What would happen with I removed all the emissions crap?

[Lonesome442]

I am kicking around the idea of removing all the emission stuff from my 442. I want to do it for a few reasons. Because I am new to these cars I might be wrong. But when I did this to my Fords in the past it made a big improvement. Please speak up and tell me if I am mistaken.

It would clean up the engine compartment by removing unnecessary hardware.
Less work for the engine which should mean better performance and fuel economy.
Fewer parts I would think means less to go wrong later
Less upkeep and lower repair cost.
It is all original and is bound to stop working at some point.

Would I be hurting or helping the car? Also, because the car is so rare and so original am I hurting the value or the desirability of the car? Like I said, I am very new to the 85 442. But I do have a lot of experience at modding other vehicles. Mostly Fords.

 

[shotgun]

It would clean up the engine compartment by removing unnecessary hardware. TRUE
Less work for the engine which should mean better performance and fuel economy.FALSE
Fewer parts I would think means less to go wrong laterTRUE
Less upkeep and lower repair cost.TRUE
It is all original and is bound to stop working at some point.TRUE

 

[Brick442]

Yeah, messing with that stuff may actually make it run a little worse, at the least it won't pass emissions depending on what state you are in.

I did this to a stock code 9 307, got rid of some stuff, and put in a slightly bigger cam. It was a dog. Had to installed a non computer controlled quadrajet and distributer from a late 70s Olds. Ran much better. The computer can be fickle.

 

[Lonesome442]

I do not have to worry about state emissions, that si why I thought this might be a good thing. I beleive my car does have a computer. So Should I just leave it alone?

 

[Bonnewagon]

If it ain't broke- don't fix it. Unless you are willing to convert everything over to non-emissions style equipment you should leave it as is. By this I mean finding and tuning a non-CCC carb/distributor to run as well as it does now. I do this a lot but I have 40 years experience behind me and still it takes a LOT of trial and error to get it right. You cannot just swap any old parts around and expect it to run great.

 

[jatguit]

I agree with "Bonnewagon".

It is not just a take out some parts you need to change to NON computer equpment to do it and run correctly. More expensive than it is worth unless your up to putting the time and money into it for big results.

ALSO, if it is a real 442 I believe you will decrease its value due to changing its originality. Harder time to resell, maybe.
If you do change it then I suggest hold onto all the original components you took out.
Just an opinion.

 

[85 Cutlass Brougham]

If you have any sort of smog test, don't do it. It won't run any better and there are no real advantages unless you plan to ditch the computer. Plus, the 442 uses a different computer scheme than the normal Cutlass with respect to the A/C, so you may have to figure out a clean way to make that work as well. Even then, Remove it all CAREFULLY, and store it with respect. One day, the collector market may be there for one of these things in as new condition, and the smog parts are usually the hardest to find. Make sure you can reinstall them at a later date if you go this route.

 

[joe_padavano]

I do not have to worry about state emissions, that si why I thought this might be a good thing. I beleive my car does have a computer. So Should I just leave it alone?

Randomly pulling equipment off the car without knowing what you are doing is a good way to make it run worse. Even assuming you correctly removed all the equipment, sadly this IS still a 307. You are unlikely to notice a difference in performance. And yes, your car has a computer controlled carb and distributor.

 

[Lonesome442]

I sure do appreciate the advice. It would appear my Olds is very different from the Fords I have biult in the past. I will leave the emissions alone. But, how will I know when a component is going bad?

 

[88hurstolds]

I can tell you right now if your 85 442 is white with a blue interior and t-tops and perhaps a posi rear end then you have perhaps one of the rarest 442's out there.
I'll buy it if you want to sell it, I have a Cutlass with a 455 in it if you are looking for something fast... I'll just do a frame off resto on it and keep it.
If I were you I wouldn't touch anything on that car.