Actually, they do permit OBD-II upgrades that do not include the entire
system.  They just don't have a blanket approval like the EO for the Subie
conversion.  Stephan's Auto Haus puts the Audi 1.8T motor (OBD-II) in
Vanagons on a regular basis.  After a quick trip to the BAR referee, the
swap is certified.

Cheers,

Jeff

-----Original Message-----
From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com] On Behalf Of
John Bange
Sent: Friday, April 06, 2012 5:55 PM
To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
Subject: Re: Failed Ca Smog due to Evaporative leak

On Fri, Apr 6, 2012 at 4:19 PM, Dave Mcneely <mcneely4@cox.net> wrote:

> But I'm not going to complain about the non-factory installations
> being turned down.  We don't know what the pollutant engine does in
> that non-factory configuration.

In a state like California, where they run a dyno-based emissions test, they
actually DO know what the engine puts out in a non factory configuration,
because they measure it, and in non-OBD-II upgrades they require it to pass
a smog test before registering, just like any other car.
The reason for not permitting anything but the ENTIRE system (from
transmission to tailpipe) from being used when upgrading an older car's
engine to an OBD-II engine is because one of CARB's stated goals is to get
old cars off the road. They wish to force drivers of old cars to give them
up by making them stay with older, more polluting engines until the lack of
power/reliability/fuel economy drives people to get a nice new car that
suits their agenda of having us all drive 30mph golf carts.