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FBIRD69's 1969 Firebird

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What is this part?


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My dad said its for emissions and lets heat into the gooseneck to force turn on the thermostat. He could not remember what the part is call. We also think that its not hooked up anymore since the rod on the bottom cam be moved freely.

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My dad said its for emissions and lets heat into the gooseneck to force turn on the thermostat. He could not remember what the part is call. We also think that its not hooked up anymore since the rod on the bottom cam be moved freely.

So what you are saying is that I do not even need this part? I mean Ive never see it before, My girlfriends 67' Camaro has a 327 and I've never see it on that either. Her dad's 40's Chevy has a 4bbl 350 bored to 388 and it doesn't have it either.

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If the car runs fine leave it alone! :)

Well I'd rather have a cleaner more spacious engine bay. That particular part makes changing spark-plugs a pain in the ass. Plus the fact that it is apparently disconnected and rattles around is annoying.

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yea at that point GM started sharing motors. My 1981 Monty had the buick/pontiac 3.8L motor and the block, valve covers and water pump was pontiac blue not chevy red.

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Is this on your Phoenix? A Chevy 305 powerplant?

Yep Chevrolet 305 small block. 2 bbl carb.

yea at that point GM started sharing motors. My 1981 Monty had the buick/pontiac 3.8L motor and the block, valve covers and water pump was pontiac blue not chevy red.

Correct. Actually lol, this engine was Pontiac blue and then someone repainted it.

its a 78 its for emissions....you can thank the carter administration for it...take it off u might gain some hp.....but its doubtful

I could care less about HP. I'd rather take it off to create more space around the block. I want to do the same with my A/C pump because the lines are dry, the pump might have a bad bearing, the electromagnetic clamp doesn't seem to work/be powered, and it doesn't even have a belt on.

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I am fairly certain it has something to do with emissions. I recognize the thermo-vacuum connection. Essentially the connection between the bellows to the top of the thermostat housing is a heat-activiated vacuum source - which GM usually set for about 104 degrees or more. GM has used those for years. If you can post more close up pictures of the device and what it goes to in the back of the motor, that would help.

Have you gotten any Pontiac Historical Services documentation on this car? www.phs-online.com

I am curious to know what emissions it was built with - California, high-altitude, or 49 state compliant?

I am wondering of this is possible California car or perhaps delivered to a high-altitude state. The 305 was often installed in a lot of Pontiacs (not just the Phoenix) destined for California to meet stricter CA-smog emissions, or to high-altitude states like Colorado because of the thin air required different tuning for performance and emissions reasons.

One trick that a lot of the car companys, like GM, did was to install an air pump that would inject fresh air directly into the exhaust manifold to reduce the PPM of NOX or CO to meet emissions laws. I suspect this is might be what this is for, but I need to see more detail to be sure. A lot of guys removed these pumps to save weight and improve performance. Now days, if you are doing a concours restoration, this stuff is worth it's weight in gold since most of this stuff hit the junk pile 30+ years ago.

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