Started working on motor in my NYB tonight.

[Davea Lux]

Rodent.

 

[LocuMob]

Dirty pack rat (mouse).

 

[Davea Lux]

Many people used to say "Get rid of all of that pollution "stuff" and put something else back in its place". Not entirely accurate in the case of many Chrysler engines, but more true with Ford and GM motors, by observation.

The stock ignition can be enhanced rather than replaced. There used to be a 9801 TQuad, but now a Street Demon will do. The intake manifold can be a significant performance increase, I suspect. But until you get more compression into the motor, add another point of CR, which will take either heads and/or pistons, the full effect might not be reached.

Simplifying the vacuum lines and such can help things look nicer, though.

I know that in TX, your vehicle only needs a "safety inspection" rather than a sniffer test. But keeping things looking stock, key word "looking" can be important. That means no aftermarket air cleaner, for example, although spark plug wires and chrome might be ok. That's the way I see it.

When we went to the first town hall meeting before the emissions testing first went into effect, the State operatives said that as long as what came out of the tailpipe matched the model year of the vehicle, no problem. But if it didn't, then the hood would be raised and a list of offenses would be made. Which would later be termed a "visual inspection". Of course, when the centralized testing went kaput later on, things changed.

Keeping that emissions "stuff" in a box for a potential later owner, PLUS a list of what's been done and a parts list for any modifications should go along with that, too.

Having a dual exhaust with shielded aftermarket converters in it won't hurt much and still prove "intent" of keeping the environment safe for all. Which might also help, if anybody should look and question.

CBODY67

Here in Oregon, the laws are a lot stricter. Everything '75 and newer is subject to emission testing. You can replace pollution control equipment with aftermarket stuff as long as the "original purpose of the device" is not compromised and the "tailpipe emissions are maintained in compliance with the standards set for the vehicle year of manufacture". The way most folks get around this relative tight standard is to license the vehicle outside of the counties where it is subject to inspection. Oregon only inspects vehicles in Metro Portland counties (Multnomah, Washington & Clackamus counties) Most of the rest of the state does not have an inspection requirement. Makes the whole system a big joke.

Dave

 

[LocuMob]

Here in Oregon, the laws are a lot stricter. Everything '75 and newer is subject to emission testing. You can replace pollution control equipment with aftermarket stuff as long as the "original purpose of the device" is not compromised and the "tailpipe emissions are maintained in compliance with the standards set for the vehicle year of manufacture". The way most folks get around this relative tight standard is to license the vehicle outside of the counties where it is subject to inspection. Oregon only inspects vehicles in Metro Portland counties (Multnomah, Washington & Clackamus counties) Most of the rest of the state does not have an inspection requirement. Makes the whole system a big joke.

Dave

Most emissions laws are a joke, on the state testing level at least.

 

[Payton Mitchell]

Yes sir don't worry about all that crap here .

 

[Davea Lux]

Most emissions laws are a joke, on the state testing level at least.

I can remember back in the mid-70's that we used to get a constant parade of cars in because they would not pass a DEQ inspection. We would set them up to pass. A lot of the time they would run poorly but pass. With a nod and wink the service manager would tell the customer if they were not happy with the way their car ran after getting it thru DEQ, to bring it back and we would "re-check" for free. We were told to pad out time 1/2 hour to cover the De-DEQ call back. Since the only thing billed was the "set for DEQ", there was no paper trail to document that the factory emissions were tinkered with to get the vehicles to run right and everyone in govt was blissfully happy that the inspection program was a rousing success in getting all those dirty vehicles repaired.

Dave

 

[cantflip]

I can remember back in the mid-70's that we used to get a constant parade of cars in because they would not pass a DEQ inspection. We would set them up to pass. A lot of the time they would run poorly but pass. With a nod and wink the service manager would tell the customer if they were not happy with the way their car ran after getting it thru DEQ, to bring it back and we would "re-check" for free. We were told to pad out time 1/2 hour to cover the De-DEQ call back. Since the only thing billed was the "set for DEQ", there was no paper trail to document that the factory emissions were tinkered with to get the vehicles to run right and everyone in govt was blissfully happy that the inspection program was a rousing success in getting all those dirty vehicles repaired.

Dave

Back when I did this... nobody really cared. The PA state police only worried about the safety program, the contractor for the IM program would come in to service the machine... we paid him, so if he noticed the probe slipped into the wrong tailpipe during the test, he didn't say a word.

 

[CBODY67]

TX has a little bit more state oversight of the whole situation. Each testing machine is hooked up to the State computer for state inspections and emission testing activities. Now they've got more computers talking to each other so the registration activity automatically checks for insurance on the vehicle BEFORE a registration can be completed. A few other things they can withhold registration for, I believe.
.
The centralized emissions testing activity was a set-up to fail. The contractors we had had a poor performance record in other states and were owned by the same CA company, rather than being completely separate entities. If the vehicle had to wait more than 15 minutes to be tested, the station allegedly got fined. "15 minutes" is important as the cat converter can cool down and become less effective in that time. Other failures were fixed with a fresh oil change before the test. Some vehicle were damaged, though, mainly 4wd vehicles not getting into 2wd mode and such.

The driving course (on the chassis dyno) was the same one used in the IM240 testing. That meant that if a "driver" fell behind in the prompts, more throttle could mean too many HC and a "fail" whereas another driver might make it all work correctly.

After all of the issues, the centralized testing was discontinued and now car dealers and other large garages who participate in the program do the testing. Much better now.

Still, though, NO need to put excess HC and CO into the atmosphere just because you can! Make sure the carb is metered to not be too rich at idle or cruise. Setting it like we used to do (best lean idle) probably still works.

Go to Home Depot and get a plastic storage bin, put the stuff in it, and keep it in a place the items will not deteriorate as they would "out there". OR sell it all on ebay to somebody that needs it. The TQuad, thermovacuum switches, and EGR valve probably being the main valuable things.

CBODY67

 

[Mr C]

Wow, the heat ports aren't clogged shut with carbon. Low mileage?

 

[Davea Lux]

You are lucky your heat ports are not clogged. Cleaning them out is a major pain in the butt. Exhaust manifolds have to be removed first so all that crap does not get into the exhaust converter and clog it up. Clogged heat ports were a major problem on cars that did a lot of short trip driving, that burned oil, that had defective heat risers or that had bad mixture or choke settings, bad temp control switches or bad EGR valves. As you are deleting the EGR valve, you have no further issues with this problem.

Dave

 

[bajajoaquin]

Back when I did this... nobody really cared. The PA state police only worried about the safety program, the contractor for the IM program would come in to service the machine... we paid him, so if he noticed the probe slipped into the wrong tailpipe during the test, he didn't say a word.

Years ago, anything after '65 needed to be smogged in California. My Dart was a rolling smog violation. I used to take it to my VW mechanic (of all people) and leave $200 under the floor mat. He'd take it somewhere where it would sit for a day or so until another car came in, that car would be run twice, once with my car's info. I presume they'd split the dough, but I never asked.

The system is sophisticated enough now that I've been told this kind of blatant cheating doesn't happen. Luckily, the standard has been moved up to 1975. So my '67 never needs smog.

 

[cantflip]

Years ago, anything after '65 needed to be smogged in California. My Dart was a rolling smog violation. I used to take it to my VW mechanic (of all people) and leave $200 under the floor mat. He'd take it somewhere where it would sit for a day or so until another car came in, that car would be run twice, once with my car's info. I presume they'd split the dough, but I never asked.

The system is sophisticated enough now that I've been told this kind of blatant cheating doesn't happen. Luckily, the standard has been moved up to 1975. So my '67 never needs smog.

Never saw it done for profit... usually just to work around F-ing up a good running carb. Nothing says service to a customer like charging them to make it run worse.