brand new Corolla you're driving back from the dealership. So if you're busted for a pod filter, you might as well be busted for a dodgy S85 swap!
However, there could be dramas if you're in a crash (insurance, police charges for unroadworthy vehicle) and someone realises the engine number doesn't match the paperwork. Also, when trying to sell it, buyers aren't gonna be too keen on a car which legally has the wrong engine in it.
This is the most popular option for the swaps I know about (yeah, it's dodgy but VicRoads are partly to blame- if they didn't treat everyone with modified cars like arseholes, then more people would play by the rules)
"It's A Factory BMW Engine, Officer" Option
Drop in new engine > Lodge "Change of Vehicle Description" form (option 1, also make sure you bring the receipt for the new engine).
Basically you're bluffing that the M50/etc is a factory engine for the E30. It is highly unlikely that the pen-pusher doing the inspection would tell the difference (in fact, when I coughed up the VASS certificate at the end, the inspector was surprised I had one because they thought it was a stock swap :roll:).
Some people try the argument that since an M50 is a 2.5 litre BMW inline 6, then it is of the same type offered for the E30. But I think it's a risky argument because it's a different engine series and you're putting a 1995 engine in the E30 series which ended in 1992-ish. Keep in mind that the interstate rule and national guidelines (20% capacity, 20% power) mean absolutely nothing in Victoria.
This option will all look legit on paper, the big unknown is what happens in a crash. You might think you've fooled DickToads and your insurance on paper, but if it all comes unstuck when you have a crash then you've only fooled yourself.
IMHO it's at least worth trying this (instead of going straight to option 1), because it costs nothing and it could well get you out of jail.
Engineering Certificate
Find a friendly engineer on the VASS list (send me a PM if you'd like a recommendation) and talk them through your plans. They will do a visual inspection, a noise test and a brake test. Things go a lot smoother if the car is already registered in your name and if you use BMW engine mounts. Engineering added ~$800 to my project cost. Sure, there are more fun things I'd prefer to spend $800 on, but I see it as an investment in avoiding being butt-raped in prison after having a crash with an illegal engine fitted!
Now, with your VASS certificate you just march into your nearest DickToads (VicRoads) office, they stamp the form and away you go? Wrong! Ten different VicRoads "customer service assistants" will give you ten different answers to the same question, so prepare to be dicked around. Any advice they give you on the phone is completely useless, because you go to their office and their standard line is "sorry, but the call centre told you the wrong information"
Also, I tried to do everything by the book and was perfectly polite (in the face of utter incompetence and unhelpfulness...not easy) yet they still treated me like scum and looked for every excuse possible to screw me over.
So you need to take the engineering certificate, blue mod-plate (installed in the engine bay) and a receipt for purchase of the engine
which has:
- sellers name
- sellers address
- engine number
- buyers name
- date of purchase
- purchase price
- signed and dated by seller
Having said that, DickToads policy seems to be that no matter what info you require, they will want something else, so it would probably help to bring your birth certificate, the police record for the last 6 generations of your family and a letter from a priest. In triplicate. :roll: (sorry for the rant, just wanted to warn you to expect hassles, even if you think you've dotted all your i's and crossed all your t's).
While they don't actually inspect the car, they will check the engine number matches your paperwork, so you need to be able to show them where it is. They don't have a hoist or anything, so I dunno what you'd do if the engine number can't be seen from above (most likely they'd say "not my problem" and deny your application. So you might need to find a way to see it- eg bring a dentists mirror thingy or jack stands).
So this is the proper way to do it. Even the engineer was surprised I'd bother getting engineering done for such a trivial swap. My justification is that it's taking the pain hit at the start to avoid a bigger pain later on, but each to their own.
Sorry for TLDR, hope this helps.
I've done a DOHC swap, which is nothing to write home about these days. But I thought I'd share my experience on the legal side of it, for anyone who's considering dropping an M50, M52, M30, S50, etc in their E30. There's a lot of wrong info and heresay on the interwebs, also the rules are completely different between states, so information from other states is useless.
So the 3 options for an E30 DOHC engine swap are: 1 head in the sand, 2 "it's a factory BMW engine, officer" and 3 engineering certificate.
Head In The Sand Option
Drop in new engine > profit.
In day-to-day driving (unless it's very loud or somehow else you attract a police officer to try to defect you) you will most likely get away with it without dramas. Even when you get pulled over, how often do they want to look under the bonnet? Never, in my experience. Also, there is a school of thought that a defect is a defect and if an officer is out to get you, they will find a way to defect the brand new Corolla you're driving back from the dealership. So if you're busted for a pod filter, you might as well be busted for a dodgy S85 swap!
However, there could be dramas if you're in a crash (insurance, police charges for unroadworthy vehicle) and someone realises the engine number doesn't match the paperwork. Also, when trying to sell it, buyers aren't gonna be too keen on a car which legally has the wrong engine in it.
This is the most popular option for the swaps I know about (yeah, it's dodgy but VicRoads are partly to blame- if they didn't treat everyone with modified cars like arseholes, then more people would play by the rules)
"It's A Factory BMW Engine, Officer" Option
Drop in new engine > Lodge "Change of Vehicle Description" form (option 1, also make sure you bring the receipt for the new engine).
Basically you're bluffing that the M50/etc is a factory engine for the E30. It is highly unlikely that the pen-pusher doing the inspection would tell the difference (in fact, when I coughed up the VASS certificate at the end, the inspector was surprised I had one because they thought it was a stock swap :roll:).
Some people try the argument that since an M50 is a 2.5 litre BMW inline 6, then it is of the same type offered for the E30. But I think it's a risky argument because it's a different engine series and you're putting a 1995 engine in the E30 series which ended in 1992-ish. Keep in mind that the interstate rule and national guidelines (20% capacity, 20% power) mean absolutely nothing in Victoria.
This option will all look legit on paper, the big unknown is what happens in a crash. You might think you've fooled DickToads and your insurance on paper, but if it all comes unstuck when you have a crash then you've only fooled yourself.
IMHO it's at least worth trying this (instead of going straight to option 1), because it costs nothing and it could well get you out of jail.
Engineering Certificate
Find a friendly engineer on the VASS list (send me a PM if you'd like a recommendation) and talk them through your plans. They will do a visual inspection, a noise test and a brake test. Things go a lot smoother if the car is already registered in your name and if you use BMW engine mounts. Engineering added ~$800 to my project cost. Sure, there are more fun things I'd prefer to spend $800 on, but I see it as an investment in avoiding being butt-raped in prison after having a crash with an illegal engine fitted!
Now, with your VASS certificate you just march into your nearest DickToads (VicRoads) office, they stamp the form and away you go? Wrong! Ten different VicRoads "customer service assistants" will give you ten different answers to the same question, so prepare to be dicked around. Any advice they give you on the phone is completely useless, because you go to their office and their standard line is "sorry, but the call centre told you the wrong information"
Also, I tried to do everything by the book and was perfectly polite (in the face of utter incompetence and unhelpfulness...not easy) yet they still treated me like scum and looked for every excuse possible to screw me over.So you need to take the engineering certificate, blue mod-plate (installed in the engine bay) and a receipt for purchase of the engine
which has:- sellers name
- sellers address
- engine number
- buyers name
- date of purchase
- purchase price
- signed and dated by seller
Having said that, DickToads policy seems to be that no matter what info you require, they will want something else, so it would probably help to bring your birth certificate, the police record for the last 6 generations of your family and a letter from a priest. In triplicate. :roll: (sorry for the rant, just wanted to warn you to expect hassles, even if you think you've dotted all your i's and crossed all your t's).
While they don't actually inspect the car, they will check the engine number matches your paperwork, so you need to be able to show them where it is. They don't have a hoist or anything, so I dunno what you'd do if the engine number can't be seen from above (most likely they'd say "not my problem" and deny your application. So you might need to find a way to see it- eg bring a dentists mirror thingy or jack stands).
So this is the proper way to do it. Even the engineer was surprised I'd bother getting engineering done for such a trivial swap. My justification is that it's taking the pain hit at the start to avoid a bigger pain later on, but each to their own.
Sorry for TLDR, hope this helps.
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