Heyas!

HISTORY:
I'm a newb here on these forums and the 3rd gen, but I've done a bit of restoration work in the past.

I searched this forum, all the stickies and back to Jan of last year and read every single appropriate thread post by post.

My wife's car is a 1991 RS Vert, bone stock and original LO3, 95k miles. We put a grand total of maybe 1000 miles on it in the last 6 years. It sits in the garage and ages. It is in great shape as it has been garage kept since new.

Many years ago I resto'd a horrid 1978 Trans Am. The final product was pretty darn good, but I swore I would never touch another old car. I spent hundreds (thousands?) of hours on that car. I literally rebuilt that car from the ground up. Every single bolt. The horror of that experience was such that I sold it for pennies on the dollar and ran out and bought a new (at the time) 1996 Firebird.

So, the wife's RS sat in the garage neglected.

It runs good (well, as good as it ever did...you know what I mean).

Last year it just barely passed emissions. It blows some white smoke on startup. It had a problem showing warm, say 150* on the gauge, so I'm not sure if it really wasn't getting warm (and hence higher emisisons), a bad gauge/sender, bad heads/valves, coolant leak, or some other issue. It never seemed hot under the hood.

I did a coolant flush, thermo, temp sending unit, TCS, and heater valve diverter all at once this week. It runs warmer now. It smokes less, and the (on start-up) cold idle speed drops much more quickly and settles in to normal.

For the most part, I ignored the car in the garage. Every few months I would start it up and drive it up the highway a bit and get the oil changed. I couldn't love it. I acted like it wasn't even there.

But, now the bug has hit me... I resisted as much as I could, but it is too late and the engine is going to have to come out. For the love of God and all that's holy, it will get at least a new gasket set. And a somewhat hotter cam, and some exhaust treatment, and a head porting, and a ...

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So, I really want to keep it nearly stock. I've already caved on the exhaust. Here's my big desire: It performs even slightly better than stock and looks a heck of a lot better than the rusted stock manifolds. It has to be a full stock replacement.

1. Get some different manifolds that flow better. L69's? I couldn't find if these would be a drop-in replacement. Is there anything I can do to keep them from looking like stock rusted POS's?

2. Get something like the Edelbrock TES. My concern here is the whole "header" issue. I really don't want to be messing with these (or any other header system) if it wil be a lot of work.

Messing with the car really isn't a problem, heck, I know I will like it once I get back into it. But, it is the wife's car (our backup car, it never gets driven anymore). The first and only time she takes it out this year and the exhaust is leaking around the header she is going to stomp a hole in my ***. (That is Texan for "Very Bad Things").

Thanks for any help.

Trick414

 

I would send "Dyno Don" a PM. He is a member here. He makes some shorty headers for these cars, well they just look amazing in the pictures. I cant personally vouch because I am in the same boat as you exhaust wise (rusty LO3 manifolds) but there are nice things said about his headers.

He would also be able to tell you about the install ect. too, since he designed them.

 

BUT, does Dyno Don get them smog certified? If not, they'd be illegal, and not pass inspections, unless you had a buddy or PAID extra $$$$ to get your sticker. All of that, IF your in an emissions county. Even if you aren't, you could pass at inspection time, but still be illegal, if you tampered with Federal emissions.

Don't get me wrong. I'm putting in long tubes, no AIR parts, so what do I care? I'm not smog exempt (for another 3 years) but even then, the smog stuff is supposed to stay there.

But I pass the sniffer test EASILY, even with half my AIR stuff gone.

The main issue with headers, as far as maintenance goes, is the headers bolts backing out & loosening. Get some Stage 8 locking tabs, and you'll be good there. Go with shorties, like the Edelbrock TES, and you won't run into any ground clearance problems. Besides, the only long tube emissions legal header, that I know of, is the SLP, which is no longer made. So you'd hafta hunt for used ones.

 

I thought dyno don had air tubes on them?

As for emissions country, well he is located down by you. Maybe you know?

 

Well,he lists Fort Worth (4 hrs drive from me), but that area is so big, he could be out a ways, but use the big city as a reference point. I know that's common around here. Who would know where Dripping Springs....Bastrop....Liberty Hill....Oatmeal, etc. are? Just outside of Austin, TX

Not to mention emissions tests are assigned by counties, not cities so......

 

I'm in Fort Worth, so Tarrant County. Yes, it's an emission county.

I've looked at Dyno Don's set. I'm considering it. I'm not worried about it not having a EO#. Although I want to keep it mostly stock and legal, I'm sure the numbers will be fine once I get the engine rebuilt and everything running well.

I'm going to go talk to an exhaust guy I knew back in the day. He won't remember me, but I recall he was faily knowledgeable and trustworthy.

 

Anybody know any decent exhaust shops in the DFW area?

I was looking at the car today. I figure with it will be a PITA to install any type of exhaust system without a lift.

I'd rather order in the parts and take it to a shop for install.

 

I got the cat off today with only minimal trouble in my garage.

I think I have firmed up on an Edelbrock TES and a direct-fit converter.

This car will never be a hot-rod, so I'm no trying to go crazy. But, I would like to replace those POS exhaust manifolds and the cat needed to go anyway for emissions reasons.

It looks like I will order from Summit. The cat is CTO-4115.

Here is the question:

How does the new cat hook up to the air tube on the car? When I pulled the old cat off, the air tube on the vehicle side had an enlarged opening to fit the tube in from the cat side. It looks like the factory then used a small clamp to make the connection. Unfortunately, the clamp apparently put so much pressure on the tube that I can't get it out now.

I couldn't get the tube out from the vehicle side, so I cut it on the cat side.

I looked at the install kits from AZ and OReilly and they just use rubber hose and clamps.

If you have been down this road before, you probably know exactly what I'm asking. If not, I can post some pictures early in the morning.

Thanks!

Trick414

 

That's the typical small block Chevy oil trickling into the exhaust manifold. If the smoke goes away after 1 second then its the issue I'm thinking of. The cause is probably due to some valve seals being worn or rings? I know this is a normal thing for Chevy V8's with higher mileage. Mine has done it for 120k miles.

 

Yeah, like you said, I believe it is the heads or rings.

In either case, the engine will get rebuilt sometime this year.

Right now, I'm just trying to get my chess pieces in place.

 

White smoke is coolant...

Blue smoke would be oil. If it smells acrid its oil. If it smells sweet and tangy its coolant.

Oil burning on startup is due to worn or cracked valve stem seals. When you let the car sit, some of the excess oil in the head / valvecover area will drip down the valves and when you start the motor it just burns off. Mine does this, its really not an issue unless you are starting to have to buy oil alot more often, or if it is that bad it might oil foul your plugs.