Hello all,
The project side of my garage is still being occupied by my Jeep project, so I decided to get the Firebird back on the road with just enough work to get it too pass inspection, full resto will have to wait.
The exhaust was straight piped and rusty, so I took it off and got a Magnaflow stainless cat back to put in its place. It doesnt seem to mate up with the cat that is there. I dont think this cat is original, but it does have the proper flange on it that conects to the stock bracket. The cat is gutted and apppears to be 2.25" pipes.the y pipe also appears to have been replaced, it has accordian bends and appears to be 2.5" and is in good shape. For now im trying to do this as cheaply as possible while not hacking up the magnaflow so it can be reinstalled after resoration (probably with hooker headers and y pipe). The Magnaflow pipe is 3" at the flange joint.
What should i do? no tailpipe test here, but visual inspection for a cat.
1)I could cut off the back of the cat and clamp on a larger flange w/ reducer if such a thing is available.
2)I could just bolt it up as is w/ the very different size pipe. how bad will it leak?
3)cut off the cat, replace it with a bigger one, but looking online all the direct fit models (that have the correct flange) are 2.25". or i could replace with a larger universal one that would better fit the cat back. can i get one with a flange that will match or add one?

I would like to avoid having to take it somewhere to get it welded, i dont want to much examination of the bottom of this old bird until i can restore it.
thanks for your help!

 

A bigger cat would be better, but its tough to make the connections in your driveway without access to the right flanges and/or a welder.

 

yes, not having a welder always makes exhaust tougher. I need to work on that. Im actually still in the gargae, just the smaller part
If i was redoing everything, i would just get the bigger cat, but im just trying to do this quick and dirty for now. After doing some online research, there do seem to be reducers w/ a flange, just have to see if i can find one around here w/ the 2 bolt, most are 3 or four bolt. im going parts hunting now.