Exhaust Question...is this guy pulling my leg?

[stang1986GT]

I took my car ('86 GT) to a local garage that advertises flowmasters. He said he can build me an H-pipe and attach right behind the first set of cats that are closest to the motor. He told me that these are actually hollow, so I should be able to get by on inspections. Also, he said that my car has the "LX style rear end" and that he would have to use 2 1/4 in this section because the pipes would rub. Buddy of mine has an 85 GT and he doesn't seem to have any problems rubbing.

Questions are: (1) are the first set of cats hollow? I've never heard this before, but I want to see what you guys think. (2) Do any of you guys having rubbing problems over the rear end with 2 1/2 inch pipe?

The only reason I took it there is they charge $310.00 for everything (aluminized pipe) including polished tips. Would i be better off to just spend the extra money and buy a BBK h-pipe and a flowmaster cat back?

P.S. This is if I decide to keep the car. Thanks again.

 

[795.0pacecar]

The guy is an idiot. 2 1/2" pipe fit on my car fine.

 

[stang1986GT]

The guy is an idiot. 2 1/2" pipe fit on my car fine.

That's what I was thinking too...just needed someone to confirm for me. I also didn't like the fact that he wasn't going to go all the way up to the header, choosing instead to cut the original pipe right after the first set of "cats". I know that sounds crazy, but seems like all the exhaust shops around here want to do that...it's like they're afraid to mess with the bolts on the flanges or something. Crazy.

 

[fox racer]

yea.. ppl fit 3 inch pipes over the 8.8, dont listen to that guy. get the h pipe and the flowmaster stuff and just do it yourself. its really not bad.

 

[stang1986GT]

yea.. ppl fit 3 inch pipes over the 8.8, dont listen to that guy. get the h pipe and the flowmaster stuff and just do it yourself. its really not bad.

I just HATE to do exhaust work...it's such a pain to get everything lined up and straight. I guess if you buy a quality h-pipe and catback it can't be too bad though.

Thanks for confirming my suspicions folks.

 

[Mustang5L5]

I don't like having exhaust shops do the work because they just weld everything up. A shop did my friends car and welded the exhaust from the headers back. Problem was we needed to drop the AOD and there was nothing to unbolt. We had to hacksaw the brand new exhaust off and then reweld it back on later

Stick with aftermarket component exhausts. SO much easier to deal with and fit better. And you can get up to 3" piping to fit with these kits. I have a friend running 3" flowmaster cat-back and it fits fine.

 

[65ShelbyClone]

Questions are: (1) are the first set of cats hollow? I've never heard this before, but I want to see what you guys think. (2) Do any of you guys having rubbing problems over the rear end with 2 1/2 inch pipe?

The only reason I took it there is they charge $310.00 for everything (aluminized pipe) including polished tips. Would i be better off to just spend the extra money and buy a BBK h-pipe and a flowmaster cat back?

P.S. This is if I decide to keep the car. Thanks again.

1. No. They are genuine official catalytic convertors.
2. No. 2.5" can definitely fit.

I would actually prefer to get all the parts bolt-on. H-pipes are cheap and so are some cat-backs. I had an American Thunder cat-back on my '89 GT and I got Summit to price match a Flowtech x-pipe. Whole mess was less than $350 in the end.

 

[25thmustang]

I think its because in some states legally they cannot install off road pipes. They can install stuff with cats on it, which is prob why they choose to leave the front two, but I am pretty sure they cannot install a complete off road exhaust. This might be wrong, but an idea!

 

[Mustang5L5]

It's illegal to remove a perfectly good working converter in all 50 states.

SO just say they were busted

 

[Darkwriter77]

Why cause extra headaches and pay someone to hack up your exhaust when you can do it all much cleaner, cheaper, and more effectively? Just replace the H-pipe assembly with a catalytic converter-equipped X-pipe or H-pipe (they usually only have two instead of the stock four) to be 50-state legal and then follow it with a cat-back of your choice.

Pypes has a full exhaust system package complete with cat'ed X-pipe, muffs, and polished stainless tails for a pretty reasonable price, and it sounds killer on my car, even with the stock headers. All you'll need to install it are a jack and a couple of jackstands, a deep-socket 5/8" with a long (12") extension, and a couple of Crescent wrenches (or two 9/16" wrenches, if you prefer exact sizes). The hardest part of the whole deal is just making it all line up so it's not so high that it's clattering against the frame or fuel tank, but not so low that it's dragging on every speed bump in sight - not hard, technically, just time-consuming (especially if you're really anal about it, like I tend to be).

 

[Vinnietbird]

I just got a Pypes of road x-pipe and Warlock race mufflers.My BBK headers wil be here by the end of the week.Finally.It's not hard to do it all yourself.Just get a kit,loosely bolt everything together,and when you get the fit right,go back and tighten evrything up.Like it was said above,just time consuming.

 

[65ShelbyClone]

It's illegal to remove a perfectly good working converter in all 50 states.

SO just say they were busted

Yeah, isn't the maximum fine something like $2500 per convertor? Last I looked, Fox3s had four.