emmissions stuff

Hi Guys,
I am replacing the intake manifold on my 78 with an edelbrock performer soon and thought while I was at it I would "lose" all the emmissions stuff like the EGR, cat and smog.  Is it as simple as just taking them off and plugging their connections or is there some re-routing of stuff I will need to do.  Sort of a newbie at this but willing to learn.  I have read on here that the L48s run better without all that junk on.
Once done I plan to have a shop rebuild the carb and re-tune it.
Thanks for any input.  I have learned a ton from just reading this forum we really have some great people here.
thanks

I have a '78 L82 I did exactly that when I installed an Edelbrock Performer intake.

The AIR pump was already gone from the car when I bought it, but it was no problem removing the EFE and related stuff. I replaced the thermostat housing that had the vacuum switch on it with an aftermarket one that looked much better.

I also removed the catalytic converter and installed a true dual exhaust system. Easy install.

At the same time I had the carburetor professionally rebuilt, though the jetting had to be changed due to a previous owner changing the camshaft.

After this was done the car ran much better and stronger, as well as operated at a slightly lower temperature. Add that to the cleaner look under the hood and it's nothing but positives.

The L48 may well show more of a noticeable improvement than my L82, but that's just a guess on my part. Make sure you have a shop that understands Quadrajets rebuild it for you.

Most places don't stock it, but Edelbrock makes a Performer RPM Q-Jet intake specifically for the Quadrajet to get the most out of it. You might look for one of those. I wasn't aware of that when I bought the Performer on my car.

Go for it...you won't regret it at all.

This doesn't speak to the performance issue per se--but just wait until you feel how heavy that original L-48 intake manifold is, versus the aluminum Performer.

I hefted one recently, and expected it to be considerable; but I was absolutely amazed at how much it actually weighed. By contrast, the Performer is (relatively speaking) a feather!

Thanks, a little more pep is exactly what I am looking for.  It will be couple of months before i get to do all that but will let you know how it feels.