Spitfire 1979 Spitfire Emissions

[Bronson]

Hi Guys, I'm back with more newbie questions.I finally made it over to Mississippi to pick up My new 79 Spitfire. I am very happy with the car. It is in very original, clean condition. I now have it insured and tagged for legal use here in Texas.I have an antique tag on it, which does not require an inspection sticker.
My question: I will be detailing the engine bay soon, but...I wonder aboutremoving ALL of the emission controls, pump, hoses, canister, all of it. I would like to clean up the engine bay, and there is a lot of emissions clutter there. The belt is not on the pump, and it feels sluggish when I turn it by hand. I would REALLY like to eliminate all the smog stuff. Anybody done this? Is there a down-side/ Thanks for Your help.

 

[JodyFKerr]

My mum's Spitfire was just like yours. I removed all of the emissions equipment (except for the catalytic converter) and stored them away in a box.

The car runs far more happily without all of it.

 

[Bronson]

Thanks, Jody. I am pretty mechanical (retired helicopter mech) but I was amazed at how much inter-connected stuff there is. Any suggestions or guidance you could give Me as far as where to start? Thanks!

 

[Deleted member 8987]

Like he said, store all the bits, brackets, bolts, hoses, clamps away in a box. We had a thread here a while back of a guy in California who bought a Texas Spit with everything removed, and either had to scrap it or ship it out of state.

You never know when Big Brother is going to go back on the date of emissions requirements (they did it here once, lasted for 12 years before they went to a 20-year sliding scale) and you might need them bits.

Older cars respond very well to emissions garbage removal...newer ones often do not.

Injection tubes out, brass plugs inserted, gulp valve out, smog pump out, cat and head pipe out, new pipe installed, if it has a Thermactor air cleaner, find one that doesn't (hot air tube from exhaust shield), EGR valve can be a bit of work, remove tube (soak it first) and have a plate made to cover the opening when you remove the valve, or a threaded plug (been a long time since I've seen one...cannot recall off hand which style), and TVS (Temperature Vacuum Switches) remove and plug the hole into the water jacket with threaded plug and Teflon tape. Figure out vacuum advance plumbing from the last year they didn't have emissions and plumb it like that for starters.

Look for an earlier intake, carb, and air cleaner to finalize the conversion.
I think the cat on those fits into the exhaust manifold, meaning either headers or an older cast manifold (get inlet and exhaust at the same time).
Charcoal cannister won't hurt......you would need to re-vent the petrol tank if you removed it, and re-vent the carb, but older carb on older manifold solves half of that.

Dave

 

[Bronson]

OK, Dave, that is what I was looking for. I do plan to keep EVERYTHING I remove.Sounds like quite a job, so I will start with notes and pictures and work My way down the list.I once de-smogged a Ford Ranger, and had heck getting it to run right. Thank You!