making your own mid pipe

[02stangbang]

i was just wondering if anyone has modified and existing mid pipe for shorty headers, to fit a set of long tubes. it seems as though it would be pretty easy and inexpensive but i cant find any tooling that would allow me to make the socket (flared) end to accept the ball end from the header. any experiences or info would be greatly appreciated and i think this could save alot of ppl money.

 

[forum155pl]

i would just take it to a muffler shop.. i had them make my stock H into a midpipe to squeeze though emissions, i found the collector flanges somewhere on summit. then if i remember right they just charged me 50 to cut, flaire and weld..

 

[Smokeurhonda]

shorty h pipes are pretty cheap. Also any of the good LT's on the market usually are offered with the shorty pipe.

 

[02stangbang]

well smoke, id rather get use out of pipe ive already purchased instead of shelling out 160 or so bucks for another mid. not to mention the garage already has the stock h sittin in it.

 

[Smokeurhonda]

Oh trust me I know the feeling. At first it seems economical to try to take the cheaper "easier" route to get stuff done. But in my expierence sometime it ends up being more of a PITA then it's worth. If that's the route you want to take I would try forum155pl's suggestion and hit up a muffler shop and they can probably cut and bend whatever you need for a resonable price. The only thing to keep in mind is that if it requires bends most muffler shops can only do crush bends and not mandrel. Good luck.

 

[02stangbang]

well thanks guys, i was just hoping to find out what type of tool is required to flare that end of the mid. i know i cant drive to the muffler shop with open headers so ill have to mock it up here, cut where i think it should be, then take it to the shop to be flared. thx for the input guys

 

[forum155pl]

my advice would be to buy yourself a 100-150 doller mid pipe from somewhere.. mac makes a good cheap one.. you wont be able to make your mid pipe fit enough to drive it to the muff shop without it still being just as loud as open headers..

BTW you prolly wont hurt your motor if you drove with open headers.. i do it alot with my cutouts... just dont rev the crap out of it (keep it under 2500RPM.. and strap your mid pipe up with a tiedown though the doors and all the way around. ive done this with my car when i ripped my mid pipe off of my longtubes going though the mall parking garage..