"Bare-Bones" Slant

-
zmarty27

zmarty27

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jun 11, 2021
Messages
135
Reaction score
23
Location
Texas
Hello, all. Just a bit of curiosity here...

I dug around the search bar on the forum and didn't see much pertaining, directly, to emissions operations or the necessity of the add-on's the government required for motor vehicles in the 70's forward. Most of what I see under the hood is a load of wiring, sensors, and quarter inch hosing, most of which I have no clue what it means or does. I've read the service manual and the faithful "Work Bench How-To" and I have a firm understanding of how the motor works and the basics of how it's put together. Now I approach my question(s):

How much of the emissions tech is necessary for this vehicle to run and is most of it over-kill?

What would it take to simplify this machine?
 
It will be easier for your questions to be answered if you can tell us year, make and model. There are some things that are beneficial even if they are for emissions.
 
RustyRatRod said:
It will be easier for your questions to be answered if you can tell us year, make and model. There are some things that are beneficial even if they are for emissions.
Click to expand...
Yes sir. Of course.

'74 Duster 225
 
zmarty27 said:
Yes sir. Of course.

'74 Duster 225
Click to expand...
I think that one has the ridiculous doodad that controls and basically delays timing. Just hideous. Anything regarding the FUEL system I would be wary of changing, as all of that can work in your favor as far as helping mileage. Assuming of course, you are leaving it stock or mild. I would suggest you go over to MyMopar and download the factory service manual. They're free.
 
I didn't see a 74 Plymouth manual. There's a 73 Dodge manual. It should be close.
 
RustyRatRod said:
I didn't see a 74 Plymouth manual. There's a 73 Dodge manual. It should be close.
Click to expand...
I do have a physical copy of the factory manual for the '74. I'll give the '73 PDF a look and compare. Thanks for the reference, by the way. Handy little website.
 
zmarty27 said:
I do have a physical copy of the factory manual for the '74. I'll give the '73 PDF a look and compare. Thanks for the reference, by the way. Handy little website.
Click to expand...
Well there you go. That should tell you about each system on that car and WHAT it's for. Also, keep in mind if you have emissions testing in your area, you might not wanna mess with it "too much".
 
Is it needed to run, no. Is it needed to not pollute the environment, yes. This is where your state laws come into to play. In Oregon you can not mess with emission equipment period (in other words no exhaust shop, even in the sticks will cut your cats off and straight pipe your ride) and in DEQ areas 76-up get the every two year sniffer. Now, my 79 F-150 with a built 460 would pass with high flow cats and a good tune.

In your case, leave all the evaporative emission equipment intact and functional. Gasoline vapors are toxic, flammable, and there goes your fuel (you just paid for) while drawing moisture and degrading its quality. Exhaust emission just need a good 3 way, 400 cell cat with an exhaust routed the way the factory did and you and your passengers will enjoy not smelling like raw exhaust and wondering why you all have headaches. Follow it all up with a good tune and your golden. This assumes you have a healthy engine.

With a good schematic, coming to understand the evaporative emissions probably isn't all that difficult, its just plumbing in the end.
 
I took it all off from my 76 Dodge Aspen 225 .Put on a carter 1bbl off a 65 valiant 225,lost the cat ,and plugged up all those vacuum lines. Woke it right up
 
Yup done the same many times on most of the vehicles I have owned.
Like on my 85 d150 It came to me with the front cat disintegrated and the guts of which plugging the rear cat. And it came with most of a lean burn setup but not the type with computer feedback to carb.
All is history. Have a newly built '74 forged crank 225 with increased compression, reground cam, ported head with oversized valves and a super 6 topped by a brand new NOS "318" BBD that is cataloged for a 77-78 truck with "heavy duty" emissions (which back then essentially means "no" emissions hardware)
Almost ready to drop in. Should happen this spring once I can work with the garage door open.will probably hook up the charcoal canister but no egr and no cats
 
dano said:
Is it needed to run, no. Is it needed to not pollute the environment, yes. This is where your state laws come into to play. In Oregon you can not mess with emission equipment period (in other words no exhaust shop, even in the sticks will cut your cats off and straight pipe your ride) and in DEQ areas 76-up get the every two year sniffer. Now, my 79 F-150 with a built 460 would pass with high flow cats and a good tune.

In your case, leave all the evaporative emission equipment intact and functional. Gasoline vapors are toxic, flammable, and there goes your fuel (you just paid for) while drawing moisture and degrading its quality. Exhaust emission just need a good 3 way, 400 cell cat with an exhaust routed the way the factory did and you and your passengers will enjoy not smelling like raw exhaust and wondering why you all have headaches. Follow it all up with a good tune and your golden. This assumes you have a healthy engine.

With a good schematic, coming to understand the evaporative emissions probably isn't all that difficult, its just plumbing in the end.
Click to expand...
On any older car now install cats not take them off , the "gas" if that what you call it **** and stinks
so we run some racing cats on them keeps the smell down and no real power loss
 
The emissions crap is not the killer, its the pathetic timing curve and TDC timing. Evap is fine, Cats are fine, even the EGR is not harmful (if its working correctly, not just the 'holes in the bottom of the intake' design: off at idle, on at part throttle, off at WOT)). So get an earlier distributor, figure out the cam timing hurdle and go to town. Most of the vacuum lines are thermovalve switched for the EGR and evap functions to work only when warmed up. If you have no vacuum leaks, they dont hurt anything. Between model year 82 and 83, my 82 Mazda's vacuum hose count tripled.
 
67belevdere/225 said:
On any older car now install cats not take them off , the "gas" if that what you call it **** and stinks
so we run some racing cats on them keeps the smell down and no real power loss
Click to expand...

Yep, I run 300 Cell Metallic cats on my GTS. I can tune on it and not feel like I'm being gassed out or stink to high heaven after a drive.
 
volaredon said:
Yup done the same many times on most of the vehicles I have owned.
Like on my 85 d150 It came to me with the front cat disintegrated and the guts of which plugging the rear cat. And it came with most of a lean burn setup but not the type with computer feedback to carb.
All is history. Have a newly built '74 forged crank 225 with increased compression, reground cam, ported head with oversized valves and a super 6 topped by a brand new NOS "318" BBD that is cataloged for a 77-78 truck with "heavy duty" emissions (which back then essentially means "no" emissions hardware)
Almost ready to drop in. Should happen this spring once I can work with the garage door open.will probably hook up the charcoal canister but no egr and no cats
Click to expand...
I'm curious to see your set-up. Keep up posted?
 
dano said:
Is it needed to run, no. Is it needed to not pollute the environment, yes. This is where your state laws come into to play. In Oregon you can not mess with emission equipment period (in other words no exhaust shop, even in the sticks will cut your cats off and straight pipe your ride) and in DEQ areas 76-up get the every two year sniffer. Now, my 79 F-150 with a built 460 would pass with high flow cats and a good tune.

In your case, leave all the evaporative emission equipment intact and functional. Gasoline vapors are toxic, flammable, and there goes your fuel (you just paid for) while drawing moisture and degrading its quality. Exhaust emission just need a good 3 way, 400 cell cat with an exhaust routed the way the factory did and you and your passengers will enjoy not smelling like raw exhaust and wondering why you all have headaches. Follow it all up with a good tune and your golden. This assumes you have a healthy engine.

With a good schematic, coming to understand the evaporative emissions probably isn't all that difficult, its just plumbing in the end.
Click to expand...

Not cats on a 74.
 
Haha haha my 78 fury still has that on it.
But probably not for much longer
 
volaredon said:
Haha haha my 78 fury still has that on it.
But probably not for much longer
Click to expand...
I picked up a decent AMC Hornet other day 258 I6, it has the primitive system on it and all kinds of vac lines, switches. solenoids, EGRs, line to trans, some sorta switch of the side of the engine block, do dahs, even a smog pump. Got rid of all that and it still runs good off the computer sorta thing! But its getting a points dist. and a new coil! But is does have a vac. gauge in the dash, like early cudas.:lol::poke::BangHead:
 
I wouldnt go points. their elec ign setup was the same as Fords of the late 70s which wasn't a bad deal. certanly not the same as Mopar's Lean Burn.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
-

Back
Top