Guys,
This is my first post here so I'll start off by saying that I don't even own a 3rd gen...unfortunatly! But, I do have a 68 camaro with a built 350, TH350 and 3.73 eaton posi. It's sittin' on 17's and we cut the coils for a better stance.
One of my friends has an 87 TA with a vette motor and her dad has an 87 GTA that's bone stock.
My friend has her heart set on the flowmaster exhaust system....I know for my 68 I installed it myself in about 1 and a half hours.
But, on an 87 TA how tough is it? First off, what all does it come with? I know it comes with the 80 series crossflow and some piping and all of the stock hangers right? Does it come with a cat, tipes or tailpipe? It's $239 in jegs. Which all of the pipes HAVE to be welded together?
Thanks alot and awesome site,
Donnie

 

ttt

 

Anyone???

 

I just got a 87 GTA few days ago, id like to know how to put those on too...

 

Hey.

I just put the single tailpipe Flow setup (Force II) on my L98 dual-cat car a month or so back. Basically it involves: hand/air tools, possibly a trip to a muffler shop, definitely the genesis of new swear words/phrases. Wear gloves and goggles like your skin and sight depend on it, because that is exactly the case. (Edit: It isn't difficult, but since I am hella Type-A it may seem so from reading what follows. Don't fret.)

1. Soak all fasteners on the original catback the night before. Deep Creep is great, WD will do the job as well. If the underside of the car is nasty, power all that gunk/tar/roadkill fur off first. Trust me, when you lose patience and take that first swing at the underside of the car, filthy damnation will rain down, usually onto your goggles. Ear plugs might not hurt, come to think...
2. Put your car as high above the cement as you can, then grab a Sawzall/a few wrenches and evict the stock setup, taking care to not damage the hangers, fluid lines, the chassis or yourself. On dual cat cars, this includes cutting the factory "Y" junction off right behind the cats. See if you can buy the demolition blades as used by EMS staff when cutting injured folks out of G0d-knows-what.
3. Here is where the possible trip to the muffler shop comes in. On my car, no amount of voodoo would get the Flow "Y" extension to ram onto the freshly abbreviated factory catpipe, even with serious deburring. I removed the factory catpipe (cutting the AIR tube in the process and using high-heat silicone hose/stainless clamps to mate the ends together upon reinstall) and raced to a local shop to get the Flow "Y" ends expanded slightly so that they would go on.
4. To attach the tailpipe and over-the-axle pipe to the muffler, I ended up slotting the pipes going into the muffler to ease the assembly. (Edit: I slotted the tubes on the muffler itself as well, marking everything and ensuring that the cuts were 90 degrees out from the slots on the pipes.) Slot a bit, try to cram the pipes together, disassemble if necessary and slot more, etc. It has been over a month now and I have no loose parts, no leaks. When you yammer the pipes together they will seal each other up as long as you did not cut too far , and this is easy to check visually. I think there are some helpful pics from the Grand Sport Registry page. I apologize for losing the link but try Google as that is where I obtained it.
5. Follow the instruction sheet from here. It is simple from here on. My only deviation from the sheet was the use of a stainless band clamp instead of the "U" jobbie at the lowest point under the car. Ground clearance is the oil to a Thirdgen's water...

That is about it. Again, having never really looked at the Formula's exhaust until this install, I jumped in without a plan, thinking it would be as easy as the install on my 5.0. It took me about a full workday. Having done it once, I can now probably do it in a couple of hours.

HTH, peace

Ken

 

Wow, well it seems doable, but when it comes to exhaust, i always like to take it in and get it done. Theres a cool place here thats right next to my area that does modification for cars.

I just dont have the skill to weld, nor the tools to weld anything, and i know some dont weld, but i want 100% leak proof.

 

I didn't weld anywhere. Hammered? Cut? Yes. Weld? No.

The same "No" applies to leaks...

Peace,

Ken

 

Ken,
Thanks alot man! I'm definetly gonna give it a shot then! Do you think it would be easier on a single cat car with dual tailpipes? Because that's what this one is. The flow kit doesn't come with cat(s) right? Does it come with tips?

Thanks again,
Donnie

 

I am not sure if it is easier since I have not seen a single-cat install. However, it only has one attaching point on the factory catpipe so there is less monkey business there. You may not even have to cut anything there. It does not include cats by the way.

Check the Jegs catalog (Summit too) for which system applies to your car, then hit this part of the Flowmaster site with the part number. You should be able to see a diagram once you use the search function in that page as you would here on 3G.

The tip on mine was merely a prebent slashcut aluminized pipe. Tailpipe characteristics can probably be determined from the catalogs or the Jegs/Summit website. Be careful on the websites since the pic may differ from reality (there should be a message to this effect, but I said "should" for a reason... heh).

HTH, besta luck.

K

 

Ken,
Thanks alot dude! I'm gonna give it a shot and being 16, I figure if I get it done then I did pretty good lol! Is it tough getting the pipe that goes over the axle to fit or do you just lower the rear-end?
Thanks again,
Donnie

 

If you put the back end of the car on jackstands (the body, not the axle tubes) the intermediate pipe will slip through. It is a two-piece for ease of installation. FYI I kept a huge floor jack under the rear axle as a secondary safety device. Don't forget to chock the front wheels.

Good luck.

Ken

 

Ken-
Being that the piece that goes over the axle is actually 2 pieces, did you weld that joint up or just use a clamp and call it good?
Thanks,
Donnie

 

I band-clamped the I-pipe together. Makes for more clearance around the rest of the car. The clamp was not included fom Flow but runs around $12 here in CA.

I may weld it later as practice (I plan to teach myself eventually), but after torturing the car on Yosemite's curves and bumps yesterday, I still have a thoroughly sealed-up exhaust.

Peace,

K

 

By band clamp do you just mean a big hose clamp that you got really tight?
Thanks,
Donnie

 

Hey.

The band clamp is specifically made for this usage. Any auto part store employee should know what it is (or I am just lucky in my city). Don't buy a "repair" clamp, as those are too narrow/thin for long-term usage. Imagine a 3" wide hose clamp with two bolts to clamp it and none of the small slots. If a local store cannot help, check Summit/Jegs under the Dynomax product line for a dollar or three over the price I paid locally.

HTH, peace

K

 

Ken,
Thanks alot dude! I know exactly what you're talking about, I'll let ya know how it goes....we should be putting them on next weekend!
Thanks again,
Donnie

 

Best of luck. I look forward to hearing of your success.

Peace,

Ken