bubbaz28

I'll try to keep it brief. I have an '83 LG4 Z-28 with stock exhaust.

I bought a slightly used set of 2055's with Y-pipe, 3" magna flow cat, and Hooker aerochamber muffler. The previous installer did a bit of a hack job though- I think the cutback was a 2 1/2" or 2 1/4" pipe. Where the end of the catback meets the muffler he just shoved the pipe into the muffler and welded it.

So I'm planning on dropping in the 2055's, probably using Remflex 2006 gaskets and installing accel 276S (or is it 0576S?) shorty plugs. For the header to Y connection, as I understand it no gasket is needed because it is a ball/ flange fitment? I will need to get 7/16-14, 2" bolts for the header to Y connect... also plan on getting ARP Chromoly header bolts 100-1110 for the headers... 1" long.

I assume washers, maybe locking, should be used with the header bolts? If so, what kind?

Now comes the tricky part, assuming the first part goes smoothly haha...
The cat converter slips onto the end of the Y-pipe. Would it be good enough to assemble it like this, use a good exhaust clamp, and move on to the intermediate pipe?

Also another option is to delete the cat. For older cars we have no emissions regs. I would guess the car would be very loud though. Not sure of other drawbacks... BTW this is a mostly garage kept car that will be driven very little.

For the cat back to muffler, I am having a hard time figuring out what will work. can I get 1 or 2 pieces pre-bent, that would slip into the cat (or Y pipe if I delete), go back and over the axle, and meet the flange of the aerochamber muffler? The hardest part for me to visualize is going over the axle and then making that basically 90* turn to meet the muffler inlet.

I have found Walker intermediate pipes WLK-53061 and 54064 being recommended, but I don't see how they'd work. Again, hard to visualize- any input will be very helpful!

Beyond that, I have positioned the new muffler/ tailpipes under the existing, and it looks like it should fit. Famous last words, LOL...

Again, two key questions- would I be better off to delete the Cat? Also, can I use a good quality band clamp to secure all my connections? Like I said, the car is garage kept and not driven much.

Thank You for reading my extensive post, and for your help!

Best,
Bubba

Greg '85 T/A

Not going to comment on removing the cat but sometimes it can be hard to tighten them around the y-pipe. Cutting three 1 inch slots in the cat inlet pipe and using a good clamp like Accuseal really helps.

bubbaz28

I guess I don't see that much benefit in removing the cat. Won't make things much easier as far as I can tell.
Thanks for the tip on cutting some slots- good idea!

NoEmissions84TA

iTrader: (1)

In my experience, band clamps will not work well long term.
The band will stretch especially with the heat from the cat converter.
And with 2 directly in line with each other, the converter will tend to rotate.
V band clamps would work well here. But you have to weld them onto the pipes.
If you don't want to pay the price for them, then cut the slots and use a regular exhaust clamp as Greg '85 TA suggested.
Position the clamp so that one half of the clamp's "ears" are on 1 pipe, and the other ears are on the other pipe. You may need to do a little grinding to make it fit. This way the pipes are locked together and can't rotate, but the big PLUS is that you don't have to tighten the clamp so much that you crush the pipes. Huge benefit should you need to take it apart.
You can also make 3 or so spot welds at each joint that are easy to get to when assembled. Then they can be ground off if disassembly is required.



Delete the air pump if not already done.

Use stainless steel hardware with anti-seize.

IIRC, the 276 plugs are regular, 576 is resistor.

kenbob

Hey buddy I'm looking to put my factory manifolds back on i was wondering since your putting on headers do you have the passenger side exhaust manifold extension i will trade a pair of hooker shorty headers for factory manifolds

Go Blue

I deleted my cat just to allow for better flow. I'm in an emissions exempt city and even if I wasn't they don't check the emissions on cars older than 25 years in Illinois. As for the cat back setup, the hardest part is getting the 1piece style up over the rear axle if you can't jack the back of the car up very far. The 2 piece style just means that you will need some socket extensions and possibly a u joint to get the socket up the the clamps/flanges to tighten them, but their placement is easier.