Has anyone ever put a diesel engine in to a car that is titled as a gas car? I have a picked over 300TD with a 603 engine (the car was un-resurrectable). There seems to be an abundance of later model w124 cars with worn out engines available for fairly cheap. Does anyone have any experience with getting a diesel converted gas car legal? pass emissions? My parts car has a clean title and could be theoretically put on the road, SO i could possibly use the VINs on a different w124. What I am really interested in is shoehorning that 603 onto a 190e. They seem to be cheaper and more prone to engine problems that 300s. I am in Pittsburgh where emission testing is required on Gasoline vehicles newer that 1975. Thanks for any suggestions.

Some states it's easy, here in CT it's a pain. The engine has to be body year or newer with all emissions pieces parts in tact and functional. If it's emissions exempt like my '80 TD (I think it's 25+ years here), no one would ever check.

Check your local DMV website, you can find the info in the FAQ section.

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1980 300TD-China Blue/Blue MBTex-2nd Owner, 107K (Alt Blau) OBK #15
'06 Chevy Tahoe Z71 (for the wife & 4 kids, current mule) '03 Honda Odyssey (son #1's ride, reluctantly) '99 GMC Suburban (255K+ miles, semi-retired mule) 21' SeaRay Seville (summer escape pod)

Member compu_85 had a friend who converted a Jetta to Diesel then registered it in California.

Sixto
87 300D

from what i've read, california is one of the easier states to do this in. go figure.

Thats because there is a comparable model produced by the same manufacturer in the same year. In that case its as simple as switching fuel type on the title.

The issue is the engine must be the same or newer year as the chassis in order for it to be "legal". Such as when I put the engine from my 82 wagon in my 80 240D (It wasn't quite 25 yet when I did the switch). Putting an 87 300TD engine into, say, a 92 300E would not be doable since the engine does not meet 1992 emissions specs, on top of there being no comparable model 300D that year.

1987 is the magic 25 year mark for 2012. A 92 wouldn't be registrable until 2017.

If you want to put a 603 into a 190 without trouble, you'd be best off to start with a 190D.

I wonder if a 92 2.5's EDS will work with a 603 appropriately configured (EGR, vacuum wastegastw actuator, mixing pipe flap, etc.). EDS counts rpms but not sparks.

Sixto
87 300D

In California they capped it to 1975. Anything later and it has to be smogged with nothing after 75 rolling off the smog list. Diesel is 1997 and later. I'm not positive on the 1997 though.

What I never can understand is in Cali you want a 12 mpg Powerstroke, no problem. You can buy 100 if you want. A 50mpg Jetta and it's one or two a year let in. And until the trap/scrubber or whatever was installed on the new ones, sorry can't do it. Now you can get a new one. And now they think the data based on the diesel being the worst polluter was off and the study was incorrect. Do they recall any of the laws? Nope.

1998 for Diesels in California.

Sixto
87 300D
97 C2500 'burb 6.5

Low volume solution....
Buy it out of state and register it to a relative outside CA. You can then own and drive it all you like, after 1y+7500miles you can register it in CA as a used car.

It appears to be state specific. Call your local office where you get the tags for your car and ask. In Tennessee (well at least in Hamilton county, TN) when you buy a used car they ask you whether its gas, diesel, or electric and enter it as such on the new title without regard to how it was previously titled. Emission testing is required on all passenger vehicles with the diesel being a particulate test. If the motor could pass the test in an 80-85 300d or 300sd, then it will still pass transplanted into a new vehicle.

In RI, I was told by the DMV, (whether or not this is true remains to be tested) that I could legally install my 1980 240D engine into my 1989 work van, re-title it as diesel, and retain a copy of the 1980 title, whereas the van would them be subjected to inspection regulations for the 1980 model year for diesels, as long as I could prove where and when the engine originated.

Since I need the van daily and would be pissed to have to park it for years if I do the swap and find it un-inspectable, ive decided to wait until I pass the magic 25. Gas V6 probably has a few more years, although its definitely getting tired.

RI law-
A motor vehicle twenty five (25) model years old or older will be given the
required safety and emissions test for the same fees as other vehicles but will not
be denied the approval if the owner fails to complete any emission repairs. The
vehicle owner may choose either the TSI OR TRANSIENT emissions test.

They inspect it, but if you fail emissions, it still gets passed. When I inspected the 84 300D I used to own, the emissions inspection is totally optional, you can get if for curiosity sake, but its not necessary. 2014 here I come. Actually 2013, thats when I get a re-inspection which will push me past the bar

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If only it had been that simple. The inspector went over the car with a fine toothed comb. He even made my friend get documentation from VW that the part number on the ECU was correct for that model year. The inspector also made him replace his brand new Maganflow cat with an OEM one. My friend also had to re-fit his EGR cooler (he installed the non-cooled EGR system from the prior model year). The inspector also looked at the turbocharger to be sure that was stock... good think the K03/04 hybrid looks just like a K03 on the outside!

In CA smog is on 1998 diesels and later, 1997s are exempt.

If you have a W124 603 engine your best bet is to get a body from the same year as the motor, and install it along with every emissions control device.

I would find someone at the PA gov't and get the answer right from them. As other's have noted laws vary state to state. Who knows, you might be able to make a 190D 3.0 and get away with it!

-J

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1991 350SDL. 230,000 miles (new motor @ 150,000). Blown head gasket

Tesla Model 3. 205,000 miles. Been to 48 states!
Past: A fleet of VW TDIs.... including a V10,a Dieselgate Passat, and 2 ECOdiesels.
2014 Cadillac ELR
2013 Fiat 500E.

I know of one car vender in Cali who paid people in other states to buy TDIs and drive them around until they had 7500 miles on them...

-J

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1991 350SDL. 230,000 miles (new motor @ 150,000). Blown head gasket

Tesla Model 3. 205,000 miles. Been to 48 states!
Past: A fleet of VW TDIs.... including a V10,a Dieselgate Passat, and 2 ECOdiesels.
2014 Cadillac ELR
2013 Fiat 500E.

When I was shopping for my first diesel I looked at some tdi's. Miraculously, the dealer had a couple that had just over 7500 miles so they were legal to sell in California as used cars. I suspect other dealers had hung onto them as "demonstrators," then transferred them to the Cal. dealer. Price was more than MSRP for a new car, too.

Jeremy

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"Buster" in the '95

Our all-Diesel family
1996 E300D (W210) . .338,000 miles Wife's car
2005 E320 CDI . . 113,000 miles My car
Santa Rosa population 176,762 (2022)
Total. . . . . . . . . . . . 627,762
"Oh lord won't you buy me a Mercedes Benz."
-- Janis Joplin, October 1, 1970

So it turns out that nowhere on pa registration or insurance cards does it say fuel type. I can probably take it to somewhere that doesn't really know their benzes and just tell them that it is a diesel to get it inspected. That about as legal as I care about.