Picked up a CA GS.. Factory 4 speed. Hate to delete the smog as in my belief it will hurt its value. Problem.. Rebuilding the system takes parts that I cannot seem to source. Is there a decent source I am not able to find or do I remove it... Just not many 66 401 4 speeds running around so was trying to keep it orig. Will it hurt the value to delete it? Or again is there a decent source to rebuild. Thank you
you can keep the system on the car but just disable it if it is not functioning properly. block the ports into the exhaust and/or head (not sure which it is on a Nailhead) and remove the blades from the smog pump. it will still spin put it won't pump air. That way you can keep it on the car with out having to repair it. Having said that you will occasionally see smog parts online when people part out California Electras or Rivieras. A Nailhead Riviera specialist might have some parts for instance. They are usually not in working order but at least it is a source for hoses, valves, and pumps.,,and easier to find than parts from a '66 GS. Check your parts book for commonality. Lastly, the link below is a source for at least some common parts. He can also refinish parts if that is what you need. http://www.broachbuster.com/id43.htm
Thanks so much for your help, the system I have is pretty much complete outside a few obvious "fixes" over the years that I would like done correctly. My heart says delete it and let the nail head be seen in all its glory but my head says leave it there its original. I will now have to come up with some nifty ways to block things off and keep it there for looks. Funny sounding to restore a system that looks terrible so it will look good..
My silver '66 GS 4 speed car came with the smog setup too, as did my red GS. The real weird thing was the car was ordered with manual steering, but Buick had to put a power steering pump on it to drive the smog pump. The PS pump had it's inlet/outlet looped together. Looking thru the parts book confirmed that's how Buick built it! I plan to put the system back on one of these days.
Now that's just vindictive. I would have thought Buick would have given CA customers free PS. Guess most people wouldn't know what they were looking at under the hood anyway and were none the wiser.
In most cases yes, yet this is a black plate car and I have the orig plates I was going to have restored so to have a CA car with no smog would bother me. I am torn..
If I am going to just faux it so it looks original it appears I am pretty complete up until the back of the carb, I will have to look into what was actually used there as it appears someone fixed it from the plumbing department at the hardware store. The rest looks pretty solid and should clean up pretty decent.
I have this pic on file, showing the rear of the carb. Took this pic when I bought my red GS in 1996. My silver GS looks the same but had the tower style hose clamps.
If you do want any smog parts hit me up. I just pulled the smog system off of my 66 Wildcat. It's all there and mostly in pretty good shape.
You can install '65 parts and make it look like the system was never there. It is California only in that era. That would take intake and exhaust manifolds, and a few other bits to make so.
