emissions removal

With the stock carb (for now) will doing this mess with how it runs?

it will run in limp mode, expect about 16mpg and a lot of black smoke.

What would make it run in "limp mode" exactly?

whenever one of the sensors or vacuum lines doesn't send the proper signal to the ecu, the ecu has the carb run in safe mode.

what if i disconnect the ecm, will it still run in limp mode with the vacuum lines deleted?

Most of this stuff is removed from my 86B200 but I'm still running the factory carb. The PO removed the purge canister and solenoids and I've been slowly deleting what's left. I know for sure if you're running the factory carb you have to leave the white square plug and round plug connected to the main carb harness. This is for the duty cycle solenoid and such and the carb will run like total crap without it. With my current setup I'm getting about 23mpg average but it's running mostly on the lean side according to the NGK AFX.

Ditch the factory carb in favor of a Weber or 5200 and you can pretty much remove everything That's the direction I'm currently going so I'll update this if I hit any hitches or find pertinent info.

I don't think this will work if you're still running the factory Nikki. See my above post about the duty cycle solenoid

As EmJay says it will definitely be in a limp mode state without the ECM to control the solenoid and your mixture will be all over the map. That solenoid needs a 0 - 10Hz signal from the ECM to control mixture.

yeah ive decided im just gonna get a weber and delete all the crap on the passenger side.

If you get the Weber kit from WeberCarbsDirect or someone similar, it's a breeze. The kit include the plates, gaskets, bolts, etc. It includes a huge booklet with illustrated instructions. The only thing I bought (which wasn't required) was some RTV for the gaskets. If you're looking more for the fuel economy, my suggestion is the 32/36 DGEV.

If you remove the emissions and install a Weber or Holley, you have the option of keeping or removing the charcoal canister, but the rest of the vacuum lines can be removed (except for the vacuum advance on the distributor). The ECM and wiring harness (the lines coming from the passenger side of the firewall) can be removed, except the four blue wires coming from the wiper motor and the single black wire that is a ground point. These need to stay.

Good luck with it. There's tons of info and people who have done this swap. I've never messed with carburetors before, but I did this swap with no problem.

Make sure to sand the adapter plates flat, they are not always perfect from the manufacturer. Dan