82 GT Emissions

[UM_Ftown]

First post! Some recently acquired a low mile 82 GT and since it’s almost all original and clean, I’d like to keep it that way. It does run super rough / rich when cold and was going to do a basic tune up but when looking over the motor I noticed a bunch of the vacuum hoses and ports are plugged up on the passenger side of the motor.

It looks like I’m completely missing whatever part is below that has the green label and is connected to the valve cover? All of those vacuum ports and valves are either missing or plugged up. I’d like to replace it if I can.

 

[81Notch]

I believe that is an air bypass valve, maybe also called a smog pump diverter. Part of the emissions system, aka the smog pump. I recently had the emission system removed from my car in order to clean up the engine bay and eliminate the extra potential for vacuum leaks. I thought about keeping it as original, but in Virginia my car is not subject to emission testing and ultimately I decided I just wanted all that stuff gone although I will retain the parts.

Would love to see some pics of your car!

 

[UM_Ftown]

After looking a lot closer to everything, and it was my mistake for missing it, the entire secondary air system, secondary valve, etc are all gone. The vacuum hoses are plugged and zipped tied together, and the open ports are plugged. There’s even a faded drawing on the belt diagram where someone put in a line to show the new belt diagram going from the alternator to the crank pulley.

Looking at the motor from the top and sides it still looks original to me. When I initially looked at it, it was dark out and was told it was mostly all original except for the springs and wheels / tires.

So I guess since it’s all gone, and likely will not be able to find a bracket for this stuff, I may go performer intake, bigger carb, and maybe shorty / mid length headers. I’d like to keep the single exhaust as that was unique to these years.

 

[81Notch]

Sweet car, I like it! Looks clean.

It sounds like the smog pump and related emissions hardware has been removed, which evidently is extremely common. My car (inline 6) still retained everything until very recently, attached is a pic taken before it was deleted and I don't have a current pic because the car is still in the shop getting some work done but much of what you see there is now gone. I wasn't looking for any kind of horsepower gain by removing the smog pump because evidently that is minimal, though the topic of much internet debate, I just wanted a cleaner engine bay and less potential problems.

 

[broncojunkie]

The smog pumps fail and aftermarket replacements were even worse (often not working right out of the box). The entire smog system was problematic and failure of any hose or part in the convoluted setup would cause excessive emissions. Ford no longer supports them, so I think they should be given a pass in all states. By the way... it's not just a Ford thing. Early emissions systems were terrible, at best. Looking back on this era, research and design did not really meet govt requirements. A lot has changed since then, but manufacturers still struggle to meet requirements and the systems keep getting more complicated and expensive to repair.

Look at the vehicles that are produced as a result of emissions laws. Small, compact trucks couldn't meet the standards, so pretty much all trucks turned into full-size gas guzzlers. So much for "clean air" lol! Anyway, I'll get off my soap box, but Looking back, the old folks complaining about "do-gooders" back in the day weren't as crazy as they sounded!

 

[Ponyprez]

First post! Some recently acquired a low mile 82 GT and since it’s almost all original and clean, I’d like to keep it that way. It does run super rough / rich when cold and was going to do a basic tune up but when looking over the motor I noticed a bunch of the vacuum hoses and ports are plugged up on the passenger side of the motor.

It looks like I’m completely missing whatever part is below that has the green label and is connected to the valve cover? All of those vacuum ports and valves are either missing or plugged up. I’d like to replace it if I can.

View attachment 4395

The mid to late 70's and all the 80's had some really terrifying smog reduction systems and if you live in a state where these cars still require smog than you are facing an uphill battle. I have found much of my 90 7up cars smog disabled and have tried to reconstruct much of it. I still keep getting check engine light coming on and going off while driving and OBD 1 is just sophisticated enough to be a real pain even when you breakdown and buy the only reader that is available. Good luck to you and there are some good videos on you tube so that may help.