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B230FT Swap Failed California referee inspection for wrong distributor

AnthonyHardy2

Active member
Joined
Aug 31, 2010
Location
Oakland, CA
I swapped a 1994 B230FT into my 1980 242 about a year ago and went to get the swap approved by the referee today. They failed me for not using the 940 head mounted distributor. The referee insists that the ecu controls the distributor and I must have modified it somehow to run the 240 setup. Does anyone have experience with issues like this and know what I can do to pass? Any help is appreciated as this is the last issue I expected them to fail me for and I have no idea how I can actually solve it. I'm considering swapping in a diesel engine just to get my car smog exempt or a B230F just to get through smog but I'd really prefer to avoid both.

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That sucks. I would show up with a wiring diagram and talk about cranks sensors. Sounds like you got a picky ref.
 
Ref doesn't understand a crank trigger off the flywheel. Wiring diagram, show him a stock dizzy with no internals, point out the crank trigger, point out the timing is not adjustable on the donor vehicle.
 
Looking at that pic you are really screwed. They want you to swap to the correct cylinder head, dist, AND ECU.

Buy a WRX!?
 
Speak to a supervisor. Pop the cap off and show him that there's no connection to the ECU and that the distributor only distributes spark.

If that doesn't work call or visit 'Ask the Ref.org' @ 1 800 822-7733.
 
Looking at that pic you are really screwed. They want you to swap to the correct cylinder head, dist, AND ECU.

Buy a WRX!?

The thing is all of those things are the correct parts. He didn't even check the ecu and he assumed the head was modified to remove the 940 distributor.
 
Ref doesn't understand a crank trigger off the flywheel. Wiring diagram, show him a stock dizzy with no internals, point out the crank trigger, point out the timing is not adjustable on the donor vehicle.

That sounds like a good plan. I scheduled an appointment at a different station for tomorrow and hopefully the guy there will be more reasonable.
 
You'll be fine my buddy and I reffed a 245 with a b230ft swap and a normal distributor. Take the cap off and show him there is nothing in there
 
Sorry to butt in. If emission reduction is the California goal then why allow a more polluting 240F than the cleaner example he brought to the Ref? Where did common sense go to with with Ca. smog prevention? It makes Zero sense for environment concerns. IJS
 
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Common sense and Cali smog do not correlate. My 91 Dodge with a 5.9 TBI has to meet tighter restrictions than my dad's 95 Dodge with a 5.9 magnum, by a BIG margin. His NOx limit is 3x what mine is, HC is 40% higher, CO is 20% higher. Same weight class.
 
Sorry to butt in. If emission reduction is the California goal then why allow a more polluting 240F than the cleaner example he brought to the Ref? Where to common sense go to with Ca. smog prevention? It makes Zero sense for environment concerns. IJS

Its retarded here. They don't even measure tailpipe emissions in cars above 2004 iirc. They rely on the ecu to trigger codes but guess what the ecu cant measure gasses out the pipe. So are those clean? I doubt it but they don't care.
Their idea if clean is cleaning out your pockets. Govt charging for more fees , taxes make the air cleaner.


Ask that ref how many wires are going to the distributor and how the ecu controls it.
 
Sometimes you just have to work on proving your case. If this is the same ignition system then show wiring diagrams from 240 vs 940. The ref can of course argue that ignition parts are not original to the vehicle (cap, rotor) but technically they don't have to have a special approval as long as they are not defective.
Some refs give you a little wiggle room and some don't . Gotta play by their rules but at the same time there is a human factor. He gave you a long list of things that need correction so he probably just got pissed that the car was not ready at all for the cert.
 
Not to be ass, but I'd fail it as well due to the distributor. Where do you draw the line of letting non-conformance parts slide?

I have seen the 7xx/9xx distributor work in a 2xx, but the firewall was hacked to do so.
 
Have him put a timing light on it while you rotate the dizzy a bit in either direction and ask him how its NOT controlled by the ignition control module.
 
Not to be ass, but I'd fail it as well due to the distributor. Where do you draw the line of letting non-conformance parts slide?

I have seen the 7xx/9xx distributor work in a 2xx, but the firewall was hacked to do so.

I thought it'd heard some TB lore that a few either late model or changeover year 7/9 series had block mounted distributors.
 
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