Re: Misc emissions stuff

[Darrel Kline <darrelk@domain.elided>]

Ken farmer wrote:

>First off: somebody said the other day that retro-fitting catalytic
>converters can cause fires.  Why?  

Cats get very hot. Typically there is a heat shield between the cat and the
body of the vehicle. This prevents the carpet or whatever from catching fire.

>Also, on the subject of cats, I've
>got dual exhausts with dual cats on my 1980 Scout II (running a 1975
>304).  These are a very high-flow design that had no real noticable
>affect on performance. 

The reason for this is that the 304 is a relatively low rpm, low horsepower
engine. Which means it doesn't produce a large volume of exhaust. The
exhaust system you replaced was probably only slightly restrictive to the
304, especially at lower rpms. If you were to boost the compression ratio
and install a 5000 rpm camshaft the improved exhaust system would really
come into play.

Darrel Kline
Colorado Springs, CO
1980 Scout, 304, T19, Dana 300