I recently came into possession of a 1981 Vette that has the CCC installed, as does every other ‘81 and I was wondering exactly what parts I need in order to delete that since I’d rather not deal with any sort of ecm, I know I need a standard 350SBC distributor and carburetor. Am I missing anything? Is there anything else I should know? I’m kinda new to the whole carbureted car scene.

 

it also activates the converter lock up on your th350c, you can run without lockup or install an alternative switch... running without will raise your RPMs a bit in drive

 

Eliminating the pollution controls is against Federal Law. Here in Virginia they expect to see a catalytic converter where one was installed from the factory. A delete pipe will get you a failed inspection. Every year we need a safety inspection and my inspectors look for the catalytic shell. To get around the system I simply broke and removed all the material from inside my catalytic and left the empty shell on the car. This makes the inspectors job even harder and I was set until the inspector brought out a infrared thermometer, the catalytic converters make a lot of heat when working properly and this can be detected by a smart inspector. They did notice that my catalytic was the same temperature as the rest of the exhaust system, caught.....

Those ECM's are what makes the car able to run more efficiently. Removing ECM's can be a challenge and the car might not run as well. On the C4 you can't even remove the EGR without needing a New Code fix for your ECM.

 

Or, delete the carb entirely, and convert to Sniper EFI. You'll just need a 4-pin HEI distributor. I'd look at the Progression Distributor as the best solution for that.
https://progressionignition.com/

The best way to get around the torque convert lockup issue is with a clutch pedal.

 

He lives in North Dakota. 25 years and older are exempt from emissions laws.

 

He's new to this, I don't think sending him down the sniper black hole would be good.

 

I put a Progression Ignition HEI distributor on my 82 and it was so simple I was amazed. I did have to rotate the distributor gear 180° to get the top of the distributor to be square with the rest of the car when the crank was set to 10° BTC and the mark on the distributor lined up with the rotor, otherwise it would hit my air filter.

JT

 

He's new to carbs. Wasting time on carbs is an investment that will not pay off in the future.

 

I understand that we are dealing with 50 year old cars and I did notice where he lives. Removing some emissions components can really degrade performance. I have a C4 as well and it has a new modern style catalytic and on the interstate's the C4 can break into the 30 mpg range. With everything running and operating as designed the car is great to drive and enjoy.

Yanking off anything "Emissions" related is really uncool anymore (in my humble opinion of course), that was popular to do in the 1970's. On my C3 there (was) an air pump but other than that there was a PCV and that is the extent of my emissions system on the 427. My C4 is another story, every part of the emission system has been kept running. I do not have state emission inspections anymore but if I did my car would pass with no problems. The emissions equipment is built into the code used by the ECM to operate the car. Simply disabling the EGR will cause the engine to run Higher combustion chamber temperatures and in turn start pinging more on the highways unless you use premium fuel.

I have a Holley Stealth Sniper and it has been anything but a "Black Hole". The system is very easy to understand and if you need support then you should buy it from someone who provides after the sale support. I bought mine from EFISystemPro.com and they sold me a complete system for less than $1800. They put together a list of everything you will need for installation and then sold it to you at the same time. The best part is they have a Holley Tech (Tier 3,EFI) who will help you get the system going. They give you 2 years of support AFTER the sale and they eat, breath and live Holley EFI. I have not had to use any of the help because I simply followed the instructions that Holley provided. The website for efisystempro's also has a TON of information to help solve any questions.

 

What did you use for a fuel pump?

JT

 

You have got bigger problems than that in Virginia.
Look to see the EPA do away with alot of those regulations... Minnesota's in the process of banning collector cars all together.

 

FYI - You don't need an inspection if you have historic plates. I've lived in Virginia since 2002 and have never had my Vette inspected. Now if you want normal plates then you have to get a safety inspection. Our county doesn't even do emissions checks on cars. Never have.

 

That's not true.

Minnesota is not banning collector cars. A proposed bill (HF 3865) that aimed to restrict collector-plated vehicles to daylight, weekend, and specific event use has stalled and will not move forward in 2026. Current, existing rules already limit the use of these vehicles, banning them from being used for general daily transportation.

JT

 

As far as a distributor, I would not buy any of the $100 pieces. You get what you pay for. This part is too important. It is the brains of your all-important ignition timing. And you do not need any MSD stuff if your are not racing, and with them that means tuning it yourself anyway, which is a learning curve, especially with an old-school mechanical distributor. You will need a dial-back timing light no matter what.

I would buy either:

• A Davis DUI HEI distributor. They will set the timing curve in it just for your engine. Then all you have to do is plug it in and run it.
• (or) a phone programmable Progression Ignition electronic distributor. You do have to tune it, but it is so easy.

As far as a carb, the ccc carb you have is junk. I would contact Lars about how to find a decent used Quadrajet, and let him rebuild it and tune it for your engine.
Then all you have to do is bolt it on and you will have the best running carb in the business. Any other carb will be a tuning hassle. None of them run perfect out of the box, except for Lars's. He test runs his before he sends it to you, on an real engine, and even checks and sets the fuel ratio. I would consider no other if I were you. Do NOT buy just any old Quadrajet, many of them have been ruined already over the years with mixed up parts. He will tell you how to find a good one.
Contact him by email at: V8FastCars@msn.com

 

Sounds liike they have gotten pretty close to banning them to me. Restricting use to. Select times. Your daily driver is next. People better wake up

 

I removed all of the CCC crap, catalytic converter, replaced the carb with and Edelbrock (which I later replaced with a Holley), MSD distributor etc. Low tech, easy to upgrade from there.

 

sounds like you did exactly what I’m planning on, was that it? Just the carb, distributor, and Catalytic Converter? It sounded like that was all I’d need to do from what I read about it, I just want to make sure I do this right