I just got an 82 with the 229 V6, and dang I have only worked under the hood a couple times and am sick of looking at all the hoses and wiring under the there. What can I eliminate, emissions aren't a problem here, in fact when I have the time and money (enough to paint the car while I am at it) I will eliminate all of that with the V8, but being I have so many projects going I probably won't get to the v8 soon, what can I get rid of without purchasing a bunch of new parts. Thanks!

IMO I wouldn't eliminate anything until your ready to eliminate everything. Removing anything could possibly cause the ECM to react adversely and lower your gas mileage. Drive the car as is and then eliminate it all at once when you swap to the V8...in the meantime gather up all the parts you need or put the money aside for a nice motor.

Clean it up, tune it up, fix it up, but don't screw it up. Theelcaminofactory is right as usual.

True, there are a few little tweaks you can do here and there, but (I'm going to be direct with you here.) the fact that you have to ask means you aren't ready to tackle this can of worms. All that black spaghetti works as a unified system and you'll likely regret trying to eliminate parts of it. In fact, one of the best things you may do is make sure none are leaking and replace any hoses that are.

Many of us can tell stories of folks who followed through on the temptation to "streamline" or "simplify" all that junk and ended up paying bucks to get it straightened back out.

Sorry this may not be what you want to hear.

Take care.

Thanks, I guess I will just leave it alone- unless I can just get rid of all of it!!! :)

one thing you can do is change the intake manifold a carb to a new set. This will usually increase your gas mileage and cause very little in the way of problems with the remaining equipment. unfortunatly this will cost around 400. another thing is to remove the feedback lines from the exhaust and plug all of the ports with proper fittings and sealed flare nuts.

I found a 350 on Craigslist today that I am talking with the guy about purchasing to install in the 82 El Camino. I wanted to ask you all how many of you have swapped out a V6 in one of these and the goal is to just eilimiate all the electronic emmissions crud under the hood and have nearly the same set up as in my 65 Malibu. What all does the computer control, and how do I remove it. I want to keep the AC, and I would like to believe the brackets might work on the V8 now as well. The 82 has the 229 V6, how do I know if the V8 will bolt up to the tranny? The engine is kind of radical and I will use the car for fun at the track and picking up things at the store, so I don't care much about daily driver concerns. From what I understand I will need motor mounts and fan shroud, but what else have you encountered in the swap?
Does this web site have a map or data base of what engine and tranny combos were in the cars from stock and if the transmission was the same on the V6 and V8? Thanks in Advance, The car was grandpa's and I knew the V6 wasn't going to last long, thank god it doesnt work that great!