I Hate California CARB

NYC Defender

Active member
Hello everyone,

I have a 1994 D110 with a 3.5 V8 that just cleared CBP and is about to ship to my house in the Bay area, and I now find myself scratching my head about how to get the damn thing registered in California.
Does anyone have any experience with this true nightmare?
Any ideas will be helpful and No I don't have a ranch in Montana to register it there lol.
just an average guy that fell in love with the right car in the wrong state.

Looking forward to any helpful input.
 

lithium1330

Technical Excellence Contributor
Callsign: KM6FDG
To do things legally, G&K is really your only option. Pay the approx. $10k and get the CARB sticker.
Someone posted similar on a fb group... not sure if that was you?

Anyways, are you in the bay area already? Come join the local LR club... http://norcalrovers.org/
Perhaps some members can chime in with their thoughts.
We do a monthly meetup (next one coming up Oct 18th in SF), off road events and folks organize trips throughout the year.
 

Shearpin

Well-known member
My brother had this issue with a 3.5 V8 in a grey market 2 door Range Rover 10+ years ago. He tried every known California bureaucratic work around at the time and eventually gave up and paid to obtain the CARB sticker.

I don’t remember it being $10k - I do remember they used DeLorean catalytic converters to certify.

Best of luck...
 

Napalm00

Technical Excellence Contributor
Like this guys said the only legal way is g&k . It's a long and expensive process. Join the local club , it's worth it !
 

NYC Defender

Active member
I Guess $10k it is then. I hate this California CARB BS. a cow emits more pollution than all Land Rovers in the state combined.
 

DefenderDan

New member
Thinking about getting myself into this mess in CA. For those that have been through the G&K process, what was your experience like? I'm looking at getting a restored Defender with a 300TDI and would love to understand more about what they do to the vehicles before sending it there and paying the $$$. Did they physically modify the vehicle? Any horror stories to be aware of?

I'm also in the bay area and would love to join the group if this all works out
 

Napalm00

Technical Excellence Contributor
Thinking about getting myself into this mess in CA. For those that have been through the G&K process, what was your experience like? I'm looking at getting a restored Defender with a 300TDI and would love to understand more about what they do to the vehicles before sending it there and paying the $$$. Did they physically modify the vehicle? Any horror stories to be aware of?

I'm also in the bay area and would love to join the group if this all works out

Frankly they don't do much. They will add a fuel restrictor to the filler nozzle, they will add a unheated industrial type converter and tune the injection pump down so it doesn't smoke.

It's maybe two to three hours of work and you pay $15,000. I know three people who have sent trucks there all have come back without issues it just takes time and money.

It's a racket and a stamp but that is the only legal way.

There really is no way to sneak them through anymore most trucks get figured out by the DMV and they will suspend your registration If you don't get it done through G&k. If you go with the out-of-state LLC/title and plating you're going to be a target for the cheaters hot line and it's quasi legal. If you have an out-of-state plate and don't have California insurance you may also run into issues if you get into an accident or injure someone.

Effectively have two choices. Pay and be legal or skirt the law and have some kind of exposure. There really isn't any other gray area anymore.

Lots of active people in the Bay area, I just moved from there. Lithium above in this post is part of the northern California Land Rover club very active and welcoming club.
 

DefenderDan

New member
Thanks for the help! They didn't give me much info when I reached out to them directly and the reviews online are mixed so I appreciate the insight.
 
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