DMV confiscating cars

[bigfoot]

I was talking to a guy yesterday as he was recharging my trucks AC, he was behind a riced out Honda at Portland Oregon's new DMV at Mall 205. They ran the Riceboy's engine serial number and it came back as stolen. Now I'm just finishing a rebuild and the block I used came from a previous year car, Oregon only allows you to use the same year or later. We kept the engine compartment stock appearing, stock turbo for now, etc. but I need some ideas on what to do. I'm going to try and go to a different DMV, but this is where they told the AC guy to go.

 

[Defiant]

I'm not sure I follow, but they took it because it was stolen. You should be in the clear, or do they run engine serial numbers there? Do they send someone out to look at the number on the block? If you don't tell them it's been swapped, I dont' see why they'd know. If they "find out", you should have little difficulty getting even someone so dim as a municipal court judge to comprehend the blocks are the same.

 

[bigfoot]

They ran his engine serial number and it was a stolen motor. If they check mine it will come back as an earlier year block, which they don't allow. It's possible that they have a stolen parts list so I might be ok.
I ran into a similar situation a while back because I used a previous year junkyard motor and it still had the descriptive marking paint, they saw the paint and flunked me. So I just removed the paint and went to a different DMV. But now it seems they are running down serial numbers.

 

[RipperXX]

....... thats just ####ing stupid... "yea thats a older engine.. same ####ing thing just made a deferent year soo yea were not going to alow that..."

thats about the dumbest thing i have ever heard of... but the only thing i would know to do is... well ket me ask you this.. Do you know the old numbers to the block that came in it? and are they stemped in or extruded? becouse if there stamped... you could always fill them in with a welder, file the down and get some one to stamp in the old numbers, so when they check it will come back as your old block... i duno if that will work just an idea i thought i would mention...

 

[Defiant]

Originally posted by bigfoot
They ran his engine serial number and it was a stolen motor. If they check mine it will come back as an earlier year block, which they don't allow. It's possible that they have a stolen parts list so I might be ok.
I ran into a similar situation a while back because I used a previous year junkyard motor and it still had the descriptive marking paint, they saw the paint and flunked me. So I just removed the paint and went to a different DMV. But now it seems they are running down serial numbers.

Man, I don't think the Calfornia database keeps track of engine serial numbers (other than for stolen), but of course it's on the firewall placard. But it shouldn't damned matter, it's the stuff attached to the block, not the effing casting that determines smog and all.
I just don't know what to tell you, I didn't know Washington had their sphincters closed down so tightly. Ask a good mechanic, or a couple of them. The _must_ have some provision for engine swaps up there.

 

[miragetbo1997cc]

He probably had a salvaged car that needed reg.They check to make sure you used parts that you bought and not stole.It may sound stupid ,but in the GTA capitol of the nation,do you blame them.And yes there is a database .Brought on by the insurance industry.Vin #'s matched with Block serial #'s.Everylast part on your car has Vin #'s,at least the newer ones.

 

[jsigone]

Honda Serial#'s on on the outside of the block and are put in plain sight. Have u tried to find the SN of a DSM motor? I think it's inside the bell housing so u have to drop the tranny to even take a look at the number.

In cali, you're allowed to do a motor sway of the same year or any motor older then the year of your car. But I think there is a clause in there that allows the owner to swap in the same type of motor.

 

[miragetbo1997cc]

Its same year or newer engine.

 

[bigfoot]

Don't know, the engine rebuilders supply place I got it from couldn't tell me what it came out of. It's a G64B 2.4 block. My search tells me it could be from a 84-91 Galant. My car is a 91 GVR4. So the odds are against it being a 91 motor. This is Portland Oregon, San Fransisco north. Auto's are evil here, you have no idea. They make the American Le Mans Series racers at PIR use mufflers if they are too loud, many teams won't even run here. I've seen a judge berate a guy for ten minutes for a too loud car stereo, if he had broken into someones house he'd be ok. Weird. The motor is already in, so all I can do is dirty it up and make it look stock. The serial number is right behind the dipstick. Hopefully they are just on the lookout for riced out Honda's which are known to be frequently stolen.

 

[Rx3]

You have got to be kidding me. This is one of the reasons I would never live on the west coast. They are just way too anal when it comes to cars

 

[bigfoot]

Ow, Dude that hurt. I just had a New Yorker say he wouldn't live here cause it's too liberal. Our top politicions are from NY, I figured they were trying to make it just like home.

 

[Defiant]

Originally posted by miragetbo1997cc
And yes there is a database .Brought on by the insurance industry.Vin #'s matched with Block serial #'s.Everylast part on your car has Vin #'s,at least the newer ones.

Yes, but I don't know if you can get the engine serial number from running the registration- I know on the level we do it, you can't. Dumbest part I've seen is that on motorcycles the VIN and ENG number used to be the same, but they changed that about '85 or so. Bureaucracy.