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Defenders in California - Everything you want to know

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160K views 518 replies 152 participants last post by  Raquen 
#1 · (Edited)
So you live in California, and want to own a Defender? Great!

The problem is, California has the strictest emissions regulations in the country, governed by the California Air Resources Board (CARB). There is little to no room to escape these regulations, trust me people have tried.

Here are some important facts to consider:

  • ALL VEHICLES starting with Model Year 1976 have to meet California Emissions Standards to be sold in the state. Vehicles that only meet EPA (Federal, or "49 state") standards can be brought into California 2 years after manufacture, with more than 7,500 miles on the odometer. There is no "sliding window" or "25 year exemption". Since the engines used in Defenders (2.25, 2.5, Turbo, 200Tdi, 300Tdi) were never certified by California or the EPA, they are then ILLEGAL in California vehicles.

This is supported by CA Health and Safety Code sections 44201, 44202, and 44210, emphasis mine:

44201. The state board shall adopt, by regulation, a certification
program for used direct import vehicles. The state board shall issue
a certificate of conformance to each used direct import vehicle which
meets the requirements of this program.

44202. A used direct import vehicle which was not registered in
this state prior to the adoption of regulations adopted pursuant to
Section 44201, may not be registered in this state unless it has
received a certificate of conformance from the state board, except as
provided in Section 44210.


44210. The requirements of Section 44202 do not apply to any motor
vehicle having a certificate of conformity issued by the federal
Environmental Protection Agency pursuant to the federal Clean Air Act
(42 U.S.C. Section 7401, et seq. ) and originally registered in
another state by a person who was a resident of that state for at
least one year prior to the original registration, who subsequently
establishes residence in this state and who, upon registration of the
vehicle in California, provides evidence satisfactory to the
Department of Motor Vehicles of that previous residence and
registration.
  • Emissions Compliance and a Smog Check are two different, yet related things. Every vehicle sold in California has been inspected for California Emissions Compliance. This is done behind the scenes before the vehicle is even sold, and is totally handled by the manufacturer. This is what gains you the sticker on the truck that says it meets California requirements. Smog Checks are periodic inspections to make sure your vehicle still complies with the requirements that were in effect at the time of manufacture of your vehicle. Just because an older Diesel doesn't have to have a smog check doesn't mean they didn't have emissions control requirements; it just means the state doesn't require you to prove it's still in compliance year after year. However a vehicle being imported must demonstrate it meets the requirements in place at the time of the engine's manufacture (see section 44202 above).

  • The barrier to California importation is the emissions, not safety standards. California abides by the 25 year importation rules for Safety.

There are 6 major ways people bring Defenders in California:

  1. Purchase a NAS or NAS-Possible (like Japan Spec) vehicles. This means 1993 D110s, or 1994/95/97 D90s. There are specific VIN numbers that are approved for US sale, and ALL of them have a sticker in the driver's footwell that states the vehicle "Meets Federal Safety and Emissions Regulations" or something to that effect. Since they are EPA legal (in fact, most are California legal), you have no issue other than performing a smog check. 100% legal.

  2. Sweet talk your way through DMV. This is how most imported Defenders have arrived here. DMV assumes the stickers have worn away from an off-road vehicle that's at least 25 years old. However there have been reports that the DMV is seeking out these vehicles and requiring owners to take them to a Smog Referee or CHP office for inspection, even if they have already been titled and plated. Not legal.

  3. Register it out of state, and drive it in California. This is another common tactic, since all of the states bordering California will readily register an imported Defender. However California requires you to register your vehicle within 20 days of bringing it into the state. Failure to do that can equal back fees, fines, and even jail time. The CHP has started a program called CHEATERS to find people with out of state plates, and that has netted the DMV almost $1.7M in 2013, and shows no sign of slowing. You are considered a resident of California if you file taxes here, have a California Driver's License, pay the resident rate at a California University, register to vote, or "any other privilege or benefit not ordinarily extended to nonresidents." So, not legal.

  4. Be a military member with out of state plates. If you are a CAC card holding member of the Military stationed in California, you can bring whatever plated out of state vehicle you have. 100% legal. However you can't sell it to someone in the state and have them be exempt from all of the regulations.

  5. Purchase an import, and then implant an engine that is EPA or California compliant. This is the newest possibility. Especially with Nick's LS conversion kit, and the possibility of transplanting a Ford Transit Puma motor into a Defender. California requires that an engine be the same model year or newer than the chassis it is being put in to. So if you have a 1987 Defender and want to put a 2010 LS Motor in it, along with ALL of the required emissions equipment, you can take it to a California Smog Referee and have it signed off as a legal engine swap. 100% legal.

  6. VIN Swap. Have a newer Defender, but title it as something older than a 1976. This is so illegal we aren't even going to talk about it. Like felony pound me in the ass prison illegal. Don't do it. We aren't going to go down the rabbit hole of "what makes up a VIN" or "how much has to stay the same". If you are asking these kinds of questions, you already know you are on the slippery slope.


So, in short, if you want a Defender that is in California Legally, you have these options:

  1. Buy a NAS
  2. Join the Military
  3. Engine swap with California approved components

You may luck out with the following, but it's pretty much still not legal, and is no way condoned or sanctioned by anyone here:

  1. Sweet talk through the DMV
  2. Register out of state and drive it here

Don't even think about this:

  1. VIN Swap

Q & A

How does insurance work?
Insurance companies don't care about emissions laws. Short answer is most insurance companies have no problem providing coverage.

If anyone has questions, please go ahead and ask. Remember I am not a lawyer, but having gone through this process, and have talked to many others who have, I have a great grasp on what's involved.
 
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#3 · (Edited)
This has mostly to do with California residents importing foreign Defenders from what I can tell. If an Oregon resident somehow owned an imported Rover would he be able to title and register it in CA if he were to move there? Sounds like you can without hassle as long as you do it with 20 days of officially living in the state to avoid fines, etc.

I recently looked up Oregon's emissions laws. It's a sliding 25 year rule for everywhere except Portland. Portland is hard capped at 1975. I guess that's why I've always owned old things.
 
#6 ·
There was for a while a way to bring in vehicles if you were moving to California, including non-conforming vehicles. However I can't find the rules around it, and wonder if that program has expired. It was a one time move that required you prove you were a resident of another state relocating here. It would not cover non-conforming vehicles changing hands inside the state if you decided to sell it.
 
#8 · (Edited)
Portland's rules are that you have to pass DMV. When mine passed, I had to make my stock 3.5 with dual carbs meet 1989 RRC EFI standards......

Then my insurance company was all in a hissy about it. They wanted to know why I was importing illegal vehicles, etc... etc...

In fact, they reported me to the state, and the state got all upset and was sending me letters about how my VIN does not match my vehicle.....
 
#9 ·
Wow. Well, I don't know anyone in CA that has had a problem getting insurance. The problem only seems to be on coming up with a value for the vehicle in the case of a loss.
 
#11 ·
There are 6 major ways people bring Defenders in California:

  1. Purchase a NAS or NAS-Possible (like Japan Spec) vehicles. This means 1993 D110s, or 1994/95/97 D90s. There are specific VIN numbers that are approved for US sale, and ALL of them have a sticker in the driver's footwell that states the vehicle "Meets Federal Safety and Emissions Regulations" or something to that effect. Since they are EPA legal (in fact, most are California legal), you have no issue other than performing a smog check. 100% legal.


  2. Purchase an import, and then implant an engine that is EPA or California compliant. This is the newest possibility. Especially with Nick's LS conversion kit, and the possibility of transplanting a Ford Transit Puma motor into a Defender. California requires that an engine be the same model year or newer than the chassis it is being put in to. So if you have a 1987 Defender and want to put a 2010 LS Motor in it, along with ALL of the required emissions equipment, you can take it to a California Smog Referee and have it signed off as a legal engine swap. 100% legal.


  1. Just thinking about these two points. Couldn't someone install an engine plus all the emissions from a 1993 D110s, or 1994/95/97 D90s or the same size engine from a RRC or D1 into their import since those engines are EPA legal? Much easier & cheaper over a 2010 LS swap. Or even a 3.5 EFI from an 88 RRC which has very little emission parts.
 
#16 ·
Actually, that's a great point. If you have a California Compliant rover engine, along with all of the required emissions components, you could go to a Smog Referee and they would likely consider it legal.

Why no one has really talked about it is kind of amazing. I am guessing because the Rover V8 isn't exactly a marvel of reliable engineering.
 
#12 ·
So all you need is a mailing Service in Vegas to open an account for you so you have residency in Nevada? Seems like a pretty cheap loophole.
 
#17 ·
Until you get pulled over in California with a Nevada plated vehicle, and get nailed under the CHEATERS program.
 
#13 · (Edited)
navydevildoc

That is a shame, but thins the mud a little for me when I eventually get there, thank you. Looks like some will have to dream of Californication, and others will have a Defender.

Just curious, California doesn't have an EU equal or cross over Emissions Standard. If a a 1994 Tdi 300 is EU2, 1999 on Td5 was EU3, 2007 on 2.4lt Tdci are EU4, 2011 onward 2.2lt Tdci is EU5. Then a US compliment 1993 D110 surely should beat the path for the others. I have assumed however the 1993 D110 is dieseling not gas however.

Just a thought on engine swapping for a Duratorque.
I'm no mechanic but I could not imagine transplanting my Tdci into the dirty ol Tdi. Obviously it will fit, but I think you would have to do the dash as well. The electronics are on the simple end of the scale, but they were complex enough to have LR stumped for 8 weeks when I first bought the 2.4 Tdci. In the end the fix was replace just about everything but the harness and hope they got it. Thankfully time as proven they did.
I have meet a character who also has a Tdci, which has intermittent engine failure. Just stops unexpectedly or randomly won't start as mine did. Between the immobiliser, instrument cluster, the configuration of how it all works together had LR replace his wiring harness, instrument cluster, and a great deal his electrics as well before it became reliable.
If an engine swap is contemplated, I'd be buying a written off whole vehicle and making sure the motor and supporting electrics including dash did all that was meant to before removal. Just my 10c.
 
#18 ·
navydevildoc

That is a shame, but thins the mud a little for me when I eventually get there, thank you. Looks like some will have to dream of Californication, and others will have a Defender.

Just curious, California doesn't have an EU equal or cross over Emissions Standard. If a a 1994 Tdi 300 is EU2, 1999 on Td5 was EU3, 2007 on 2.4lt Tdci are EU4, 2011 onward 2.2lt Tdci is EU5. Then a US compliment 1993 D110 surely should beat the path for the others. I have assumed however the 1993 D110 is dieseling not gas however.
Unfortunately California does NOT reciprocate with any other standard. The state even went to the US Supreme Court over it (State of CA v. US Environmental Protection Agency) to make sure they could set higher emissions standards than the Federal government. The court agreed with California, and here we are.

Just a thought on engine swapping for a Duratorque.
I'm no mechanic but I could not imagine transplanting my Tdci into the dirty ol Tdi. Obviously it will fit, but I think you would have to do the dash as well. The electronics are on the simple end of the scale, but they were complex enough to have LR stumped for 8 weeks when I first bought the 2.4 Tdci. In the end the fix was replace just about everything but the harness and hope they got it. Thankfully time as proven they did.
I have meet a character who also has a Tdci, which has intermittent engine failure. Just stops unexpectedly or randomly won't start as mine did. Between the immobiliser, instrument cluster, the configuration of how it all works together had LR replace his wiring harness, instrument cluster, and a great deal his electrics as well before it became reliable.
If an engine swap is contemplated, I'd be buying a written off whole vehicle and making sure the motor and supporting electrics including dash did all that was meant to before removal. Just my 10c.
This is one of the current options... but keep in mind the engine you transplant had to come off of a California legal vehicle. So the Duratorq needs to have a VIN with it as well.
 
#19 ·
Then you fit into the "Sweet talk your way through the DMV" Category. These laws have been in effect since 1976, if not earlier. Unless of course, you bought a NAS defender, which is totally legal.
 
#21 ·
California has a weird maze of rules for emissions compliance. Just when you think you understand them, they pass a new rule that makes it even more confusing. Like here:

$200 Could Get You Out Of A Classic Car Smog Check In California

Here Are The Four Legal Ways To Import A Car To The United States

There become considerable problems when you move between engines not originally certified in your vehicle. Over in the VW world, the Vanagon Syncro 4x4's had absolutely POS engines. So the hot swap was to go to a Subaru flat 4 water cooled. The 2.2 was no problem, but they became just about as unreliable s the original VW engine due to their age. So folks started trying the 2.5 or larger Subie. Big problems in the land of lotus eaters trying to get a referee to certify it. Then swapping to the VW turbo diesel, works well in 49 states, but not so in Cali unless you used a old non-electronic version, no referee would touch it.

I have a house in California and one here in Arizona, guess which state I keep a driver's license in? Aside from a profoundly lower tax and fee burden in AZ, California is also very harsh on self employed. I did like it when I pulled one over on them with my Series III diesel. When I came back from overseas, they where just putting their heads into pencil sharpeners at the DMV, tying for the perfect pin shape they have now. Since my Land Rover had NATO AFI plates issued by the Feds, they gave me one in California without problems, even though they never approved the Land Rovers for import in 1976 models. I don't think I could pull that one off again. Especially in the current climate there.
 
#23 ·
Many states, such as Arizona have snowbirds licenses both for vehicles and driver's license, it is in addition to your home state. I believe Florida does as well. In AZ you have to be in the state for more than 30 days. Nevada may have the same rules, you would need a PO box or the like.

Like so many things in CA, if your car, with out of state plates in in your driveway for more than 30 days the local PD can cite you and in places like Laguna Beach, they do. I know I have an actual second home there, have for decades. But I live and pay taxes in AZ. Its a crock, but thats how it is. Same rules apply to airplanes and boats. Lots of folks pay for tiedowns in Oregon to circumvent it. Doesn't work in the long run.
 
#26 · (Edited)
[*] Purchase an import, and then implant an engine that is EPA or California compliant. This is the newest possibility. Especially with Nick's LS conversion kit, and the possibility of transplanting a Ford Transit Puma motor into a Defender. California requires that an engine be the same model year or newer than the chassis it is being put in to. So if you have a 1987 Defender and want to put a 2010 LS Motor in it, along with ALL of the required emissions equipment, you can take it to a California Smog Referee and have it signed off as a legal engine swap. 100% legal.
Have had a number of people ask me about putting a Mercedes OM617 into a ROW Defender style vehicle for CA use.
AND
Have always told them I didn't know the answer to the question is a 90/110/130 vehicle CA compliant with am OM617.

This sounds like you can install the CA version of the Mercedes OM617 as long as it matches the vehicle year or is newer. The OM617 is Federalized and was sold in CA in the Mercedes 300D, 300CD, 300TD & 300SD through the end of 1985.
The OM617 was also used in ROW Mercedes vehicles and other military vehicles like the Huglund tracked vehicles and was manufactured until about 2000 or 2001.
While this is a narrow window, it looks to me like 1983 - 1985 Defender style vehicles would be 100% legal in CA with an OM617 of the same year or newer...
Is this true?
 
#31 ·
Registering my 85 110

Purchased a 1985 110, that has a 91 v8 Range Rover engine in it from a guy in Washington state. Have Been going through the process to get it registered in Cal and everything you have said is spot on. To save you the long story I will just say that the next step for me is to take it to the independent environmental engineering lab in Santa Ana ca. To have it evaluated. When I spoke to the man at the lab he said it would not be cheap and would not be quick to get it CARB approved. Once it is approved I will then go back to the referee where they will smog it and place the CARB approved stickers on it. From that point I will be able to get it completely legally registered and it will be treated like any other vehicle moving forward.

I will keep everyone updated as to the cost and time that it takes. Frustrating!
 
#32 ·
Unfortunately no. When I first took it to get smogged at a buddies smog station it wasn't listed in the state computer so he referred me to the referee who referred me to CARB who referred me to the independent lab. Going the week after Thankgiving. The man at the lab said it could cost thousands and take 8-10 weeks.
 
#34 · (Edited by Moderator)
Adam, the news wasn't good but could have been much worse. It is costing me $6,500 to have my 85 ROW 110 CARB certified. When the work is complete in two months it will have the CARB stickers and be smogged. I will be able to go directly to the DMV and register it. George, the man in charge at the lab told me that I was lucky I didn't have a diesel because it would have cost somewhere around $15,000 to get it certified. California does not like gray market vehicles especially diesels. I know others on this forum had suggested registering it in another state and bring back to California or even moving to a different state altogether and while I wouldn't blame anyone for taking that course of action it just isn't an option for me so I was left with no other choice. I know legal 110s are rare in California and in high demand so I look at this process as somewhat of an investment or maybe that's just my was off reconciling going through this bull **** and spending all of this money. Anyway, I caution anyone who is looking to bring a ROW defender into California. let me know if you have anymore questions or if I can help in anyway. Good luck.
 
#85 ·
Chris, I wanted to ask who you were in contact at the CARB location and who actually did the work. I am looking to import a 1988 D90 3.5v8 petrol Defender and figure I would probably need to go through the same process. Did you ever get a list of what was done to the vehicle from the Lab and how long did this whole process take.
 
#36 ·
Yeah great question. I joke with my buddies and said they probably put a new air filter in it, adjust the timing, drive it around the block and stick the CARB stickers on it. And then of course drive to the bank to cash my check.

They are going to provide a detailed description of the work that has been done when I pick it up. I will get back to you and let you know what was done and if it affected the performance at all.
 
#38 ·
To say that I am amazed by California CARB as it relates to hobby vehicles in general is understatement. What about all those custom cars that we see on the cable channels? Those folks don't seem to give a rat's ass what engine they use....how do they get away with it? Isn't there any kind of loophole for antique or occasional use or street rod or something that would allow you to get tags without the CARB thing?
 
#40 ·
how do they get away with it? Isn't there any kind of loophole for antique or occasional use or street rod or something that would allow you to get tags without the CARB thing?
It's the same process. A custom built car and a grey market car are treated the same. If you go to get smogged and it's not in the computers, you go to a referee and they take you through the process that Chris went through.

Classic cars (ones built for the US and older than 39 years old) can qualify for a classic car exemption. Otherwise you are basically screwed.

FWIW, california just basically OK'd driverless cars. So while you can't drive a Defender, you can sleep while driving legally now.

Oh our great state of California.
 
#43 ·
Sure, but they will have to register it in CA, and go through one of the available processes to do that. CARB won't stop the sale, just the registration in the state.
 
#44 ·
Why would anyone subject themselves to the various types of crap that goes on in CA?
What's the draw? From excessive taxation to CARB "rules", over crowded roadways.
The income, really, a big purse in the bank ?
Just thinking about going there makes me sick to my stomach.
 
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