A lot of what I read on here is saying one of the best things you can do to pull a bit more power out of your engine is to remove all the smog stuff. So my question is,what exactly is all the "Smog Stuff" that can be removed and does it need to be replaced with something. For reference, I have a 1981, am in a state that does not care what I do under the hood, and the only mod in the works right now is new headers and side pipes.

 

You’re doing a lot just by the exhaust such as getting rid of the Catalytic Converter, remove the air pump saves weight you don’t need , maybe get a Performer intake without EGR provisions and use intake gaskets that block off the heat Riser in the cylinder head to help keep intake manifold and carburetor cooler to help prevent fuel boil over and vapor lock. Otherwise you would need get rid of the smog camshaft with something more performance related for starters . Also install a Mr. Gaskets distributor timing curve kit to perk up the timing advance of the distributor

 

You should read the GM book, "Fundamentals of Computer Command Control" ...and it'll explain what all that 'stuff' is. (check ebay). It's a really interesting book actually (to me anyway).

Funny story: I used to have a buddy back in the late 80's who had cottage industry going, ripping people's smog stuff off cars. Put them back to carbs and 'points'. Mainly b/c he (and they) looked at it like it was voodoo. The cars always ran like crap afterwards and lost about 25% mileage ..and needed lot of tuning. ha ha. Now, he's actually pretty adept at EFI and I like teasing him about those days. I had several CCC cars that ran great up to high mileage (he never got close to my cars!). The CCC system is like a computer controled fuel system that'll idle great all day long almost like EFI if it's running right. It actually IS electronic fuel management technically speaking. The smog stuff mostly protects the cat (keeps it from clogging), and the EGR and other devices if you start bypassing and ripping that stuff out *****-nilly, you'll get to a point where it will flake out your O2 readings and start running foul.

Maybe part of the problem you have now is restricted cat and incorrect routed hoses or vacuum problems? Weak O2 sensor ...exhaust leak (flaking out the O2??). That can affect power. Worth a look. Low restriction cats (assuming they're good) hardly rob power on these cars.

 

81 computer command control was a desperate attempt by GM to pass the 81 Fed emissions specs. it sucked. it stops controlling at about 25% throttle and cares not how well your engine performs except when it is hooked to an emissions machine. the only thing it does better than a real carb is part throttle fuel economy. and only a little better. and when it doesn't work, it is horrible. and the people who knew how to repair that ecu? the alzheimers is kicking in...

 

Suggest you find a pre 81 hei distributor and quadrajet carb and you will be able to tune your engine for much better performance.

 

The 81 is special due to the electronic controls. If you must remove the setup, you will want to backdate everything......The cat is a restriction but it seems to be already dealt with. The EGR can be a bitch so people blocked those and the distributor needs a recalibration so most people just replace it with an older one and modify from there. You really need to recalibrate the carb to make up for the loss of the EGR.

Just ripping all the crap off will hurt the drivabillity.

 

throw the carb, distributor and ecm into the river and see if they float. or sell them on ebay. distributor does not have mech or vac advance, so it too must be replaced.

 

I agree here.......go to one year prior equipment (1980). Or just go with a GM performance distributor and a circa 78-80 carb.......
The CCC was as stated, a desprirate attempt to get the 81 model year past Big Gov. 81 was a miserable year for performance across the board at GM. It works OK until it doesn't and most problems I have ever seen with the system are straight up wiring issues.
The good news is the core engine is a standard 350......it responds to intake and headers well. A non-egr 2101 Edelbrock with 1204 Fel Pro gaskets....non CCC carb.....and a curved GM performance distributor with a set of long tube headers and real exhaust really wake these up. It is not going to pull wheelstands, but will get out of its own way.......
An added benefit of doing this is that as you do it, you can detail the engine.
A mild camshaft is really beneficial.......
Do it right, and you can have a cool cruiser with good power.

Jebby

 

Jebby is right on the money as usual!!