CA smog equipment
 

I happen to live in the last county in California where periodic smog clearance is not required after purchase. Given that good news, I'm considering stripping off some of that junk on my 89 CRX in order to increase milage/performance. Anyone have any suggestions as to the best way to proceed? What should go and what should stay?

Please leave the smog alone. Work on technique first. That's where you will get the biggest bang for the buck and the most improvement. Check out the 100+ hypermiling tips.

Welcome to the site

Hmmm, I suppose. But what is the difference between a 49 state car and a California car?

Yeah, leave the emissions equipment alone. I get ~70% improvement over EPA with driving technique. I doubt you'll see a 5% improvement from removing smog equipment, and you may not see any at all. I remember the horrible air quality in CA in the 1960s. Don't take any steps in the wrong direction to take us back to that kind of air quality.

The emissions equipment is there to increase efficiency, reduce combustion temps, and keep A/F ratios at stoichiometric. In some cases you might be able to gain a little peak horsepower, at the cost of drastically reducing FE and drastically increasing emissions. You won't find any easy efficiency gains unless there's something drastically wrong with your car, like a plugged catalyst, or by doing a complete conversion to a lean-burn or stratified-charge system.

Power but in your honda not much,, You don't haveta pass smog where you live in cali?

I belive you have one extra catalitic converter and oxygen sensor (other 49 have one cat on obd1 cars, and california obd2 cars have 3cats and 3 O2 sensors where as all others have 2 of both. Search google for <<non foulers>>.

Removal of cats will cause your engine run rich- worser mpg.

You might have a lower temp thermostat and your ECU might be different, other then that it should have the same catalytic converter right up by the exhaust manifold, and the EGR valve might be different but I'm not sure how, other then that, most of if should be the same or pretty close.
with a 2nd generation CRX (HF?) you should do pretty well, make sure you have light weight wheels (HF, VX, HX or honda Insight wheels) good narrow tires, change your tranny fluid! and give the car a full tune up.

A quick search implies it's just the ECU. Swapping to a federal ECU may allow you to pick up a few mpg and it would still be legal.