Whenever you remove smog items, it's going to get smelly; especially at idle and even more so with a high lift and/or long duration cam!
The fact that it was smelly before you removed the smog items was probably due to the fact that they weren’t working properly to begin with!
I too removed the smog pump and cats on my ’89 (when it was less than a year old.) The first thing I noticed was the smell! I thought I had an exhaust leak somewhere. After replacing the header gaskets, collector gaskets, new mufflers and tail-pipes…. The smell is still there!
It’s the price you gotta’ pay for breaking the law!
Phil
