No smog tests required in Illannoys, thank goodness! My son did most of the mods when the overhaul was done, including welding shut the hole in the intake manifold under the TBI. The tube from the header to the metering device was rusted thru in several places, so it was probably putting in as much air as it was exhaust- unfiltered at that. We also did a homebrew throttle body spacer- I was "loaned" a chunk of one inch aluminum plate, from which I cut an odd corner. We then bored a hole thru it (I think it was 2"), and after Jay (son) drilled and inserted TBI mounting studs, welded it to the top of the manifold. We also weren't happy with all the sharp edges in the manifold, so he went to work with a die grinder to break all sharp edges. There were a lot of unused vacuum ports when we were done, and they were filled or plugged. Many of the old vacuum lines were cracked or just rotten, so I replaced all of them. So far (approx. two yrs. later), things are holding together well and running great with the exception of the short/fusible link problem.
I'm not sure that an EGR system that's nearly 30 years old is functional anyway, so why not eliminate it? It's a device I could never understand from a functional standpoint. (OK, I'm not the brightest bulb in the package...) Getting rid of it may have gained me a couple of ponies, maybe a horse, and let's face it, our bangers need all the help they can get!
Sorry about running on like a physic woodpecker; I hope I've been some help. L8r, Castor
