SN95 Redoing My Exhaust

[02 281 GT]

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.

 

[A5literMan]

When I started looking at your headers my first thought was "Those look like they took a salt bath." I'm actually surprised they rusted that bad though they look salvageable from the pics. I like the high temp paint idea and think I'm going to steal your idea for my tails.

 

[Boosted92LX]

^^This. Wow. Man I've had several sets of hooker super comps and never, ever had a set rust like that. Then again, I live in southeast Texas with no snow or salt. In fact, I've yet to find a header made better with the exception of kooks. If those hookers rusted that bad there the macs should last about a year..

The new stuff looks good man. I had a truck I painted the exhaust on it like that, and it got a lot of compliments.

 

[02 281 GT]

It may just be due to the salt. Though I avoid it as much as I can, I've had to drive it in the winter a few times. The finish inside the engine bay looks better than the underside, so that may be a clue. Although the coating hasn't fared well, they are very well put together headers.

 

[90lxwhite]

What axel backs are those and what's the diameter? I'm wanting a set of 3"ers for my 95 but I hear that the 3" ones have clearance issues? There fore all the vendors list for the 94-95's are 2.5" which is the same as stock... Oh I see, is that a 2.5 w a 3" tip?
*Edit* I guess I should've read first... When it's on the car can you see the where it's welded?

 

[90lxwhite]

^^This. Wow. Man I've had several sets of hooker super comps and never, ever had a set rust like that. Then again, I live in southeast Texas with no snow or salt. In fact, I've yet to find a header made better with the exception of kooks. If those hookers rusted that bad there the macs should last about a year..

The new stuff looks good man. I had a truck I painted the exhaust on it like that, and it got a lot of compliments.

Where in the Pines are you?

 

[02 281 GT]

What axel backs are those and what's the diameter? I'm wanting a set of 3"ers for my 95 but I hear that the 3" ones have clearance issues? There fore all the vendors list for the 94-95's are 2.5" which is the same as stock... Oh I see, is that a 2.5 w a 3" tip?
*Edit* I guess I should've read first... When it's on the car can you see the where it's welded?

I was always under the impression that that stockers were 2.25" all the way out the back. They look really tiny even compared to aftermarket 2.5" tails. As you read, these are unfortunately discontinued. And yes, you can see the weld point, but it's tucked back by the rear tire; now it'll be painted over as well which will make it more difficult to see. That's the reason for the 18" tip. It's the longest tip you can put on there before the first bend by the gas tank.

Edit: here is a pic with the tailpipes still on the car. It's kind of a easy to see where the tip is welded, but it'll look much better with the black paint job. One of the advantages of piecing my own tails together is the upward angle I had the exhaust shop do. Just looks better that way.

 

[02 281 GT]

Some of the other supporting components. New flow tubes, flanges, clamps and adjustable hangers.

We'll see how these Pypes adjustable hangers work. The u-bolts were terrible, so I'm going to use a couple of the u-bolts from the eight heavy duty clamps I bought. I've painted all this stuff black as well.

I bought these to use instead of regular header bolts. 3/8-16x3/4 zinc-plated socket cap screws. I ordered 50 since that was the minimum order quantity.

Really happy with how the paint turned out on these. Not perfect, but it looks pretty good. My goal with the black paint and tucking the new exhaust as high as I can is to make it as difficult as possible to see the exhaust from a casual observation.

I can't wait to get the headers and mufflers and get it all going.

 

[2000xp8]

I've never seen any exhaust paint last. It may last a little longer on the tailpipes than it does headers, but it's still going to come off.
Stainless or ceramic coating are the only things that work.

I wouldn't buy mac headers, they are probably the least quality on the market, so if you aren't happy with how those lasted, prepare for worse.

As for the catback, the dynomax ultroflo kit can be had in it's entirety for $259 when it goes on sale on amazon which is every couple months, it's 2.5 inch and comes with nice tailpipes that don't have tips clamped on it. And you can put it on at home. That's with the more expensive welded mufflers, it can be had for less with the chrome ones.

While I appreciate the work, if you are going to keep the car (i'll assume you are since you are shipping it home) and since it's a cobra, i'd plain old just use better quality parts. Look into bassani stainless, goes on easy, adjustable and lasts forever.
Doing the exhaust more than once sucks, I've learned the hard way multiple times, I've had 2 sets of mac headers, a mac h pipe and a mac catback come apart, on a car that is relatively unworn on the underside.

 

[02 281 GT]

I painted the exhaust currently on the car from the headers to the mufflers (not including the tailpipes) with high-heat silver paint. It's all still there in its entirety which I can't say for the header coating. All it takes is good prep.

I've heard a lot of bad and good about MAC headers. Most of the good is from people who have purchased them more recently, and purchased new rather than used. We'll see how they go. In any case, the coating will not be factory.

I wanted Flowmaster for the mufflers, so buying a full Dynomax kit was out of the question (I definitely didn't want to spend the money on a Flowmaster catback either). I already have the h-pipe, and it doesn't really strike me as being of terrible build quality. It doesn't cost me much to get some sanding blocks, a scotch brite pad, and some paint. Do it right and it'll last just as long as the high-dollar stainless Bassani stuff.

 

[2000xp8]

All the prep in the world doesn't prevent exhausts from rotting from the inside out. Mandrel bending causes the bends to be very thin on the outside of each bend from stretching the metal. Then the exhaust gasses and moisture destroy it from the inside.

Nothing lasts as long as stainless, I got rid of an original 1 piece bassani x pipe from when they first came out, looked like it was born yesterday.

Depending on what you have to pay and how different mufflers fit in a different brand of tailpipe, the entire catback still may be cost effective. For example In NJ you are going to pay at least $150 to have mufflers welded in and that's if it goes right and easy.

Don't get me wrong, it's your car and do what you want and like, just don't be fooled thinking anything painted is anywhere near stainless.

 

[02 281 GT]

Fortunately for me, I'll probably be ending up around north Texas or Oklahoma. Getting exhaust work done is super cheap there compared to the northeast.

 

[Boosted92LX]

I've never seen any exhaust paint last. It may last a little longer on the tailpipes than it does headers, but it's still going to come off.
Stainless or ceramic coating are the only things that work.

This may be true with the weather and road salt in Jersey, but down south where the weather is fair, that statement is false. To a point. Painting headers is futile, I'll give you that. The temps are just too extreme.. but you can paint an entire cat back and if prepped right it will last for years. It may be hard to tell because of a layer of road grime that'll cover it from driving in the rain.. but it will last. Just use a quality engine paint or something rated for heat. Done it.

 

[02 281 GT]

I'll take a pic of the rest of the exhaust when I remove it. I painted it about four years ago after it was all installed.

 

[02 281 GT]

Finally received the last two, and most important, pieces of my new exhaust puzzle: mufflers and headers.

I have a pair of Dynomax SuperTurbo mufflers in the basement that I didn't really want to use, so I decided to get a new pair of Flowmaster original 40s. I sprung for the stainless versions as they're a paltry $5 more than the standard aluminized. They come with a factory coat of paint, so I'll strip the paint off these and spray them to match the rest of the exhaust.

I'd polish them up if the rest of my exhaust were stainless or ceramic coated. I've already removed some of the paint from one of them.

The headers. The EGR bung was removed and they were blasted and ceramic coated by @95steedamustang. They actually came with some nice looking copper gaskets instead of the usual paper crap. I'll probably use them and see how they turn out.

I'll post up some more pictures once I tackle the install.

 

[elarm1]

I've had bad luck with the copper gaskets. No problems with regular ol Felpros which usually seals perfectly. Those headers look great! Makes me wish I would have done mine when I ripped my motor out. Maybe this winter

 

[02 281 GT]

I have a set of fel pros as well. I'm kind of torn on what to use. The fel pros remind me of the stockers in their appearance. At least I have options!

 

[CarMichael Angelo]

I thought everybody just used RTV as a sole gasket on an exhaust header (least that's the way the "Boy's round here" including me have done it for years)
Copper RTV is currently sealing the exhaust manifold on the Monster.

Just sayin.

 

[02 281 GT]

I thought everybody just used RTV as a sole gasket on an exhaust header (least that's the way the "Boy's round here" including me have done it for years)
Copper RTV is currently sealing the exhaust manifold on the Monster.

Just sayin.

I've had quite a few people suggest that.

I've simply never tried that before; I'm a bit gun shy about it. I tend to make a mess when I use RTV and I really don't want to miss a little spot and end up with a leak.

Then again, might as well give it a shot so I can be like the "Boys round here", right? ;-)

 

[CarMichael Angelo]

I've had quite a few people suggest that.

I've simply never tried that before; I'm a bit gun shy about it. I tend to make a mess when I use RTV and I really don't want to miss a little spot and end up with a leak.

Then again, might as well give it a shot so I can be like the "Boys round here", right? ;-)

I was the same way back in 1990 when (after developing a leak using a standard HG) that somebody told me about it. Been doing it that way ever since.

Just put a bead of high heat copper on the exhaust port after you get the header up in there, allow it to "skin over" about ten minutes, and stick that dude up there.

Hell, for that matter, as long as you have smeared the port on the head, and the tube w/ just enough to completely cover the circumference of each opening, dont even worry about a "bead" I just put some on my finger tip and just skim coat each surface.

No leaky.