At the local diner, I heard two guys yappin about smoggers and how they were good for nothin. So now I have 3 questions: What is a smogger, why is it there, and how do I take it off an olds 307 (if I should take it off)?
Smoggers refers to cars produced roughly after the passage of the Clean Air Act in the 1963- requirements that cars produce less pollution. It really took effect in 1970-75, when carmakers really started detuning their engines, requiring them to run on no-lead gasoline which was being phased out, and the addition of the "Smog" equipment like EGR, Air Pumps and Catalytic converters. Those early systems were quite crude and really impacted performance, driveabilty and fuel economy. It was popular to disable/remove them altogether, to improve the sluggishness and to still be able to use leaded gasoline, which was cheaper than unleaded at the time. It depends how much of the smog equipment you would want to remove, but where the 307 was designed with it in mind, not to mention federal and local laws, it's hard to say if it is worth it. For me- I just leave it alone and make sure it is functioning. Others may have different opinions. You have the basic EGR and PCV, which is straightforward, but PCV merely replaces the old road draft tube, directing the oil vapors from the crankcase to be burned instead. You have the charcoal canister with the associated hoses, The A.I.R. system includes the pump, switching valve/solenoid which is behind the pump, all the hoses to it, and the stainless steel tubing which leads into the heads and Catalytic Converter Most importantly, the electronic feedback controlled carb with the multiple sensors and vacuum lines is linked to the computer, which would require removal of it all. If you have ever really looked (studied) at all the vacuum lines under your air cleaner, you'll see what I mean. I am sure I have probably overlooking something, I don't have my shop manual in front of me at the moment. When I did the intake manifold gasket on my '87 Caprice I was quite tempted to pull it all, esp while replacing all those vacuum lines, but I just decided to keep it all. My guess is those two in the diner were discussing mid 70's vintage iron that the emissions control devices were added on and more easily removed. Hope this helps.
Thanks, it helps a lot. I suppose my best met is to run her like she is then eh? Seems like there wouldn't be a whole lot of benefit for all the work that's gotta be done.
You're quite welcome. I believe it would be your best bet, yes. I wouldn't think there would be a lot of benefit, esp when you keep in mind the camshaft selection which prevent the valves from really opening wide and transmission and rear end gearing which would still have to be addressed to really develop performance. I don't know if my 307 is just worn out or not, but my wagon is a dog. Since I drive relatively sedately, it isn't a huge problem though.
Great explaination bigbird. Over all, I really don't believe removing all that crap made much, if any, difference. With the laws and many states having inspections I'm affraid many cars will end up being junked because those parts were removed and no longer avaulable. Don't listen to everything you hear from old guys while they are eating. ---Or typing!
Thank you- I wanted to be sure I gave the best explaination possible, so I researched it a little bit just to be accurate. I know I've had problems replacing older emissions control devices, but I've been fortunate so far in finding replacements. Here in NH, pre OBDII cars don't require emissions testing, but like you said, I don't believe removing it all really does anything. I used to have a friend who, upon purchasing any used car, would immediately rip off all the emissions control stuff, and they never ran the same, or again at all. So off he'd go to buy another car! He always tried to encourage me to do the same, but after seeing his results and having a desire to have clean air to breath- I'd tell him to mind his own business.
In my opinion, I think a lot of people equate emission control equipment with lowering performance because most of it was introduced at a time when overall engine performance took a dive. They see all this plumbing and wiring and assume that all of this is responsible for the reduced performance when in fact it was what was internal to the engine (lower compression, poor breathing heads and intakes, lame camshafts, etc.) that were really responsible for the power loss. It's easier to see and remove an air pump than to see or change a crappy cam or poor flowing heads. Removing things like EGR, air pumps, and catalytic converters won't have much positive influence on power and as noted above may even hurt performance.
I'd define a smogger as anything built about 1971-1990 with smog control equipment like air pumps, EGR passages built into manifolds and heads, computer controlled carburetors, air injection, catalytic converters, things like that. My '76 Gran Torino is most certainly a SMOG ERA car. Now I have a 1972 351C in it, but the converters are still hooked up and the air pump is on the engine and the belt is off. I intend on removing the air pump (no sense having it on a '72 engine, it has no passages for it) and I will have no cats installed when I run duals on it sometime in the next year. Now I'm not doing this to circumvent emissions regulations or anything, I'm doing it because a 1972 engine was not designed to have cats. I will also snug some headers in there if I have room. I don't think I'll have room but I can always go to a mini starter and see what'll wedge in there. Playing around with the CompCams software has me thinking with the cam in there and the 4 barrel carb and intake, that headers and duals with mufflers without cats will provide the best increase in usable power without sacrificing smooth running characteristics, mileage, or emissions. Those cast iron manifolds and 34 year old oil-filled cats need to go! I opened my car up today. Feels nice to take off about half throttle without smoke or spinning tires, drop the pedal to 3/4 throttle and have 60mph at the top of First gear in under 10 seconds. If I go over 3/4 throttle it bogs down. But anyway, Second should hit at least 95mph and Third would top out at 130-135mph. I won't ever go that fast, but I like knowing I can go 0-60 without a shift. 2.75 gears will stay!!!
