I have an 82 Camaro Z28 with a stock 305 LG4 where I've removed the original Exhaust manifolds, replaced them with Hedman headers, removed the cat (it was clogged) and installed magnaflow resonators directly to the headers with a turndown at the axle. I also removed all the emissions stuff including the EGR valve.

At the same time, I've replaced the original qjet (presently working on the rebuild) and replaced the carb with an edelbrock 1406.

My question is why does my exhaust smell so strong ???

 

taking a wild guess here but.....

 

I understand and that was my initial idea.

Then again, I've noticed that many in this board have removed their cats (replaced with a straight pipe) without any noticeable changes.....

I guess I was totally wrong.

 

I'd be more suspecious of:
Something tells me the original distributor is still sitting in there.

 

No, the original distributor is not in there, it has been replaced with a non cc unit....
It is not a new distributor ... can it be the cause of something ??

 

Well, that's good news, at least.

Where is your timing set at? Do both the mechanical and vacuum advance mechanisms work properly?

How much tuning have you done on the carb?

 

My timing is at 12 and both mechanical and vacuum advance mechanisms seem to work properly.... how can I verify that both work properly ??

As for the Carburetor.... I leaned them out as specified by Edelbrock.

 

Set initial timing with the vacuum advance disconnected.

After setting it and tightening down the distributor clamp, run the RPMs up and watch the timing mark. It should advance past the timing tab.

Back at idle, reattach the vacuum advance. Slowly run RPMs up, the timing mark should advance sooner and more than it did in the paragraph above. When it does, give it a quick blip on the throttle, the mark should come back down as RPMs rise (don't overspeed your engine during all of this).

 

Ok, I'll redo my timing and follow your instructions....

Maybe this can be another indication, my idle will hunt a few hundred RPM's continuously... can this be another timing setup issue ??

 

Could be. Do you know which carb vacuum port you used for the vacuum advance?

 

I used full vacuum port (drivers side).

It did not seem to run fine on the "Timed Port" ... unless the timing was all wrong, could that be ?

 

If the vacuum advance was hooked up when you set the timing, it will be too retarded, which will tend to make the engine run rich.

Some set-ups just don't seem to like timed vacuum. Use whatever works best.

 

Thanks five7kid, I will redo the timing and let you know if it improves the situation.

 

My car has a gutted cat and the exhaust just smells like a lawnmower.

 

Youe car is EFI though.

Most carbd cars run rich on idle as they cant adjust 'on the fly' unless its computer controlled like a later model quadrajet.

 

Did my timing once again, set it at 8 (advanced) on timed port. It is now running ok on timed port and the exhaust smell is not as strong. The idle is not as smooth as I would like. It hunts up and down 200 rpms....