im not to sure on ca. laws but i am emissions insp. cert. hear in pa. to answer your question if the car started out obd2 then it needs to stay that way. there are readieness codes that have to be read in order to pass electronic emi. if you use a sniffer as part of the insp. as long as the cat is working properly and your engine is running correctly it will pass. now if your motor is obd1 then you will probebly only have to do the visiual insp and tail pipe sniffer. so if the swap is done right and it is obd one you should have no problems.