I bought a set of hooker 1 5/8" headers with 3" collectors a few weeks ago, and I went to the local exhaust shop and asked about ordering mufflers, cat, etc. The guy told me I can't run a 3" pipe and that it's "virtually impossible" to put dual exhaust cat-back on my car. When I told him that my car has 2 mufflers right now, he said it's "most likely one muffler with two outlets." I invited him to crawl under my car and look at the TWO mufflers but he declined. Anyway, I know there are a bunch of people on here with 3" exhaust and pretty much everybody w/a V8 has a dual cat-back system, so what do I say to this guy?

 

You say, "My '83 is the last of the bastard '82-'83 model years when they put this weird system that had a pipe from each exhaust manifold, which were joined together to go into one cat, then remained one intermediate pipe back along the driveshaft and over the axle where it split again into two mufflers. After that model year, the factory realized that one muffler was cheaper than two, so they just put two outlets on the muffler to make it look like they still had dual exhaust. In 1986, they went to a 2-3/4" cat and I-pipe, and the aftermarket typically makes this a nice round 3" to the muffler. Some systems have a single 3" outlet, although most retained the dual outlets. Starting in about 1988, some cars were equipped with two catalytic converters, which were joined together after the cats with a "Y" to the inlet of the I-pipe, then back to a single inlet/dual outlet muffler.

"The most commonly used setup is to use parts intended for '86-'90 model year TPI single cat systems, as they will use a 3" inlet/outlet single cat, 3" I-pipe, and 3" inlet muffler. Headers with a y-pipe for such an application are also a good idea, such as the Hooker 2055."

Or something like that.

 

yeah, I just made the an appointment to have it done at a different exhaust shop and he'll do the 3" but says the only way to run two mufflers will make it more restrictive than the single inlet/dual outlet set-up and he assured me it will still sound good, so that's what I agreed to do.

 

Which Hooker headers did you get, 2460 or 2055?

3" should be fine, at any rate.

 

don't know- they said they fit all '82-'92 V8 camaros and firebirds so I ordered them

 

that doesn't make any sense to me... how could two true 3" be more restrictive than 1 3" with dual outlets... if the pipes are the same bends, mandrel bends, then yes dual 3" would be overkill but its not gonna restrict the exhaust anymore? that just doesn't make any sense at all to me. but what do i know?

 

He said 3", he didn't say 3" true duals.

'82-'92 Hookers would be 2460's. He'll have to fabricate a y-pipe as part of the exhaust. Hopefully he won't do a bunch of crimp bends or "T" the two down-pipes together.

 

nah, the guy did a really good job- got the car back yesterday. It sounds/performs great. Had to take it back tonight, tho, cuz he forgot to put the dipstick back on.