Great post, Cody! Since I used to drive cars with the old "standpipe" method of purging the crankcase, I agree 100% about PCV being a good thing. As I recall, there used to be a possibility that the standpipe could get blocked, which would really put you in a world of hurt. I guess it didn't happen often though.
But do I EVER remember the the crummy EGR system in my Mercury! I loved that car, but when I started hearing pinging, I knew it was time to clean out the EGR ports. That damned valve would just fill up with a hard, brown carbon "plaque", sort of like what happens in people's arteries when they are about to get heart attacks. It was always a pain to clean too, due to the tight curves in the narrow passages and the fact that the stuff was really "hard". Just a brilliant piece of engineering ***NOT***.
The smog pump was another wonderful invention, wasn't it? Took engine power to run, which made you burn more gas, producing more emissions....
I also seem to recall those things having a habit of breaking down, thankfully, mine didn't.
Don't you think though that some of the new "environmental" efforts against diesels are the result of the very visible particulate matter that some of the badly tuned ones can produce (although I am seeing far fewer of those today). I can't help but cringe when I see the "smoke show" tune for diesels. Is this a really good idea, or are we shooting ourselves in the foot?
Thanks for the trip down memory lane though. It brought back a lot of fond and not-so-fond recollections of time spent out in my carport or garage with the hood up and parts of the engine all over the place.
- Jack