I'm looking for an exhaust for my '85 trans am and ive herd that you have to be careful for ground clearance and other things but I want to put a dual exhaust on it and i can't find any that work please help.
Tim

 

There isn't any kit you can buy. You want true duals, you'll need to find a shop to custom bend the pipes for you.

 

If you really want true duals, there's nothing stopping you from building your own custom system. However, having true duals introduces its own set of problems that may not be worth the trouble.

The biggest problem is obviously ground clearance. It's possible to build a true dual exhaust system with about the same ground clearance as stock, but things start to get costly in a hurry if you want a good looking mandrel bent system. This is not to mention the difficulty of the task if you are planning to do it yourself.

Speaking of cost, you're going to need two of everything with the system, so plan on having a good amount of cash for two catalytic converters, two i-pipes, and two mufflers (unless you decided to just run some pipe straight through--which will probably sound like crap--to lower the cost).

Finally, if you have state emission inspections in your area and you use your car as a daily driver, you may not be able to pass inspections with a dual exhaust setup. It's possible that if you had two cats and a clean running car to pass the sniffer, but you will definately have a problem with visual inspection if your state has one of those.

Personally, I think a good set of headers combined with a single 3" catback will be more than enough for a 305, and probably even your dad's 350 that you plan to put in. Ground clearance is much more important than the marginally better flow with true duals. However, that's just my opinion... if you decide you still want dual exhaust, then more power to you.

Good luck with whatever you end up doing with your exhaust. Be prepare for a costly (and lengthy) job ahead of you if you take the dual exhaust route.