83 Riviera Convertible

[austingta]

I am considering taking all the tubes, hoses, valves and any other item I can remove off my 83 Riv 307 Olds engine, and then painting the engine and it's compartment so it looks new again. I have done this to all my old Buicks, and this is not the basis for my question.

The question is this: is there any legitimate reason to put all the emission and engine management parts back on or should I build it back like a pre 75 car, in the hopes that it will be more reliable and dependable?

Do the various emissions devices on such an engine actually reduce pollution noticably, or not? I do plan on leaving the cat.

I realize the carburetor may not so good either, and I may buy an old carb and bolt it on. I will, of course, retain vacuum advance.

All opinions please; I have not had a Buick this new except a GN and I didn't gut it like I want to do to this one.

Thanks Frank in Austin

ROA 10634

Edited August 17, 2009 by austingta (see edit history)

[RivNut]

Frank,

If you do all of that, you'll also have to remove your catalytic converter. No shop will do that if they want to stay in business. A lot depends on what kind of emission requirements there are in TX. If I remember correctly, TX requires all cars to pass emission standards for the year of production. If you removed all the plumbing, you might not be able to register it.

If I were going to go to all this trouble, and I could get away with registering it like this in KS, I'd opt for installing a late 60's Olds 350 "Rocket." Some of those had advertised hp ratings up around 285 - 300 in stock configuration, and there's a ton of aftermarket performance parts available for it.

Ed