I have researched this for over a month before spending the money and time to do a build that I can't use on the road. MA has a crush rule. basically you buy a gas powered pre 74 car or light truck that was titled/registered in MA for at least a year within the past five years that had an engine of the same or higher displacement than what you plan on using and have the entire vehicle crushed for scrap and get a certificate from the scrap yard stating such with its VIN number. then you can put any engine you want in it and they'll give you an emissions exemption. The idea being your getting rid of a "dirty " car and putting a less polluting car on the road. try and find one, not easy! The other way is to get a take out engine and trans combo that has a emissions certification and you can use that but it must pass emissions testing for that set up. You may have to get new cat convertors, O2 sensors and a canister. A new crate engine is only allowed with the crush scenario or an E-rod Type assembly that has a CARB certification from California. What a pain. These rules were recently eased from what they had before. Bumpers not required, you just can't have bumper mounts or any frame sticking out. Some kind of fenders are required and you must have some kind of wiper(s), Seat belts after 1966 and air bags if originally equipped. Exhaust must exit out the back unless originally equipped otherwise. I was not able to find any of this info from anyone who has tried to go through this here so I combed through the MA laws on the state website to find this stuff and then talked to an ex fellow employee who worked for state inspection system and he called his old boss to get the lowdown. My friend now has a garage and does inspections and he was not aware of the new changes.
GM Performance has eight different E-Rod options. Not cheep But plenty of HP. They are also available from those 2 big racing parts stores and some others.