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THE LOBBY A gathering place. Introductions, sports, showin' off your ride, birthday-anniversary-milestone, achievements, family oriented humor. |
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#1
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Where to find original Catalytic Converter for 76 Cutlass?
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!
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1969 Judge, 4-speed, CR/Parchment, Quasi-Survivor, #'s match - under restoration |
#2
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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.
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#3
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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.
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#4
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Amazon had Cats, and i suspect they are generics, but some smarts to know fit.
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#5
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Eastern Catalytics may have something close. I used them for a replacement for my '91 Allante.
George
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"...out to my ol'55, I pulled away slowly, feeling so holy, god knows i was feeling alive"....written by Tom Wait from the Eagles' Live From The Forum |
#6
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Give Ed Hansons a call. Located in Spring Valley.
https://www.edhansonsmuffler.com
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Ed 1968 GTO (Thanks Mom) 2006 Silverado 2007 Cadillac SRX 2015 Chevy Express |
#7
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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.*
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1969 Judge, 4-speed, CR/Parchment, Quasi-Survivor, #'s match - under restoration |
#8
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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. |
#9
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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.
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#10
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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
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https://www.flickr.com/photos/197745168@N07/ "There's nothing more unsatisfying than watching an electric car go down the dragstrip." |
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#11
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As Mike implied. A monolith converter is better and less problematic. I wouldn't buy a o. E. Stock converter.
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1977 Black Trans Am 180 HP Auto, essentially base model T/A. I'm the original owner, purchased May 7, 1977. Shut it off Shut it off Buddy, I just shut your Prius down... |
#12
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If the OP is moving to San Diego, his choices are limited. It's whatever the ARB approves of.
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Ed 1968 GTO (Thanks Mom) 2006 Silverado 2007 Cadillac SRX 2015 Chevy Express |
The Following User Says Thank You to OG68 For This Useful Post: | ||
#13
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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 .
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#14
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Quote:
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Jeff |
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#15
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Would 1977 Camaro be the same ?
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69 Z 302 M21 3.73 http://www.byjanmarie.com/camaro/Z28.html 69 FB 400 http://www.byjanmarie.com/firebird/69.html 69 Camaro 327 4sp. 4.10 http://www.byjanmarie.com/camaro/69camaro.html ( SOLD) 2002 Camaro LE/SLP-(sold) 1967 Nova SS-- 327, M20, 3.73, FRT Disc |
#16
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#17
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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.
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#18
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nos cats pop up on ebay once in a while
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Current Pontiacs - 1973 Formula SD455 - #'s auto orig paint 1972 Trans Am - 4 speed orig paint 1974 Formula 400 - Ram Air automatic 1966 2+2 convertible - 421 4bbl automatic 1967 Grand Prix - 4 speed orig paint 1967 GTO - 4 speed orig paint 35k orig miles |
#19
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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.
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1969 Judge, 4-speed, CR/Parchment, Quasi-Survivor, #'s match - under restoration |
The Following User Says Thank You to getmygoat For This Useful Post: | ||
#20
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Quote:
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1969 Judge, 4-speed, CR/Parchment, Quasi-Survivor, #'s match - under restoration |
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