engine upgrades....

[grpups]

i'm planning to install aftermarket performance parts, eg. headers, carb, cam, etc. will my emission control parts (EFE, AIR, EGR) still hook up to these aftermarket parts? do i really need them? thanks.......

 

[76okievette]

I can't answer both your questions, but to the part about needing you emissions equipment, it depends on if you state has a emissions test for your year of car or not. It would depend on what standards you need to meet to get the car reqistered. I know in oklahoma we don't have any inspections any more so we are clear to remove the cat, and all the emissions stuff. Check your state requirements, I am sure you don't need them to make the car run right, they can all be remove and some adjustments made and you will never notice the difference.

 

[Bob_K]

Most headers will not accept smog equipment. Some carbs are 50 state legal (Eldebrock and Holley both make legal aftermarket carbs), but not all of them are. The cam does not connect to any emissions equipment, but too large of a cam can make you fail emissions testing. Also, not all aftermarket intakes accept EGR valves.

 

[grpups]

I can't answer both your questions, but to the part about needing you emissions equipment, it depends on if you state has a emissions test for your year of car or not. It would depend on what standards you need to meet to get the car reqistered. I know in oklahoma we don't have any inspections any more so we are clear to remove the cat, and all the emissions stuff. Check your state requirements, I am sure you don't need them to make the car run right, they can all be remove and some adjustments made and you will never notice the difference.

there are no emission inspections here. to be exact, what emissions stuff did you remove and what adjustments have to be made. do i just plug all the connections also? i would really appreciate the info. thanks........

 

[76okievette]

Sorry, I did not mean to imply I have done this, my car is a 76. The only thing I have done is remove the cat and install true dual exhuast. As to the installation of the performance stuff I have a stock L-48 so can't really answer that but I am sure you will get some answer's here. Lots of really soup'd up stuff here. First I would research exactly what emission stuff you have on your car. Then decide what perfromance stuff you are installing. I am sure you will get lots of advice. Good Luck.

 

[grpups]

Sorry, I did not mean to imply I have done this, my car is a 76. The only thing I have done is remove the cat and install true dual exhuast. As to the installation of the performance stuff I have a stock L-48 so can't really answer that but I am sure you will get some answer's here. Lots of really soup'd up stuff here. First I would research exactly what emission stuff you have on your car. Then decide what perfromance stuff you are installing. I am sure you will get lots of advice. Good Luck.

no problem....so far i have a stock L-48 but also with true duals w/o the cats. thanks again....

 

[plumcrazy]

Most headers will not accept smog equipment. Some carbs are 50 state legal (Eldebrock and Holley both make legal aftermarket carbs), but not all of them are. The cam does not connect to any emissions equipment, but too large of a cam can make you fail emissions testing. Also, not all aftermarket intakes accept EGR valves.

headman makes an air tube kit for emissions vehicles.

check it out maybe what you are lookin for

 

[Macgyver]

Grpups, i recently removed all emissions equip and stock 81' ECM controlled components. If you have questions I ve got some answers. The Air is very simple to remove but will leave an open tube connected to the cat uunless you remove that. THe EGR would require a special plate to put on over the intake unless you buy a new intake that just doesnt have the provisions for the EGR like the Edelbrock 2101. THe cat would require some exhaust work to bridge the 2 pipes together unless you get a new exhaust set. If you get a new carb then it would have to be one w/ a provision to recirculate the vapors to send them to the vapor canister that sits under the brake booster. You can easily reomve that as well.

I would just ditch all this stuff anyways since it just cluters up the enigne bay and will be null and void w/ a performance carb, intake, and headers. You can remove the AIR pump belt to free up about 30-45HP.lol

 

[grpups]

Grpups, i recently removed all emissions equip and stock 81' ECM controlled components. If you have questions I ve got some answers. The Air is very simple to remove but will leave an open tube connected to the cat uunless you remove that. THe EGR would require a special plate to put on over the intake unless you buy a new intake that just doesnt have the provisions for the EGR like the Edelbrock 2101. THe cat would require some exhaust work to bridge the 2 pipes together unless you get a new exhaust set. If you get a new carb then it would have to be one w/ a provision to recirculate the vapors to send them to the vapor canister that sits under the brake booster. You can easily reomve that as well.

I would just ditch all this stuff anyways since it just cluters up the enigne bay and will be null and void w/ a performance carb, intake, and headers. You can remove the AIR pump belt to free up about 30-45HP.lol

thanks for the info. did you require any adjustments, e.g. carb, eng timing, etc. after removing all the emission stuff?

 

[JohnZ]

Removing the "bolt-on" stuff will clean up appearance, but will have very little influence on performance; most of the performance loss resulted from carburetor calibration and ignition timing and vacuum/centrifugal advance calibration, not the A.I.R. pump and plumbing.

 

[Macgyver]

Right, the big performance gain came mainly from the leaking intake gasket and the poorly contolled Q-jet and bad sensors. But I basicaly made one major adjustment and nothing was the same except the engine. New Carb, intake, HEI distrib, cap, coil, wires, and no ECM and emissions. If you keep the same setup and just ditch the emissions youll have to plug up some vacuum fittings on the Q-jet and possibly adjust the idle and, maybe but probably not, the mixutre screws. What youre removing mainly works to recirculate whats not being burnt up. If you ditch that then youll probably run into a leaner condition being that theres a huge difference in the smell of your garage before and after emissions. When you first start her up Im sure theres more fuel not being completely spent, until it warms up good.

But if youre getting a new carb, intake, exhaust,and cam youre gonna want to remove all the emissions to cleanup the enigne bay if youre doing all the work yourself. WHen you spend all that money and major amounts of time its nice to pop the hood for people and hear "Ooooooh thats nice!" I think the AIR will have to come off to swap the cam anyways. I have some before and afters of my 81 engine bay that are night and day. Ill send them to you as soon as I can get them off my friends other computer and you can judge for yourself. night and day

 

[grpups]

thanks to all for the help and info. i'm starting to get the whole picture now. looking forward to the before and after pics from Macgyver.

aloha.

 

[3Quarters]

If you take the stuff off, just don't throw it away... I've been looking for engine upgrades for my 81. The previous owner put in a new exhaust but the cat had no air pump provision. The air pump was just pumping air beneath the car, got tired of listening to it so I removed the belt... Anyone have any good advice for improving the performance of the L81 without yanking the whole motor?

 

[MrGibbly]

Eckler's (and other vendors) have chips you can swap with what is currently in ECM that can make a small difference for a reasonable price without changing the appearance of anything. It gets so much more complicated with the computer controlled carbs & ignitions...that's why I settled on a '78. I don't know if the '81 had 2.25" or 2.5" exhaust plumbing, but going to 2.5" pipes, high-flow cat, performance mufflers can make a big difference without putting you on Grean Peace's Most Wanted list. Dropping in a K&N or other high-flow air filter can help. Some people like underdrive pulleys for their accessories like those made by March. These cars just aren't that fast and it takes some major open heart surgery to perk them up all that much...most of which will cause you to flunk your emissions test. I'm planning on installing a set of Dynomax Ceramacoat headers and Ultra FLo SS mufflers this summer.