[UCANSEE2]

Can automobile black boxes be removed or disabled and still be able to operate the car?

Yes, but you must replace the engine and all the wiring in the car, including the ignition switch with non computer-controlled stuff from the late 80's.

Most of your accessories in the car won't work as the old wiring harness probably won't have the right connectors, but you can start it and drive it, at least during the daytime.

[Charles Martel]

A new car could be retired using one of the aftermarket wiring harnesses made for racing and classic car retrofit applications. You could probably splice in most of the accessories, but the real problems are the throttle-by-wire engine control and the fact that many safety inspections now include plugging into the OBD scan port. If the car won't "talk" to the state's computer, it won't pass the inspection.

There may be some loopholes in state laws, but this stuff gets tightened up each year.