I live in PA (near Phila) where we have had the emissions I/M program since 1985. Anything 1975 or newer needs testing. For our truck's it's a visual test & maybe the sniffer, but not the dyno test. One way around your problem like harley dude said is to go with antique tags, but in PA you can only drive it once a week or less.

The '78 Bronco I used to own, which originally came from CA, had no cats or A.I.R. (smog pump). It had an EGR system (with all it's vacuum hoses & thermal ported switches). So you probably don't need much to make it pass, being an F-250; should be able to find the EGR stuff in a junkyard. Just has to be there and look like it's hooked up.

 

i live in PA and i have never had a problem getting my 78 inspected. It depends on what county you live in.

PA DEP I/M - Information for Drivers in "Other Counties"

maybe you need a new mechanic...

 

ya i would get a second opinion and don't forget to post what happens i hate when post get dead!

 

well since you don't want the post to go dead. For one thing I have few choices what garage my stuff goes to for the simple fact I'm not at home and my family member took it in for me. But the guy that owns the garage I have known for about 15 years. But what it comes down to is I have to have the evap canister, cats, smog pump, and egr valve it doesn't have to work but it has to be there for the visual inspection. Thats the part that makes me mad I have to spend money on some thing that doesn't even have to work. Ok well the truck I wanted to use for a daily driver when home for yard work and getting back and fourth from work. Like I said I might not be so mad about it if I were home to do the work but now I will have like an 800 bill cause labor. The only way to despute it would be get the build sheet and see if it said it had all that junk well the garage is using the vin tag and all that. Never had an issue with my other trucks but there always older by a year or so and the new junk I have passes the test fine.

 

Those restrictor plates were very simple to remove. One of the first mods I did to my new 79 F-150 when I got it. I didn't want to have to pay for that expensive unleaded fuel back then when I could get a regular nozzle to fit.

Exactly. A lot of the higher GVW F-250's did not require a cat on them.

 

1973/79 Ford Light Truck Parts Catalog / Exhaust System Application Chart / Section 52.1 / Pages 1 & 33.

1978 F250 4WD Regular Cab 400 engine. There are only two parts lists that apply.

Parts List #325: D7TZ5E212B .. Catalytic Converter (only one was installed).

Parts list #326. No converter is listed.

Your truck might have required a cat converter, it might not. It depended on the GVW and/or state requirements.

If by state law, you have to install a converter...

If the shop sez you need two cats, that's BS. Go to a local dealer and ask them make a copy of the parts catalog pages I typed above to prove that Ford only installed ONE converter on this truck as original.

If you cannot find a 351M/400 1977/79 F100/350 or 1978/79 Bronco to get used smog parts from, a 1977 or 1978 LTD or Merc Marquis with a 351M or 400 engine, use the same EGR parts, same smog pump and related parts the trucks/Bronco's used.

NOTE: If the parts are removed from a 1977 vehicle, please be aware that the 1977 P/S pump and brackets are NOT the same as 1978 and later. This applies to both cars & F Series trucks.

Leaded gas and cat converters: It won't take too long to ruin the cat if leaded gas is used instead of unleaded. The lead in the gas eats into the charcoal inside the converter, turns it into mush...forces it into the muffler, which will eventually plug it up.

When this begins to occur, your truck will sound like a vacuum cleaner! No chit!

F26SCCF3031

F26 = F250 4WD

S = 400 2V

C = Ontario, Canada Ford Assembly Plant

CF3061 = 1978.

 

Thanks for the info all, Reason I need two cats cause dualls

 

You prolly know this, but someone else reading this thread might not.

The dual exhausts were not factory installed.

Only a single exhaust system was factory installed.

 

Doesn't a 78 look a lot like a 73 or 74???
If you try and restore the EGR (strongly tied to distributor advance), dual cats (which will probably never get hot enough to work) and install and air pump with a evaporator canister, not to mention recurving the distributor and carb settings and all the dozens of hoses. You may get it to pass emissions at idle but you will ruin the performance and probably put out more pollution and use more gas at anything above idle.
You would need to find a similar 78 junker with all the emission stuff intact (hard to find) and use the complete and balanced system (hope it's in working order) to guarantee performance. This gets me back to my original statement.
I'm all for emission laws. I think they work, are needed and are good for all of us but on vehicles over 20 years old it's just not practical.

 

Just as a FYI, my 78 F-150 is non-catalyst, states so right on the engine sticker. No restrictor plate in the fuel fill (except I swapped on a bed with a restrictor plate, makes it so much easier to fill up.)

The difference is the GVWR, in years 78 and prior if the truck had a GVWR over 6000 lbs, then it wasn't subject to emissions requirements for unleaded fuel. As noted previously in this thread, Ford's answer to this requirement was the F-150 model, with the required GVWR over 6,000 lbs (I think mine is 6050, ha!)

 

Thinking about this some more...what does the emission sticker say on your valve cover? If it says 'CATALYST' then that motor was in a vehicle with smog, cats, etc. The others say 'NON-CATALYST' (EGR only). If you have a 'CATALYST' sticker, change the valve cover out for one with the other sticker; that may be enough for the mechanic so you won't need cats & smog. I can photograph the one on my '78 F-150, 400.

 

i am selling this 77 t-bird for a friend and here is what under the hood looks, and i am not trying to sell it on here i am only using it to show what the emission stuff looks like, and i am sure this thing is stock, i has had only one owner and is in mint shape for a rust belt bird! and i am not sure what the smog stuff is but thats what a stock 351 m engine looks like, i am not a expert i am just sharing a pic so if someone has a better pic and can explain it all then please do.

 

i am sure you can get valve covers with non cat stickers on them like this t bird has, and get the smog equipment to boot! for cheap if you can find old burnt out bird or one that has rust everywhere, and any 351 or 400 smog stuff will work like number dummy said, i am lucky and i don't have to have that stuff on my 77 lol i am lucky a devil

 

All these Birds came with cats as standard equipment. You cannot go by what a emissions sticker for a truck reads as opposed to a car...they will not the same.

1977/79 T-B 302/351M/351W: There are two cats (one right, one left). These are incorporated into the inlet pipes that bolt to the exhaust manifolds.
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The pic (post #27) above only shows the two air by pass valves (one is partially hidden by the radiator hose) for the smog pump, which is mounted below the alternator-which is partially visible.

Both these exact air bypass valves were used on: 1975/79: Birds, Cougars, big Fords/Mercs, Torino/LTD II's (all V8's). 1977/79 F100/350's & 1978/79 Bronco's.

The EGR valve isn't visible. It bolts to the carb/EGR spacer plate.

The flexible fresh air duct is missing from the aircleaner snout. It originally ran from the snout...then underneath the battery and attached to the core support.

 

Yes, that T-Bird's stickers will surely read 'CATALYST'