I thought I would go ahead and document the exhaust redo that I'm currently in the middle of on the Cobra. Before we came to Germany, I installed an all new exhaust with hooker super comp long tubes, Spintech 3000XL mufflers and SLP high-flow cats. I mainly did this so my car wouldn't be louder than the 95dB limit here in Germany. Long story short, the mufflers ended up being bigger than I thought, so they hang a lot lower than I'd like, and I found out the hard way that hooker's factory ceramic coating is of poor quality. They're also 1¾" headers, so they're too big anyway for my stock motor.
That all being said, this our last full year here; I got the last inspection done in February. This inspection will be valid until we leave and the car is shipped back stateside. Since I no longer have to worry about passing inspection, and since I'm tired of looking at the rusty headers and gigantic mufflers, I decided to start accumulating the parts to replace my entire exhaust. I don't have all the parts yet, I'm waiting on headers and mufflers. The headers are with @95steedamustang getting worked over and coated, and I'll be buying the mufflers this payday. I'm going with MAC long tubes and off-road H and Flowmaster 40s in stainless. My current tailpipes are the only parts I'll be reusing.
The current headers have been on the car for about four years now, but I haven't driven it that much in that time. The current state of the factory coating is pathetic.
Because of how large the current mufflers are, the exhaust shop that originally installed them cut a significant portion of pipe from the tailpipes at the muffler end to get it all to fit. This meant that I didn't have enough pipe left to slip into the new mufflers once I install everything. I ended up buying a pair of 45° elbows and cutting a section off of the tailpipes to give me the necessary pipe length. I may still need to trim the elbows a bit so I can mount the new mufflers high enough without having the tailpipes hit the floorpan, but this should work.
The tailpipes also needed a cleaning very badly. The Germans love their salt in the wintertime. I usually park the car over the winter for fear of it rusting. Most cars more than ten years old around here are eaten up pretty badly.
In the process of cleaning one pipe and polishing the tip.
I'm really just getting the majority of it cleaned and sanded enough to lay down a coat of paint. All the new parts will be painted in high-heat black. I probably should have bought a flapper disc, but oh well. As long as it doesn't rust.
Bremsen reiniger. German brake cleaner. Just as good as the American stuff.
These tailpipes were pieced together from Dynomax 2.5" aluminized tails for fox bodies with the 18" long tip added by the exhaust shop. I really don't like the way they welded on the hanger. I wanted to just get another set of these tailpipes and use some new tips I have, but Dynomax seems to have discontinued them. They only disappeared from Summit Racing within the last couple of weeks. They were really cheap (about $51 per side) and fit perfect.
I got everything cleaned up to the point at which I was satisfied, and shot everything with a single coat of high-heat paint. This stuff is good to 800°C, so I think I'll be fine.
Nice and dry.
That's pretty much a stopping point for me until I get the headers and mufflers. I also bought Walker 2.5" flow tubes, heavy duty flanges, heavy duty clamps, adjustable hangers and hardware. My goal is to install everything myself with clamps for now, and have it welded when I get back stateside. The typical exhaust shop here has labor rates around €60/hr, and then charges a crazy amount for the actual welding work. Having all this stuff professionally installed would probably cost me close to €500 or more even with me supplying everything. I can't wait to get back to the USofA.
That all being said, this our last full year here; I got the last inspection done in February. This inspection will be valid until we leave and the car is shipped back stateside. Since I no longer have to worry about passing inspection, and since I'm tired of looking at the rusty headers and gigantic mufflers, I decided to start accumulating the parts to replace my entire exhaust. I don't have all the parts yet, I'm waiting on headers and mufflers. The headers are with @95steedamustang getting worked over and coated, and I'll be buying the mufflers this payday. I'm going with MAC long tubes and off-road H and Flowmaster 40s in stainless. My current tailpipes are the only parts I'll be reusing.
The current headers have been on the car for about four years now, but I haven't driven it that much in that time. The current state of the factory coating is pathetic.
Because of how large the current mufflers are, the exhaust shop that originally installed them cut a significant portion of pipe from the tailpipes at the muffler end to get it all to fit. This meant that I didn't have enough pipe left to slip into the new mufflers once I install everything. I ended up buying a pair of 45° elbows and cutting a section off of the tailpipes to give me the necessary pipe length. I may still need to trim the elbows a bit so I can mount the new mufflers high enough without having the tailpipes hit the floorpan, but this should work.
The tailpipes also needed a cleaning very badly. The Germans love their salt in the wintertime. I usually park the car over the winter for fear of it rusting. Most cars more than ten years old around here are eaten up pretty badly.
In the process of cleaning one pipe and polishing the tip.
I'm really just getting the majority of it cleaned and sanded enough to lay down a coat of paint. All the new parts will be painted in high-heat black. I probably should have bought a flapper disc, but oh well. As long as it doesn't rust.
Bremsen reiniger. German brake cleaner. Just as good as the American stuff.
These tailpipes were pieced together from Dynomax 2.5" aluminized tails for fox bodies with the 18" long tip added by the exhaust shop. I really don't like the way they welded on the hanger. I wanted to just get another set of these tailpipes and use some new tips I have, but Dynomax seems to have discontinued them. They only disappeared from Summit Racing within the last couple of weeks. They were really cheap (about $51 per side) and fit perfect.
I got everything cleaned up to the point at which I was satisfied, and shot everything with a single coat of high-heat paint. This stuff is good to 800°C, so I think I'll be fine.
Nice and dry.
That's pretty much a stopping point for me until I get the headers and mufflers. I also bought Walker 2.5" flow tubes, heavy duty flanges, heavy duty clamps, adjustable hangers and hardware. My goal is to install everything myself with clamps for now, and have it welded when I get back stateside. The typical exhaust shop here has labor rates around €60/hr, and then charges a crazy amount for the actual welding work. Having all this stuff professionally installed would probably cost me close to €500 or more even with me supplying everything. I can't wait to get back to the USofA.