1979 Pace Car Exhaust Question

[First Mustang]

Hello out there. My first Mustang as a 60 year old that has owned 20 cars but not a Mustang.
Question. 79 Pace Car has single exhaust on my 302 from the factory. The question is --
is the routing and bends the same on the Mustangs from 1974 to 1978 as well OR
what years are the bends and routing the same? Just 1979 thru what years?
I'm trying to find a already bent single exhaust kit.
Anyone's help will be appreciated Thanks

 

[LILCBRA]

As far as I know, you can install any exhaust made for 79-93. That could also include exhausts made for 94-2004 with a 302, but tail pipes might be different. Another thing I'm not sure about is whether or not the transmission crossmember would need to be swapped out if you chose to go with a stock style dual exhaust setup. 74-78 are a different animal and require a different transmission crossmember between dual and single exhaust cars. The Fox cars that I've worked on didn't have an issue there, but they were later models than a Pace car, so I'm not 100% sure if they're all used the same crossmember or if there were changes made to them.

 

[First Mustang]

Thanks for quick reply. I guess my question is, whether it's single exhaust kit or even dual exhaust kit, my mechanic doesn't have a bending
machine to bend the exhaust, so I'd like to buy them already pre-bent so he just has to hang them. Thanks Cory

 

[LILCBRA]

I know there are plenty of dual exhaust setups that you can buy and just install them, although I'm not sure on the availability of a single exhaust setup. I'm sure a shop could get it easy enough, or you can probably find one if you search enough. I will add that a dual exhaust setup will most likely require shorty headers, or at the very least later model stock headers. Most kits that I'm aware of don't require much to install. If you're looking to go with a stock single exhaust I'd suggest checking Rock Auto, they probably list it. And there's usually a discount code shared in the vendor section of the forums.

 

[Mustang5L5]

The early years were a hodgepodge of changes. I guess the question is do you want to change to the 86-93 dual exhaust setup, or stay with single exhaust?

I believe 78-84 302s had the single exhaust setup, but there may have been some subtle changes between those years. 1985 was the first year is a pseudo dual exhaust with a 2 into 1 into 2 setup.

Best bet is to just look for 1979 exhaust setups, but the market may be limited as most folks convert to 86+ style exhaust.

 

[limp]

Do a search on here for " Dual exhaust on my 83...
I have at least 7 posts on here about what I encountered doing a dual exhaust changeover....
The rear end post has some info on it too..... Had to change the vent from the right rear axle to the center of the housing...

 

[85GTStangGuy]

Fuel line will probably need to be re-routed.... see @limp 's thread(s) for really good info.