Thursday, October 18, 2012

Additional Exhaust Work

My Mustang has a set of Patriot short headers (H-8433) and a Flowmaster American Thunder system.  The Flowmaster system was about two foot short of reaching the header collectors.  This is expected and Flowmaster included four 45 degree mandrel bent tubes.

I managed to make something functional using the four 45 degree bents and two 60 degree bends I picked up from O'Reilly.  The system was held together with clamps and something I'm not particularly proud to have created.  However, the system worked and allowed me to drive around and break in the newly rebuilt engine.

The system I pieced together was in the way of the parking brake cables so I've not had a parking brake.  I decided I'd go ahead and get a local exhaust place to bend some tube to connect the collector to the Flowmaster system.  I wanted it done right so I did not need any clamps and the parking brake could be reconnected.

I learned of a place called Clarence's Discount Muffler which was mentioned as a really reputable place.  They placed my Mustang on the lift and I showed them exactly what was needed.  I worried all day that they would damage my car or do a poor job with the exhaust.

I picked up the car this afternoon and was somewhat disappointed.  They made exactly the pieces I requested and did not damage the car at all.  However, I'd have preferred they expanded the ends of the tube, slid them over the collector/existing pipe, and then weld them together.  The new pipe does not even mate up straight to the existing pipes.  They touch at an angle and were just welded together.

I'm trying not to worry about it too much.  I'm an incredible perfectionistic person.  The job which is done works perfectly fine.  I just want everything I finish to be top quality and this will likely bother me until I find a way to do it exactly as I'd like.

This is what I started with...

Clarence's built the following.  The bends are the most restrictive were they connect to the H pipe but it is a little difficult to see in the following pictures...