258 GM HEI distributor swap and Nutter bypass, emissions too

[GaryMB]

I recently purchases a 1984 cj7 with a 258 (has the carter bbd carb w/electric stepper motor). The jeep had an HEI distributor already on it when i bought it, and i do not know if this modification is california smog legal. I know there is a sticker in the engine compartment that has a diagram of the original distributor and coil, and says the sticker must not be removed in order to pass the visual inspection. I have the original distributor and ignition stuff, but don't know if the distributor works and it has some rust on it which makes me hesitant to stick it in the engine even after cleaning the rust off. Also, is the nutter stepper motor bypass CA emissions legal, and is the bypass desireable? Right now the jeep has issues with dying when i start it, and sometimes when i coast to a stop. It also seems to have a rough idle, and you can constantly hear the exhaust pipe going putt-putt. I've heard the nutter bypass can actually lower emmissions in jeeps with these problems, but it might ironically not pass the visual inspection if it is not a legal mod. Also all the smog stuff minus cat converter and computer have been removed (i know at least the pulse air system and vacum setup are gone). Any suggestions or comments on the HEI, nutter bypass, and what i'm in for with making the jeep pass smog?

 

[wm69]

Assuming the guidelines for a 20 year old vehicle aren't a lot more lenient than the usual emissions out there, Nutter is something that can be done and if you wanted to you could do it and no one would see it without digging into some stuff. All you do is clip and splice a couple of wires (you could do it up in the wire looms where no one could see it) and disconnect the stepper motor (again just cut the wires up in one off the looms). That being said I don't think there's any way you'll pass emissions after the nutter. If you could swap to another carb and run that HEI dist. your jeep would run better and cleaner and you could probably pass all but the visual part, but since that visual part is in there that's no an option (they really know what they were doing when they did the smog laws didn't they?). Somebody might correct me but I think you're gonna have to get the pulse air system back on your jeep to pass the visual and the great thing is you will also have to swap back to the old dist which is going to make your jeep run like crap AND put out more emissions, making the problem worse, and all to pass the visual. Hopefully somebody else from Kali will get on here with some kind of alternative to get around all that.

 

[Junkpile]

I've said this before, but it just bugs me to see what some of you go through to get your stuff inspected. At inspection time, I'm glad I live where I do. What is the reason an HEI would fail? That's stupid. Stupid laws. Anybody with half of a brain would realize that if it passed the sniffer, there is no point in a visual. I guess it guarantees that the certification/testing costs of equipment manufacturers keeps rolling in. We have more of a safety inspection here. NO sniffer. The guy checks the condition of the tires, lights, mirrors, brakes, and exhaust/emissions equipment. That's about it. I don't even remember them ever popping the hood to do that part of the visual. There are a few buttheads around here that break out the measuring tape, and try to find reasons to fail performance vehicles of any kind. For the most part though, it's easy to find a station around here that will overlook things. I feel sorry for you guys.
Damn, I guess I'll stop complaining about having to leave the catalytic converter in place after I gut it. :lol: