Okay, inherited a 1987 Ram150 from my papa, who got it from his father-in-law.

It's a shortbed and the last model year for the 225, it has an automatic transmission, under 79,000 miles and more emissions devices hangin' off the thing than I want to count! Okay okay so it only has two: the A.I.R. pump and the catalytic converter.

I live in Metro Davidson County, inside Nashville city limits. Passing emissions is a yearly tirade to keep vehicles past 1974 registered here.

Is there anything I can do sans moving to a more rural county to up the performance of this sub-120hp diamond-in-the-ruff?

-Eli

Yes! You can swap to a two barrel carb and use a computer controlled BBD off of a early 80s 318. That should help alot. It is also critical that all the vacuum hoses be connected properly and not cracked or leaking. Another very important piece is the vacuum sensor on the spark control computer. THis is the main component of the ignition system which tells the computer where the timing should be at any given RPM range.

Hey, thanks for the info!

If I swap to a two barrel will that require a manifold swap? And if so I need to go ahead and take the exhaust manifold off too because of their close proximity. Could I switch to the dual exhaust headers and just drill a hole in 'em and still run them to the A.I.R. pump? Or could I lose it altogether?

I have a '78 Ford that still has to go through emissions, all they want me to do is pay the fee and they just ignore the readings because it came from the factory without emission controls. But it still passes. Do you figure this Dodge would be able to pass still, or do you think it'll be clogged up with too much carbon already after 20 years and 79,000 miles because of the EGR?

Most of the vacuum hoses still look fine. I changed out all the belts last week and did a fluid and filter change about a month ago. The motor still has a distributor and I guess you're talking about the vacuum advance. I'll take another look at it this afternoon.

Thanks,
-Eli

You will need to switch to a two barel intake manifold as well as a two barrel choke l;inkage, throttle, kickdown linkage and air cleaner. The exhaust manifold can stay.
You certainly could switch to dual exhaust and/or headers, just make sure the front exhaust line will clear the AIR pump and make sure that both exhaust lines have the air injection hooked up. If you were going this route I would recommend new catalytics from summit with direct air injection and just fabricate a "T" junction in the air injection line to have fresh air for both catalytic.
If the Computer Controlled ignition and carb stuff is still intact and functioning you should be able to pass emissions. My 86 Dodge slant six van pased emissions when I bought it. If you are worried about the EGR valve just replace it. I wouldn't remove any of the emissions items on he motor mainly because emissiosn standards for a 87 truck will be much stricter than any pre 80s truck and your truck probably wouyldn't pass emissions without the computer and full assembly of emissions devices. Plus, the computer sets the timing and mixture counting on the presence of the EGR valve and other emissions devices.
No, I'm talking about the vacuum pod on the computer. you motor will have a distributor but it won't have any vacuum advance pod. The timing is completely controlled by the computer based on a bunch of variables, one of them being engine vacuum as detected by the vacuum pod on the computer. When I bought my van the computer vacuum pod was blown cause both faulty timing and a big vacuum leak. Make sure all those plastic hoses ren't cracked.

Wow, that's alot.

Okay, I think I could manage dualling the exhaust out and still run both pipes to the A.I.R. pump. Once I get new cats on both pipes could I leave mufflers off if it isn't obnoxiously loud? If not I would probably just go to glass packs.

Could the complete two-barrel manifold and setup could be plucked from another 225 in a junkyard?

I just looked under the hood and I'm amazed! There's a lot more wires snaking around that thing than I had last noticed! I guess I was looking for a central computer box or something under the dash, but I guess not.

And I thought I was buying a simple farm truck!


-Eli

Check your local noise and vehicle equipment laws regarding this. THe mufflers only add backpressure and noise reduction to the system, neither of which affects emissions.
Yes. But you will want to keep your exhaust manifold with the 02 sensor if you plan on keeping the computer.
The computer should be either mounted on the air cleaner or under your battery tray. There are alot of wires and hoses because 87 was the last year before chrysler went all fuel injection. They were trying to use a carb to meet much stricter fuel efficiency and pollution standards. It can still be made to work good, though it will never be a simple farm truck.

Close, the computer is directly behind the battery, tucked up in the driver's inner fender.
If it is determined the computer is no longer functioning properly (not just bad vacuum lines or sensors), one emissions legal option is to use an MSD ignition with a standard electronic ignition distributor. Installing the MSD is very non-invasive to the factory wiring (only one wire must be spliced from the original wiring). The computer can be left in place, so the torque converter will still lock-up (if auto) and all the gauges will still function. Ignition advance duty woul be relegated back to the distributor via mechanical means, and the MSD would provide spark control. The air pump and EGR can be left alone.

The above may require a swap to a non-feedback carburetor to gain any adjustability/tunability if a 6145 Holley is currently on his slant.

The MSD is C.A.R.B. exempt, but I do not know if swapping carburetors would cause any issues with visual inspection. In all likelyhood, the guy performing the test would know very little about carburetors, let alone what was there 'stock'.

My $0.02

-S/6

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The "Silver Bullet"
87 Ram D150

Donno where you got the idea that this is "emissions legal". In several emission control areas—and more being added all the time—they don't just test what comes out the pipe, they check whether all original emission control devices are intact, in place and functioning. Bypassing the spark control computer is definitely not "emissions legal" in such places. Most MSD ignition boxes do carry a C.A.R.B exemption number. That does not mean it's "emissions legal" to replace a spark advance control system such as found in the subject truck with an MSD box plus an advancing-type distributor. It means it's legal to replace an OEM ignition ECU (spark box) with an MSD ECU (spark box).

In areas where there is no original-equipment installation/function requirement (for now), replacing the spark control computer with an advancing-type distributor and external spark box likely will not result in a failed emission test. But it does not need to be an overly-expensive MSD box; you get just as good ignition at much less cost with the simple and inexpensive HEI swap.

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Too many people who were born on third base actually believe they've hit a triple.

Yes, you'd need a 2bbl intake manifold (preferably iron rather than aluminum) and if your truck has an automatic transmission, you'd want the complete 2bbl kickdown linkage assembly. You'd also need the 2bbl air cleaner. The carburetor would be a 1982-1984 Dodge Diplomat, Plymouth Gran Fury, Chrysler New Yorker 5th Avenue item (not newer than 1984).
Yes, when changing the intake OR exhaust manifold, you remove both manifolds as an assembly.
and just drill a hole in 'em and still run them to the A.I.R. pump?[/quote]

Headers would be a very large mistake on your truck. If you install them, you will almost certainly flunk emissions very badly—even if your emission tests only consist of a tailpipe sniffer with no visual inspection.

Your AIR pump does not connect to the exhaust manifold, it connects to the cylinder head. The Oxygen sensor, however, does screw into the exhaust manifold, and installing an Oxygen sensor on headers so that the sensor works correctly is difficult or impossible. Any kind of dual/split manifold or header system is going to make problems with your emission control system, because at best you'll be reading the exhaust Oxygen content from only three cylinders.
Not and still pass emissions, no.

That is not correct. Your 1978 Ford came with EGR, AIR, a 2-way catalytic converter, and various other emission controls.

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Too many people who were born on third base actually believe they've hit a triple.

I've never found the catalytic converter, unless it was in that two foot long, 6" diameter cylinder truck muffler that we tore off when we dualled the exhaust. There's no A.I.R. pump, no space on the crank or waterpump pulleys for its drive belt, and the EGR plate that Ford used to suffocate the 460 is absent from below the carburator on my '78 F-150, but my spare 460 from a '74 F-250 has it. Apparently it was only required on the 460 motor in California back then. I guess the reason it came without EGR was because of the heavy duty towing package installed at the factory. Despite its age, the truck still passes emissions even without these devices.

Back to the slant six,

So I need to be looking for a chrysler slant six from the early 80s with a two-barrel, and an automatic transmission which will have the automatic kickdown linkage...

And HEI is a relatively simple and legal performance upgrade that can be accomplished over a weekend?

Thanks for all the help y'all have already given me!
-Eli

Oh, a '78 Ford truck, not a car. OK, never mind about the catalytic converter, but most of those did come with EGR and AIR and some other emission controls.

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Too many people who were born on third base actually believe they've hit a triple.

Wow, we were on two totally different trains of thought then!

I don't know if I could even stand drivin' a car anymore, I've been drivin' that big honkin' Ford and now this Ram for close to two of the three years I've been drivin. I can't even ride in the back of a new car anymore without gettin' carsick. I love the oldies, but the new ones are just too... soulless.

-Eli

My '87 passed both the sniffer and the visual yearly inspection for the Fairbanks North Star Borough with an MSD ignition and standard EI dist. The truck was originally equipped with the ESA computer and 1945 Holley 1 bbl. Smog pump and EGR were installed and functional, but I did swap a 1 bbl carb back on for the test. I never tried passing visual with a 2 bbl since it was never offered as an option for '87 model trucks. I was merely conveying what worked for me in my (rather stringent) emissions area. By all means, he should check with his local DMV for any legality issues.

Since going to a 4 bbl, losing the Air pump and EGR, I have merely obtained seasonal waivers in leiu of emissions tests (can only drive it between may and sept).

Technically, that setup isn't something that should make it through a visual inspection. In practice, inspectors may not know any better and can sometimes have a hard time figuring out whether a factory-looking piece of hardware is from the correct year or not. It may be that this got through not because it was legal, but simply because the inspector failed to realize that it wasn't.

I've heard of one guy somehow managing to sneak a Dinan turbo kit on a 6-series BMW through a visual emissions inspection by making it look like a factory installation and playing dumb about it.

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"Mad Scientist" Matt Cramer
'66 Dart - turbocharged 225
My blog - Mad Scientist Matt's Lair

That is most likely what happened, and you raise a very important point: It can be a real gamble to spend time, money and effort on a setup that is not actually legal. You never know what you're going to get when you go to get the emission test done. You might run into some kid who thinks a '92 Honda is "old" and has no idea what he's looking at, and in that case, if you pass the sniffer test, you get the sticker. Or, you might run into the crusty old guy who was a dealer tech when your car was new, knows exactly what they looked like under the hood from the factory, and will take special delight in making a long list of everything you have to fix/change/replace/reinstall before you can have the sticker, and applying a "TAMPER" flag to your vehicle in the state's records. Or, you might get the guy who has no knowledge but is hellbent on following the book to the very letter, and if the book says your car is supposed to have a carburetor stamped 4956s with five vacuum hoses and your car has a carburetor stamped 4955s with six vacuum hoses, you flunk.

There is often a large gap between what is legal and what you might get away with. You have to read the laws you're thinking of breaking and then ask yourself: "Do I feel lucky?".

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Too many people who were born on third base actually believe they've hit a triple.