Which cat back systems are a direct bolt up to the stock cat on my '82 T/A? It seems everywhere I search they are listed 85 and up. Is there any difference in hanger locations from '82 to '85? I dont know how to weld or know anyone who can so I need to use the factory locations to hang it with. Right now, the car has the stock setup with twin mufflersand the Y pipe before the axle. Im hoping this can be done in a weekend in the driveway without any fabrication. Any advise is greatly appreciated.

 

The only ones will be the ****ty 2.5" LG4 exhaust systems... you don't want that if you want to make power. You want a system for a '83-85 HO, or '85-92 TPI. They are 3" systems.

Hooker makes a replacement for the '83-85 HO (PN 16822) thats a 3" system. It is probably the closest fit (for a 3" system) for what you want.

 

So what your saying is that Im going to have to replace everything? Obviously, the manifolds and Y pipe should go too, but I was trying to keep cost to a bare minimum with just a catback. I would have done just a muffler, but with that rear Y pipe, I cant just bolt up a crossflow. If everything's got to go to make anything bolt up, this is gonna be pricey. I guess I'll just have to sit on the parts as I slowly buy them. Maybe in two years I can get my exhaust all together.

 

I bet, even if there was a good system for the LG4, your exhaust system is so rotten (litterally) that none of the bolts will want to come apart... so you'll end up cutting it anyway. If you want to use stock manifolds, you can have a shop make you a Y-pipe to fit any of the catback systems out there, but that might not be cheap. The big header companies make Y-pipes to fit their headers (like hooker, SLP, and hedman) and should be basically a bolt in deal, but I cant say for sure.

 

Hmmm, I guess I misunderstood what the catback systems were. I thought they bolted to the back of the cat, not replace the cat and back. Either way it sounds like I have to go with a full header back exhaust which is gonna cost me quite a bit. Are there any specific headers I need or will just any of the f-body v8 headers going to fit my motor?

 

They do bolt onto the cat. All I was saying, is that typically on these cars, you can't unbolt the factory exhaust from the cat because the bolts are far too rusty to come out.

 

I did notice that the bolts were quite rusted but I should be able to chop them off with a hacksaw and a lot of time. The "ears" that the bolts run through look really solid though so using new bolts should hold quite nicely. Will any catback systems bolt up to my stock cat? I know that the OD on the typical catback is 3". Do they taper it down to match the output of the cat, or do they just not match up at all? Also, I am willing to bet, the hangar positions are in different places too, right? Im not going to be doing anything with the exhaust for a while anyway, Im just trying to plan out future purchases. Thanks for your time and info Adam.

 

when i swapped my exhaust on my 84 TA the bolts were rusted but they came out...and the y-pipe did not get messed up at all....still have it stting on my garage floor

i have the hooker catback system for the 83-85 HO motors and mine bolted right up....only problem i ran into was when taking off the old bolts 2 of them ended up breaking......

 

Matt, when you swapped in your Hooker system, did you need to delete your cat, or did you choose to do that? I would like to keep mine on if possible due to new emmisions here in NH. I dont think they are "sniffing" older cars, but may be doing visual checks. You wouldnt happen to have a part number I could search Summit with do you? I poked around there, and didnt notice any year specific systems. Anyway, like I said earlier, Im just trying to plan out a budget for the next year so I know how much to save.

 

yah it bolts right up to the stock catalytic converter

when i ordered mine i just did the single cat.. 83-85 H.O. motor system