Why not use a set of pre-'75 manifolds and a '72-'74 exhaust? Best bang for your $ and best performance for a street car. It's a 100% bolt-on swap.
$$$, testing to make sure it passes Ca. requirements, $$$, & $$$ to etch some $$$ stupid numbers on the side of the cat that indicates it passes Ca. requirements, & more $$$.I...A question for you Cali Alfistis Why are most cats not legal in your state? What makes it a Legal Cat for California...
I agree with this sentiment. However, the cat on my 78 has been removed for a Magnaflow system. As the system is too loud for my tastes I was thinking of putting on a resonator again in the same spot as a cat. The only reason I'm reluctant to do a cat instead is because the car no longer has its smog pump, and my understanding is that the cat would likely wear out rapidly as a result because of O2 mix. Am I right about that?i really would keep the ' cat ' on,, newer cats are not restrictive at all. and remember,,if you have kids or grandkids.. you inherit the would from you childern and grandchildern..it is not yours..and if you go to headers, a cat will help in just enough backpressure to make your car run better...headers and a straight pipe to the rear, you will loose tq at lower pm's, and we need that on our 2 liter cars..my car is a 1974 ( really a re-vin'ed 1984 spider, a co-worker backed into my driverside front wheel fender, bent it, insurance co. ' salvaged my car, so she now is a 1974 spider )spider, an i am running bosch fuel injection,/ headers and a cat.. with out the cat, i noticed a lack of low end power..anyhow.. keep the cat.. with the flat tails of our spiders, it will keep the bad stuff away from you lungs..
I've got the OEM exhaust on my '74, with an 02 sensor bung welded into the front pipe just past the 'Y', and a wide-band 02 sensor installed. That feeds into a little circuit board with a series of LED's and shows mixture as I drive. Works OK, but the "old" method of tuning still works best. I bought the circuit board from an Australian company maybe 8 years ago (can't recall the name) as a kit. Wes Ingram mat still sell something similar (he used to).i had a 1978 spider.. 10 years ago...i now wonder is it possible to tune the spica injection system useing a o2 sensor...
CARB = Calif. Air Resources Board, so it only applies to cars in that state, right?Commercial exhaust/muffler shops legally can't remove a catalytic convertor. Last month I asked the owner of the local Meineke if they would remove my cat and replace it with a straight pipe on my '83, and although the owners are drag racers and general car enthusiasts after thinking about it a bit, he declined.
Speaking of headers, will a car with aftermarket headers, O2 sensor and a California legal catalytic convertor pass the CARB smog test, or will it fail on visual since it doesn't have the stock exhaust manifolds? That is assuming everything else emissions related is operating correctly.
Yes, California Air Resources Board; I'm planning on moving to California, but would like either install the pre-'75 cast iron headers, or tubular headers, with an O2 sensor on my '83 Bosch injected Spider.CARB = Calif. Air Resources Board, so it only applies to cars in that state, right?
When we had inspections here in Florida, my '87 Spider passed the visual inspection because I've got the pre-'75 manifolds and a '72-'74 exhaust, complete with an O2 sensor installed just past the 'Y' section of the downpipes. I guess they thought that front resonator was a cat, and I didn't volunteer anything different. The emissions standards for cars of that vintage were also so loose that the car passed that test, too.
FWIW, this was the single biggest performance upgrade I've ever made to any of my Spider's ('74, '87, '92), and if you ever cut open a pair of Series-3 downpipes, not to mention the cat, you'll see why.