[getmygoat]

Hi all,

Just recently purchased a pretty nice '76 Olds Cutlass Salon. Missing its catalytic converter and there's a chance I'll be moving back to California next year. Would like to find an original that still works, isn't rusted out, and won't burn up my exhaust valves from being plugged up.

Any thoughts on where I might find such a beast? I heard junk yards can't sell them and given they bring pretty good money when recycled, this could be a challenging find.

Thanks!

[59safaricat]

I don't believe you need the exact cats that originally came with the vehicle, just a 50 state smog legal one that Commiefornia accepts. Not sure what the "good" brands are but I'm sure someone here will report that.

[400 4spd.]

I'm no help on locating a convertor, but I appreciate the car you bought. I had a '77 Salon 2 door from '78 to ''88 that I would love to replace. Comfortable and great driving and handling cars for the era.

[Half-Inch Stud]

Amazon had Cats, and i suspect they are generics, but some smarts to know fit.

[george kujanski]

Eastern Catalytics may have something close. I used them for a replacement for my '91 Allante.

George

[OG68]

Give Ed Hansons a call. Located in Spring Valley.
https://www.edhansonsmuffler.com

[getmygoat]

Thanks guys.. I'm a purist through and through - so I hope to find an original and not a generic replacement (which would be a last resort).

Had a cutlass supreme from 84-90. Was a great ride and reliable car. Those olds engines run like tops. Reliving my youth.*

[mgarblik]

That looks like a very nice Cutlass. Your desire to return the exhaust to 100% stock with OE converter I certainly understand. Unfortunately, you are right about the difficulty in finding one. The early catalytic converters from the 1970's were extremely inefficient by today's standards and had a tendency to clog up from poor running feedback carburetors, age and mileage. The early cats had thousands and thousands of ceramic beads with the surface treated with platinum and palladium. When I worked at the Pontiac dealer, we removed the service plug, (freeze plug), from the converter body, beat on the converter with a rubber hammer and a strong vacuum cleaner attached to remove as many clogged-up beads as possible from them. Then you reversed the vacuum and blew in a fresh supply of beads and put the plug back in. That's how they were serviced.
It was expensive even back then, made a mess and by 1982, the process was pretty much ended as a much better design converter had been developed. So other than finding an NOS mid 1970's converter, your replacement will be the much better, lighter, less expensive and more efficient monolith style converter. They do look a little different and are smaller. A 50 state legal replacement will work better than the OE cat, gain you about 2 MPG on that Cutlass and about 10 HP.
In the 1970's a replacement OE converter was over $300.00. I can't imagine what a NOS one would be today? 2-3K? Let us know what you find.

[mgarblik]

Just for fun I took a quick look around the internet for a catalytic converter for you. There is a NOS GM converter on Ebay that looks like the correct vintage for your car. Has a few dings in the case. You would have to verify the part number and see it it's 100% correct. They are asking $925.00 for it. You can see the service plug I was talking about in the above post in the pics.

[KS circutguy]

Why not just buy a modern better flowing legal cat from Magna Flow for now.
Cheap as well.
https://www.magnaflow.com/collection...tic-converters

[77 TRASHCAN]

As Mike implied. A monolith converter is better and less problematic. I wouldn't buy a o. E. Stock converter.

[OG68]

If the OP is moving to San Diego, his choices are limited. It's whatever the ARB approves of.

[mgarblik]

Honestly, If the converter is 50 states legal, he should have no problem passing ANY tail pipe emission test. The converter will be a simple 2-way unit anyway, not a 3-way to reduce NOx as well. A good running engine with good plug wires on it and the idle mixture set a little on the lean side should be just fine. If I have any concern at all it would be that the EGR system be in tact and also functioning. That and ignition timing would be the only controls on NOx emissions those years. With the engine all warmed up at operating temp, use a pencil eraser to push on the underside of the EGR diaphragm. The engine MUST bog down or stall. If not, the passages are plugged up and will need to be cleaned out. A good running engine with all the emissions equipment in place will pass these tests. I was an Ohio EPA trainer for ten years. Only really sick engines fail these tests, or ones missing equipment meant to reduce emissions. Enjoy your car .

[geeteeohguy]

Originally Posted by mgarblik

Honestly, If the converter is 50 states legal, he should have no problem passing ANY tail pipe emission test. The converter will be a simple 2-way unit anyway, not a 3-way to reduce NOx as well. A good running engine with good plug wires on it and the idle mixture set a little on the lean side should be just fine. If I have any concern at all it would be that the EGR system be in tact and also functioning. That and ignition timing would be the only controls on NOx emissions those years. With the engine all warmed up at operating temp, use a pencil eraser to push on the underside of the EGR diaphragm. The engine MUST bog down or stall. If not, the passages are plugged up and will need to be cleaned out. A good running engine with all the emissions equipment in place will pass these tests. I was an Ohio EPA trainer for ten years. Only really sick engines fail these tests, or ones missing equipment meant to reduce emissions. Enjoy your car .

California cars do not have 50 state legal cat converters. They have a CA specific one that is usually 3 to 5 times the cost of a 49 state unit. That said, take the car to a CA referee and they will tell you which CARB approved replacement to have installed. The new style monolithic converters are not restrictive and are miles ahead of the old pellet type in function, weight, and performance. I held a CA Smog Inspector's license from 1981 to 2021. If the car was originally a CA emissions equipped car when new, it will need the CA converter or approved replacement. If it is a Federal car, a lot cheaper for the approved replacement cat.

[nashcar]

Would 1977 Camaro be the same ?

[mgarblik]

Originally Posted by geeteeohguy

California cars do not have 50 state legal cat converters. They have a CA specific one that is usually 3 to 5 times the cost of a 49 state unit. That said, take the car to a CA referee and they will tell you which CARB approved replacement to have installed. The new style monolithic converters are not restrictive and are miles ahead of the old pellet type in function, weight, and performance. I held a CA Smog Inspector's license from 1981 to 2021. If the car was originally a CA emissions equipped car when new, it will need the CA converter or approved replacement. If it is a Federal car, a lot cheaper for the approved replacement cat.

Don't want to get too far off track, but like to learn things. Just tell me if this is right. If the car was built to meet Federal Emissions and now is in CA, a Federal converter can be used. If it was built to CA emissions standards, only a CA converter can be used. Thanks.

[jerry455]

Most of the GM cat convertors back then were very similar. Most of them you will find are probably going to be empty. A lot of people did that back in the day especially when they were plugged up. Test pipes were very common. I wonder if you found a "dead" one if you might be able to put a newer style inside of the old one. That way it would be functionally better but look original.

[71GP76TA]

nos cats pop up on ebay once in a while

[getmygoat]

Thanks guys - ok you have probably convinced me to just use an off the shelf replacement if/when the time comes.

The nightmare would be for me to put an old cat on it - and have it ruin the engine from restrictive exhaust, so its probably safer for the car also to just use a replacement.

[getmygoat]

Originally Posted by mgarblik

Just for fun I took a quick look around the internet for a catalytic converter for you. There is a NOS GM converter on Ebay that looks like the correct vintage for your car. Has a few dings in the case. You would have to verify the part number and see it it's 100% correct. They are asking $925.00 for it. You can see the service plug I was talking about in the above post in the pics.

Thanks for looking into it. Yeah, I saw that cat on ebay also - as the seller indicated, the pipes are not there but the body of the cat looks the same, so it could probably be plumbed up at a competent exhaust shop, but as you stated also - probably better and cheaper to just run a replacement cat if/when needed. Thanks again - it sounds like you have a lot of knowledge on this topic and it certainly benefits to have your perspective!