EJ Conversion and laws attached

woody.t · Post by **woody.t** » Thu Sep 03, 2009 7:06 pm

I have 1989 automatic touring wagon which i'm looking to convert to a manual and put an ej22 in, plus lift kit 15" wheels etc. i am interested in the laws in western australia for both lifting and conversions of this nature. Also i am wondering whether it is worth doing the automatic to manual conversion and the difficulty of doing this on a this car?

cheers tyrone.

guyph_01 · Post by **guyph_01** » Fri Sep 04, 2009 2:36 am

hi there mate,

Welcome to the site. I have just recently done a convertion in my L touuring wagon and i can tell you i'm the happiest kid alive. I bought my car unlicensed, did the ej convertion and got it over the pits. Just gave them the key for inspection and it passed first go.
And i've heard on turbo engines passing with no probs too.Of course you must make sure all the stuff they check is in good working order.
The common saying is that 2" lift kit is legal and you have no probs insuring your car, however as soon as you go higher you need a engineer to certify and do some road test for the car to be insured and legal.
As you can see in my post i have installed a 3" kit. Im planning to get it engineered but yeah.

Pesonally i hate automatic, some ppl say its better for offroad etc blabla but i would 100% go manual. As far as the convertion goes, its not very hard to do. changing the gearbox, installing the lift kit is quite easy. The only tricky part is conecting the wiering loom. I got a mate to do mine hehe.

Your welcome to come and have a look at my car and ask questions..
Hope this helps.
Guyph

woody.t · Post by **woody.t** » Fri Sep 11, 2009 6:54 pm

really, turbo's? is that the 2.0l turbo ? do they breach the 22% capacity upgrade ligislation and if not what modification do you need other then the normal ej conversion?

GOD · Post by **GOD** » Fri Sep 11, 2009 8:40 pm

The only cars I know of with licensed turbo swaps were originally turbos, eg Andrew's 1.8L RX turbo to 2.0L EJ20 turbo.

The National Code of Practice for Light Vehicle Modifications, which WA mostly follows, says a replacement engine with 20% greater capacity OR 20% more power OR new forced induction must be inspected and approved. The WA change of engine number form asks for both displacement and power output of the new and replacement engines.

Or you can do what Guyph, myself and others have done for our NA EJ convos, and start with an unregistered car, do the conversion then take it over the pits. Don't point out that the engine is different, and they probably won't notice it. They'll just record the new engine number and give you some number plates. I wouldn't count on them not noticing a turbo though.

Dane.

AndrewT · Post by **AndrewT** » Fri Sep 11, 2009 8:53 pm

Yeah, mine was originally an EA82 turbo and I passed the pits with an EJ20turbo. But it's still more than 22% more power which I suppose is technically completely illegal. I know other people who have passed sportswagons with EJ20turbos too, those cars were originally n/a.

Honestly the whole thing is a massive grey area.
If a cop wants to give me a yellow sticker he can probably think of 10 reasons off the top of his head, which is more than enough. Then I could go to the pits without changing anything and pass again. Then again maybe I won't pass, it depends which inspector I get and what kind of mood he is in - litterally this is the crucial thing.
Like I say, it's all massively grey.
You can do your homework and abide 100% by the law, but you will probably find yourself spending lots of money on engineering inspections etc and ultimately not really doing many awesome mods.

There's really two things - being able to pass the pits, and being 100% legal. These things are completely different. But really, I rekon solong as you can pass the pits you are good enough. It's a reasonable inspection and if something is stupidly/dangerously modified it won't pass, that's good enough for me.

You do have the advantage of being in WA. From what I hear our pits are WAY easier to pass than any other state.

guyph_01 · Post by **guyph_01** » Fri Sep 11, 2009 10:39 pm

hehe yeah, what andrew is saying is 100% true. I had an unlisenced Touring wagon, did the conversion to EJ22 and went to the pits, Obviously i replaced the tie rod end, racks ends, oil leaks, making sure horn, wiper, water jet works, all lights front and rear, gd bearings, no major rust or dents and some more shit and your quite sure your passing. I have passed 12-15 cars over the pits, some were mine, some were my mates as we buy them cheap and i fix them up for them, everything from a suzuki swift, to a holden rodeo. Away yeah pits here are exactly as andrews. I have some experience on what they look for and pick on so i could help you if you want so you have more chance of passing first go. First inspection is about $88 and second is $55 and always $55 after that. The latest thing they got me on is the heater has to work, and with our old L series most of them are ****ed, so my trick is to buy a elec heater thing that you stick on the top air vents of the dash and they will pass you, if not you'll fail. They failed me a week ago in a 94 festiva but passed in the avo with that thing:)

And i also waited to pass the pits before i installed my 3"lift kit on my car.

AndrewT · Post by **AndrewT** » Sat Sep 12, 2009 12:33 pm

Heh yeah. Lift kits. We all know the story - only 2" is legal, anything else requires engineering certificates etc etc.
Well that may be so, but if the car is in reasonable nick it will still pass an inspection with 3" kit installed.
Matt passed both his L series over the pits with 3" lift in them. I think his first car even had one lift block made out of wood, but don't quote me on that :P

guyph_01 · Post by **guyph_01** » Sat Sep 12, 2009 9:42 pm

WOOD hahahahaha, nice one