Trying to get my IMCO installed.
 

I took my HHR to a muffler shop in OKC yesterday to get my imco installed. The muffler shop wouldn't install it, they said it wouldn't fit. I knew he just wanted to sell me a diffrent muffler when he was going through the whole "I can't put that muffler in there" speach. Now I will have to check out a few diff places. I have a friend who will do it for me but he is out of town and won't be back for a couple of weeks.:confused:

Go to a locallly owned shop and not a national type and they should hook you up. They usually do a better job and charge less also.

keep calling around
i did and i found someone
just tell them you want this one installed and 1000's have been sold for the HHR and we know it works

lol
good luck

My local shop said it would not fit also. I made them put it on. There is a little bit of a clearance issue with the drivers side inner fender(PLASTIC) you can trim it with a razor knife if they will let you in the shop, or do it when you get home.

Same story here, the guy at the muffler shop told me it wouldn't fit unless he installed it "backwards" :wtf: Told me if it didn't work i'd have to pay him to put the stock muffler back on. Like others I had to assure him it would work, had to tell him to get the torch out and start cutting. :lol: Sounds typical of a shop wanting to sell you their own stuff plus the labor. :eek:

wow, sorry to hear you're having issues. Novadiecast is correct with the clearance issue. My shop just used the torch to burn off the plastic to make clearance for the muffler.

I go to a place here in Tulsa on 11th street if you can't find any other place, forgot the name of the shop off hand but they've yet to turn down a job one and they are pretty easy to work with.

it amazes me how many places will turn down work...

I had my work done at a major chain-Midas. They are an individually owned franchise, so your experience will depend on who is running it. In my case, the owner told me to see one of its workers, Eric, who specializes in custom fabrication. He easily installed it in minutes, using a factory-type hanger in the back that inserts into the original rubber hanger. Plus, he added another pipe for dual exhaust with a collector to close it off. (See my other post here for photos.)

My point is anything is possible if they are willing to do it. And, just the muffler installation is quite simple. By the way, my total labor cost was $200. They said 80 for the muffler and 120 for the dual conversion. Personally, I thought the 80 was a little high, but 120 was low for the amount of work done.

When I was looking to get mine installed called Midas they would do it. I went to a muffler shop a friend recomended I watched the complete install no cutting of plastic needed.

I had the same problem. What i did finally was print out the install instructions from Mike's site and brought it in to show them, and they did the install with no problem's.

Excellent idea cheezehead. :thumb: Had no problems finding anyone to do mine...but I had them order the muffler for me and they didn't question anything at all.

:cool: A few weeks back I bought a T924 to put on my '96 Altima to check out the sound before trying to persuade my Wife to put one on the HHR. Two different shops told me they couldn't do it.:confused:
Turns out the Altima and the "LS" both have 1 3/4 in. ex. pipes and they claimed it was too much to go from that to the 2 1/4 in. pipe on the T924.:( The "LTs" have a bigger ex.pipe, which I didn't know originally:red: .
So, I checked back with Full Line Exhaust and bought a T909 Turbo (2 in.pipes) and had that put on the Altima. Sounds great!! Nice purr to it outside, not too noticeable inside.:smile:
Now I have a T924 sitting in my trunk and I'm not sure whether to try getting someone to put it on the HHR "eventually", or get another T909 for it ?:confused:

Well if your not going to use the T924 let me know since I still haven't gotten around to buying one yet. Just been too busy around here with house stuff. -Dan

:smile: I'll mull that over! Too bad you're so far away! The box it came in is kinda beat up on the ends. Don't know if it would make it cross- country as is!:(

WRONG! Don't listen to the kooks; they are trying to put it on wrong. The proper way to install the IMCO is like this:

http://www.socalhhr.citymax.com/i/Ex..._BeveledSm.jpg

They are non-diretcional internally, so can be installed either way. For CLEARANCE purposes, installing it as shown keeps the muffler away from the plastic inner fender AND left rear springs.

Hope it helps,

Yeah, I hate shipping companies, thay don't care about handling packages. The best thing about doing a muffler install for me is that I can do it myself. My welding skills suck but it will hold...LOL

Is that a Mars bar or a Butterfinger? :lol:

I am going to take mine the Richard's Performance Muffler in Vista and have them do it. At least I know they have done it before and can do it again without any issues. I order it last week and it should be at my doorstep when I get home today! WOOHOO

You won't be sorry at RPM - tell Richard Mike from SoCalHHR's referred you.

He does an awesome job. :thumb:

Will do, thanks Mike.

I just got back from Richard's Performance Muffler after having Richard put on not only my IMCO muffler, but just for the hell of it, I had him do a full cat-back for me with a stainless steel performance resonator and tip.
Total cost - $248 out the door

The sound is great; not intrusive at all. I am really happy with the job he did, and it only took a few hours.

Thanks for the hookup Mike, I really appreciate it.:one:

sounds great

Not a bad price too!
I need to find a round muffler to fit in the tunle. right now I have just the cat, and rez. Then the side pipes
Sounds sweet, but not leagel here.
Whats the smallest size you can get the IMCO muffler in?

https://www.fulllineexhaust.com/cgi-...COMufflers.htm
That is a 6 inch round one from the same place I picked up mine.

Thanks bro!!!

That should fit right in there. Get the side pipes leagel.

No problem, glad I could help. I really like the sound of their mufflers.
Now I just need to get an intake to help the breathing, and a sway bar for the ride.

It's on order!

I've only heard the sound clip from MIke. I wounder what it will sound like coming out the sidepipes.

I am sure it will sound great.

Hey, that's where I got mine! :thumb:

Ng

I found a place that would install it. They did it for me for $25 out the door. The guy was a "little fellow" real cool guy. If anyone in the OKC area needs muffler work it's Mikes muffler on SW 15 st. Just a bunch of good ole boys.
Thanks for the "how to" on Mike's site for the pics, they helped to get it installed right.:D

25 is a great price! I was happy to have mine done for 45, you got a deal. :thumb:

$25 is awesome
i am sure now that Navy be humming and he be bumpin along
:rof:

:D Dan, in case you were wondering what I did about the T924 you were interested in :confused: Since the box was so beat up I was trying to figure an easy way out. I checked out the IMCO website and saw they had a "Distributor" in Mesa about 6 miles from where I live. So just on the chance they might be of some help I called. I told them about the hassle I was having trying to get it installed and asked if they might swap the T924 for a T909, which has 2 in. pipes. Luckily I talked to an understanding guy that said normally they don't deal directly with the public, but for $5.00 for their "paperwork", he'd swap for me.:thumb:
So anyway, I figured I could live with that and swapped this morning. Now I've got a T909 that should match up better with the 1 3/4 in. Ex. pipe on the LS. My only problem now is wrestling the HHR away from the Wife long enough to get it put on!!:roll:

I'm glad you found a solution, please let us know how the 909 works out, and how it sounds. :thumb:

:smile: I had a T909 put on my '96 Altima a couple of weeks ago (Cost $40.00 to install) it sounds great! Has a nice purr, not much difference in the cabin area at all:thumb: And I don't know if it's wishful thinking or not, but it really does feel more responsive when you step on the gas!!:surprised
Like something has been freed up, kinda hard to explain.:roll: