From my reading it sounds like a street-ported engine is not emissions-legal, however, they typically pass emissions testing so no one is the wiser. Have I got that right? I'm in MD, btw.

Thanks,
Todd

 

well to get the maximum amount of power you need some good exhaust flow which you are not going to get with intact exhaust system.. You need to sacrifice power and just drive the car, I wouldnt risk the fact that you may never be able to drive the car again...

 

I believe that a street port with all emissions in place should still pass muster. I don't think that the load on the emissions components would be that much higher with just the port job. I'm no expert on this though, I'm from Michigan (no testing).....

 

From what I heard the overlapping of intake and exhaust ports makes it less likely for streetported engines to pass emissions.

 

^^^ True. The level of streetporting and the regulations of each state may affect your chances. Large streetports might not pass while mild street ports may. You never know. You definitely need a minimum of an air pump and a cat to have any chance of it. Technically according to the book, a streetport is illegal. This doesn't mean they can't physically pass a sniffer test though.

 

my goal is to build one that's cleaner than a stock 1984 ...