keeping it "green"

[68monster]

thanks to everyone who commented, I am already running a mallory dual point ignition, and a tuned edelbrock 4bbl, i was just seeing about squeezing every last bit out of her i know working graveyard we come up with some real "great" ideas, and some of them keep you all scratching your heads and saying why... why the he** would you want to do that?

[Redcap]

Ok i am getting ready to put my exhaust system together and i am looking for advice, i live in a valley were there are no smog test required, which leads to bad inversion problems, and i would like to make sure ole blue is as little of a contributer to pollution as possible, my question is what should i or can i do to my exhaust to help keep it green?

i have seen after market catalytic converters like this one : http://www.summitracing.com/parts/WLK-15038/
what do i need to make this work? the truck will be dueled out with an h pipe, and i am looking at using flowmaster super 40's/50's for the mufflers, what about headers?

[r71f250]

68monster
your truck was not equipped with with cat converters for one and second if you were going to do that, cats generate alot of heat so heat shielding would be a good idea. Forgive me the for the plug, but you and the other hobbiests out there generate so little emissions it is immeasurable. You would be a much better contributor to the enviroment if you were to focus on timing/tuning issues for the sake of a cleaner running engine. If I were you, spend the money of EFI and more spark control or E85 is an temporary option, but you will have to make changes in order to run E85. (personal view removed)

Blessings,
Alan

[Redcap]

68monster
your truck was not equipped with with cat converters for one and second if you were going to do that, cats generate alot of heat so heat shielding would be a good idea. Forgive me the for the plug, but you and the other hobbiests out there generate so little emissions it is immeasurable. Global warming is a complete scam/hoax and you could do alot better by tuning then going this green stuff. I am all for being a good steward of Gods creation, but there comes a point of extreme.... I won't get started on the war wagon, but if I were you, spend the money of EFI and more spark or E85.

Blessings,
Alan

A hotter ignition system is always a good thing. E85...not so much.

If it were me, especially since you live in a non-emissions testing area, I'd give your old truck a good tuneup and enjoy it. No point in choking it and adversely effecting performance with unnecessary emissions crap that your truck didn't come with and doesn't need.

[mlheppl]

I eat lots of beef and claim the carbon credits.

[DuckRyder]

To answer your question...

The point about heat shielding is a good one, additionally particularly with headers you may have some difficulty keeping the converters hot enough or getting them hot enough quick enough to be a factor in daily use.

When I was doing grey market cars it was frequently necessary to wrap the manifolds and down pipes in header wrap the get the converter to "light off" fast enough to pass the test.

A properly sized high flow converter will have an insignificant effect on performance, however, unless the law has been changed (which is possible) it is just as illegal to install a converter on a car not so equipped as it is to remove one .

From a moderation point of view I would appreciate it if folks could refrain from posting to topics which might be considered controversial if the purpose is strictly to state an opposing viewpoint to the controversial topic. (in other words, try to answer the question).

[Ranchero50]

After blowing out several sets of aftermarket cats I would suggest getting most of the exhaust off of a newer (2000 +) truck and just redoing the manifold connections. You will end up with mild stainless pipe that won't rust out very soon, a decent higher flowing exhaust that is still quiet. Then make sure the carb is running slightly lean, rich is bad. I'd also suggest going EFI if you can.

Jamie

[mlheppl]

My apologies to 68 monster and the anyone else here at Fordification that I may have offended. I'll strive to be a better citizen from here on.

Mike

[ToughOldFord]

From a moderation point of view I would appreciate it if folks could refrain from posting to topics which might be considered controversial if the purpose is strictly to state an opposing viewpoint to the controversial topic. (in other words, try to answer the question).

Okay, but if the question is based on a falsehood does it still require an answer? Or does the person asking the question get the benefit of being told his information is incorrect?
For instance is Joe Blow Chevy driver tells us that he's heard about the new Turbo Encabulator and wants to know how to install it in his truck are we going to tell him how to do it or explain that the Turbo Encabulator is a satire and doesn't really exist?

[DuckRyder]

For instance is Joe Blow Chevy driver tells us that he's heard about the new Turbo Encabulator and wants to know how to install it in his truck are we going to tell him how to do it or explain that the Turbo Encabulator is a satire and doesn't really exist?

I'm really not interested in a debate and this will be the last related post so we can get back to the topic at hand.

If you can tell him how to install the Turbo Encabulator and [nicely] tell him in YOUR OPINION doing so is a bad idea (and supporting evidence would be a bonus) feel free.

[DGrant09]

68monster,
Where are you at?? If in a cold climate, say 20 degrees or colder, install a block heater or a simple oil pan heater. The city here provides a bunch of block heaters every year almost free for this very problem. The oil pan heaters are simply glued to the oil pan. Not only will they reduce your warm up times but a cold engine emits a lot of emissions which in bigger cities contributes to poor air quality during inversions.
They also save wear and tear on your motor on the first start since the motor is somewhat warm (the main reason I use them). Some run these on timers, we run them 24/7 since we're always going somewhere unplanned..
The idea of leaning the carb out, upgrades in ignition are excellent ideas and then there is just minimize driving (also limits exposure to the non-winter drivers ).

[mr_josh]

68monster, I'm with you brother. I've got my own opinions on pollution, but I know where you're coming from.

A clean motor is an efficient motor. This means to cut down on pollution you want to be metering fuel consistently and accurately and you need to have an engine that's in good shape (i.e. good compression, good condition timing components, ignition system in tip-top shape).

Any catalytic converter is going to plug and / or be ineffective if you've not met those conditions first. In fact, I question if you'll actually be able to run a converter on this truck without it plugging, simply because the motor's probably not efficient enough. But as was said, you can optimize the combustion process by tuning tuning tuning.

Ideas:
*Find the tuning instructions for your carb and tune for the best lean idle using an honest-to-God tachometer, not just by ear.

*Make sure that your carb's choke linkage is free to move throughout its travel. Be sure that when the truck is warm, the choke is all the way off and stays off.

*Check for -and repair- any potential vacuum leaks. Make sure you've got a good air filter.

*Make sure you've got good plugs that are gapped correctly and of the proper heat range. Old cracked spark plug wires are bad.

*Run a factory thermostat. Guys who don't have the know-how to keep a cooling system operating correctly tend to suggest running a very cool thermostat. Unless you're continually hauling trailers out of Death Valley, run the stock temperature thermostat. The engine has an optimum temperature in which it makes power and pollutes the least, and it's not "as cool as it can get".

*Check / set your timing and make sure that your vacuum and distributor advances are working correctly. If you've got a points-style distributor, set the points correctly using a dwell meter.

*If your truck originally had a fuel vapor containment system (charcoal canister), install it and ensure that the lines going to it are unobstructed.

The thing is, most of the time, unless you're tuning a real performance engine (which any stock-ish Ford truck motor is NOT), the damn thing's going to run best when it's polluting the least. I always get a kick out of seeing old Mercedes and VWs with big "BIODIESEL" or "ETHANOL" stickers on the back that are perpetually blowing a cloud of black smoke.

And as was said, the real improvement would come from moving to fuel injection, and depending on what motor you're running, maybe a different engine. There's nothing wrong with wanting to do what you want with your truck, it's really too bad that you got so much stupid flak from people when you posted, but I think you're approaching it from the wrong angle with the catalytic converter idea.

[eggman918]

EFFICIENCY IS the key ,old tech or new tech.Newer motors require less maintenance and are light years ahead of my FE,however if you spend the time to keep them happy it makes a huge difference.
EFI I think is a great idea and is on my short list.A modern ignition is also a cost effective upgrade .
Less fuel in less emissions/CASH out

[eggman918]

I think that we are all spoiled by new tech now we expect to do a tune-up every 100K{weather it needs it or not]. as a kid in '79 when I bought my 1st mustang every Sat. morning I would drag out the Tach/Dwell meter and tune the 390 then wash and wax it .Today I just expect it to run forever.....
Same tech but now with exceptions that are unrealistic.....What say y'all?

[SteveC]

problem with having a cat on a carb vehicle especially in a cold climate is that your carb tends to run a bit rich and will foul the cat up and eventually plug it Fuel injection gets around this by keeping the steocrometric fuel ratio(14..7:1)and switching between lean and rich as needed by engine demands. Just do your best to make sure that the engine is running porperly.
I myself plan to save money for a bit and throttle body inject my 67's 352.
Fuel injection tech is as stated before light years ahead of carbs. By Fuel injecting we have better control over fuel milage and got more power out of smaller engines.

Though in truth none of the Electronic fuel injection was designed and made for better fuel mileage it was made to cut emissions better than computer controlled carbs did or carbs by them selves ever could. The increase in power and mileage was a after effect.