I think the good old digifant DJ 2.1 came without a cat in Germany until around 89/90 model year.

alistair

On 2012-03-18, at 11:17 AM, Dennis Haynes wrote:

> Could be a lot of differences. Carburetor instead of fuel injection,
> ignition timing, Valve timing, O2 sensor, compression ratios, even gear
> ratios. All these items can have an effect on emissions especially the
> production of NOx. Many other countries simply allow more pollution
> especially back then. 
> 
> Dennis 
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com] On Behalf Of
> Alistair Bell
> Sent: Sunday, March 18, 2012 1:20 PM
> To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
> Subject: Re: Catalytic Converter???? Anyone go without it???
> 
> same engine was used in other countries sans cat. I wonder what the
> engineering differences were? Any ideas Dave?
> 
> alistair
> 
> 
> On 2012-03-18, at 9:41 AM, Dave Mcneely wrote:
> 
>> Marc, whether your state or local jurisdiction has an emission 
>> inspection requirement or not, the converter is required for legal 
>> operation of your vehicle.  Further, the vehicle is engineered to 
>> operate properly with a functional converter installed.  Sure, folks 
>> run without it.  Some folks kill others for money, too.  That doesn't 
>> make it legal or right.  mcneely
>> 
>> ---- marc rose <mrose1028@GMAIL.COM> wrote:
>>> I went to change out my worn out and rusted muffler on my 90 Carat
> "Rosie"
>>> yesterday and noticed that the converter was all busted up and the 
>>> ceramic is all but gone.  I live in an area that has no enforced 
>>> emission tests or anything like that. My question is can i can safely 
>>> run without the convertor.  I was going to just bust out the rest of 
>>> the ceramic and reinstall but was not sure how it would affect the 
>>> overall operation of the engine.
>>> 
>>> Any thoughts??
>>> 
>>> Thanks
>>> 
>>> Marc
>> 
>> --
>> David McNeely
>