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Can somebody tell me what part(s) of the emission equipment can be safely discarded?

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'78 1.8L 4-speed Fleetside

The only thing more beautiful than a sunset is a sunrise.

Lose the smog pump (and the extra pulley it runs on attached to your crankshaft), remove the air injection assembly and all of it's hardware, plug off the air injection ports (tap the center of the nozzles and plug them with allen screws and copper or brass washers), and remove the egr completely from the intake (tap the hole in the underside of the intake where it was bolted on and plug it too) then all will have left is your vacuum advance for your distributor, your vent tube for your oil pan and your valve cover... and then hopefully you should notice a pretty big boost in power.

And if you find yourself an electronic distributor and ignition module from an 82 pup, imark, or luv,...plus add on a weber, a header, a 50 amp alternator(make sure you upgrade the wire from the alternator to the battery with a thicker wire), and a higher output coil(accel sells one cheap that won't fry your ignition module), and convert to a 5speed, driveline and rear-end from a 86-89 pup (find one with a 2.6 engine to get the stronger rear-end)...then you will have a pretty darn tough and quick little truck.

If Chevy had any brains at all, they would have had Isuzu build the darn thing like that in the first place.

IMHO...a factory built truck with all of that included, running an impulse-type engine would have been a huge selling truck back then.

And if they would have offered dealer options like bucket seats, a step-side bed, an extended-cab version, custom paint, custom rims, etc. they would have really cleaned up.

Almost everyone I have met has the same thing to say about the stock Luv..."great looking truck - but gutless as hell."

Thank you Tazman, it's my turn to be speechless, and wonder what happened, but I want you to know I appreciate that great answer. I know you've seen it time and time again; how you explain in detail a mechanical procedure, only to have to do it all over again. And you did it without any drama and forgiving my lazy self to do a search. I did search though. I finally gave up, and wrote the new thread. I do remember what you told me, and showed me, when I was there with you that one day. I just wanted to know if I was forgetting something.

I'm going to go to look at Tacoma Screw for brass plugs to fit the air injection ports perfectly. I've already seen an engine with it that way. I'm going to try not to have to cut up the air injection assembly. I already had the thought that the extra pulley wasn't needed; you just made it concrete. There still remains the question of what to plug that big hole in the air cleaner with but I'll figure out something, even if I have to braze it over. I will be brazing the EGR tube near the underside of the intake manifold by first removing that section of the intake, but not the whole intake. I never was successful at removing the tube from the intake even though I turned blue in the face and nearly passed out trying. I'll probably cut it off with a hacksaw about 6 inches out, then smash the end in the vise, and braze it for a seal.

The electronic distributor, ignition module, weber carb, header, high-output alternator, larger wire, high-ouput coil, 5-speed tranny, replacement driveline, and stronger rear end will just have to go on my wish list.

About people's opinions: I've spoken to quite a few people who say they wish they still had their LUV, but don't have it anymore. I know when people see me going down the road, they might think it's an old clunker, but everybody who sees the engine always says the same thing, "Wow!" It's running smooth as silk and sweet as honey, and when I park in between a Hummer and a big SUV, I feel like a million bucks and I wouldn't trade with them if they begged me to.

Excuse me, I have a post to edit...

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'78 1.8L 4-speed Fleetside

The only thing more beautiful than a sunset is a sunrise.

NP...It's my nature to help others if I can. That's just the way I am.

BTW...that annoying tube that runs from the exhaust to the intake can be easily taken care of by cutting it close to the fittings, removing the pieces of tube from the fittings, and closing off the fittings by tapping the center and plugging them. And if you soak both of the fittings overnight in some good rust-penetrating oil, you can get them out of both manifolds. Just go slowly and work them back and forth a little at a time, and apply more rust-penetrating oil once you get them to break loose, and eventually they will screw out all of the way.

You just gotta be patient and take your time with these rusty old trucks...but IMHO they are sure worth it.

Every time I run the butt off my truck beatin' up on some fart-can equipped , big ugly spoiler packin', huge speaker box carry'n, heavy plastic ugly-ass ground effects scrapin' ricer...it just makes my day.

When people ask me why I have so much cash and time invested into my Luv...I just ask them "Why not?" and light my tires as I pull away from them...lol

Hey Taz those people that ask why you put so much money in your LUV ,aren't they the one's that spend $15,000-$20,000 and more for there cars just so they can put on the butt ugly wings,ground f/x,fart pipe, and a very heavy sound system ?

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1978 pro street step/side 455Buick, 4sp,4.11s, 31/18.5s

"just so they can put on the butt ugly wings,ground f/x,fart pipe, and a very heavy sound system ?"

Which then drops the Blue Book value of their plastic ricer.

I've had the exhaust side coming off and on for some time. It was so hard to get off, I thought the manifold would break before the fitting would remove, but it finally did. When I put it back, I use some ARP grease that makes it remove easily the next time I need it off. I've got PBBlaster and I should try a little soaking on the intake side, but the softer aluminum the pipe connects to won't allow for the stress I put on the exhaust side to remove it. I'll try the soaking, but I'd do just as well to go ahead and cut the pipe 5 or 6 inches out, especially since it is already broken. Smashing it and brazing the resulting crack should form a perfect seal.

Hey what about the other doo dad with the two vacuum hoses attached? It connects to the air switching valve and another valve underneath the intake. When I remove the smog pump and air swicthing valve, I'm going to have another hose dangling. Should I remove that gizmo that connects to the coolant galley and plug it, or maybe just leave it in? I think leaving it there won't hurt.

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'78 1.8L 4-speed Fleetside

The only thing more beautiful than a sunset is a sunrise.

And jacks up their insurance while getting every cop for miles around to hassle them too. Brilliant guys those ricer owners....lol


Fulla...Just remove it all and take out the little doo-hicky it hooks up to out of the intake and plug that hole too.

Also, if you decide to remove the old studs out of the front of the head to clean up the looks of your engine...that some are threaded clear through the head.

So if you don't put a same-sized bolt in the hole they came out of with a banjo washer (copper, aluminum, or brass)...then you will have a major oil leak.

You should have quite a pile of useless junk left when you get finished...lol

When people ask me why I put so much money in my LUV I answer

"Why does a dog lick his _____?, because he can"

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Certified pilots, looking down on people since 1903.

I took off the smog stuff, and plugged the two large holes with epoxy. I got new tires and all four shocks. I'll be replacing the front brake pads today. Later I'll plug the ports properly with brass plugs.

Runnin' great!

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'78 1.8L 4-speed Fleetside

The only thing more beautiful than a sunset is a sunrise.