My wife an I recently purchased an 83 Z. It didn't occur to me to check for the emissions crap. It has an Edelbrock 550 carb and performer intake. My wife took this car to the dealer for an oil leak check & qoute for a new dipstick intall ($500 for the dipstick/tube install) today. Dealer told her a $2000 price tag to re-install emissions stuff. Then they had the ***** to tell her "You actually bought this car?" They also said "Scrap it for parts" Again...this is an 83 Z with approx. 80,000 miles. Engine looks like it has been replaced or rebuilt. It's got a great engine. Just lacks the smog stuff. Can the smog stuff be added to the carb/intake combo I have? And where can I find the smog stuff?

Thanks,
Brandon

 

Junkyard.

Look for a Caprice of about the same year, it has all the identical same stuff. Same carb, same AIR pump, same everything.

You'll have to lose the Carter carb.

 

Depending upon the type of inspection you have to pass, you may or may not need everything. If you have a visual inspection, you'll need all the components - an EVAP canister, EGR, AIR pump and diverter valve, a cat converter in the exhaust system, oygen sensor, and a Rochester E4ME carburetor. That means you'll also need the TVS for the EVAP and AIR diverter, and all the brackets, plus an ECM and CALPAK for your engine.

However, if you only have to hop on a treadmill and pass a tailpipe sniffer test, you might be able to get by with a newer-style cat converter that doesn't reqire air injection, a little tuning, and a warm engine.

 

Actually....I believe a visual and sniffer are a part of the test. The car still has the original LU5 ECM. Will I need a new one to handle the carb? How about the distributor?

Brandon

 

umm if they were serious about 500 for a dipstick tube and a dipstick go back and punch em in the face or somethin...

 

Yes you will need the correct ECM for a carb. Dist should be the same. Wiring will be different; it's extremely easy to remove the entire ECM harness from a car as a single unit, without cutting a single wire, if you pay attention and follow eaxh wire back to where it connects to something.

Just find a car with all that still there in the boneyard, and strip it.

 

I hear if you swap to a non-EGR carb from FI....a new dist. is needed. Is this right?

Brandon

 

Has nothing to do with EGR.

If you swap to a non-computer carb from a computer-controlled system of any sort, FI or carb, you have to swap to a non-computer-controlled dist as well.

I can't tell you whether you have to swap your dist or not, because I don't know what's in there..... people will all the time leave a computer-controlled dist in their motor after putting on some other carb, then wonder why their car dosen't run right. If you just disconnect the computer from the dist altogether but leave the computer-controlled one in there, it will have no advance whatsoever under any circumstances, and the engine will run real lazy, get terrible gas mileage, and run real hot. If you leave the ECM in there, and the computer-controlled dist, with everything hooked up except for the aftermarket carb, the ECM will be very ocnfused and will probably keep the timing in "limp-home" mode.... see above for symptoms.

Who knows whether whoever did whatever they did to your car did it right, or half-assed to what degree. I certainly can't see your car well enough right this moment to make that call.

Juat get the dist off the car you strip, as described above. Then you'll be certain you have the right kind.

 

It certainly doesn't run hot. However, it does run kinda rough at idle and definitely is not very fast for the mods it has. Previous owner told me the computer controls the tranny only. So...it does sound like the dist should be replaced with a stock unit.

Brandon

 

Should I sell the Z and my 84 Iron Duke to find something nicer and without the hassle? Really hate to do that as I love both cars. Thought about scrapping the Iron Duke. Might need the doors for the Z as well as the nice exhaust I added to it. Oh...and the rear view mirror. The Z28 can be a nice car. Just needs paint, carpet, emissions equipment and few other odd & ends. Picked her up for $1150.

Brandon

 

Find out what is required to pass the test before you go to all that work and trouble. Here they just check for the presence of a catalytic converter, and run the fairly strict dyno emissions test. My 87Z passes that with total ease if you lean it down pretty good, with the only emissions device on the car being a 3" Catco cat...

 

I'll need everything here in Harris county, where I live. They do a visual as well as the emissions. Or I could go out of county, but I'm pretty sure they'll do a visual as well.

Brandon