A good friend of mine is building the exhaust system. I will try to relay to you in words and pictures how really spectacular it is coming out. The concept of how he is doing it is really simple....cut up a bunch of sections of mandrel bends and weld them back together. Executing it is another story. With only a chop saw, a 20" sander and the eyes of an eagle he has tac welded these pieces together with a gap you would have a hard time slipping a playing card between.

The first photo shows the way the tubing swoops around the front suspension on the passenger side. Thank God for tight bends. This was only required on this side, the driver side goes pretty straight.

This photo shows the distance the system hangs down under the car. The new rockers will cover this up. You will also note the cat locations. They are about 18" aft of where they should be. This was required due to ground clearance problems. I will use header wrap on the front section to keep the temperature up in the cats. Some trick programming may also be required in the ECU.


This shows the cats in relation to the transmission.


Here is how the mufflers fit in. The QuickTime cutouts go in this straight section in front of the mufflers.


From these tubes, 2 1/2" x 8" oval tips head out thru the rockers.

The final picture is of the stainless "V" clamps and the trick stainless hangers that finish off the system. The entire system will be ceramic Jet Coated. I don't impress easily, but he has blown me away.

 

Aye, laddie buck the pipes!!! Can't wait to hear 'em calling!!

 

OK so I stuck the rockers on the car to check ground clearance for the exhaust system. It looks like ite will be about 1" lower than the lowest part of the rockers.

 

But still just fine! Most cars have some of the pipes showing.

 

Yeah, I put my daily driver up on the rack today to see how much a stocker hung down and it is almost 2" in front of the rear tires and over 1" under the front seat area....so I guess the V8 car will look ok.

 

Ok?? Just Ok?? It shall be magnificent, awesome and a bag of chips!!!!

 

zoom zoom ............ o that is someone else's

 

the GMPP exhaust on my LT hangs lower than your V8 pipes, well the front muffler does - you're golden

 

Well boys and girls, I'm making a commitment. April 3rd is 80 days away. I am shooting for the unveiling of the V8 panel at the Good Guys All American Sunday in Del Mar (San Diego) . Good Guys throws fantastic shows but they only allow '72 and older cars, Except on Sunday's that are designated "All American". Then they allow any year Detroit Iron. That's where I come in. I hope the car will be a hit.......if not it will be HHRmageddon.

The 1972 cut off year is going to limit the events I will be able to show the car at, most cruise ins and shows have the same year rules. This is a challenge I will need to work around. It's even a challenge as it pertains to insurance. Regular auto insurance won't cover a car that is this highly modified. Companies like Grundy and Haggerty won't cover an HHR because they are too new, not collectible and not classics . I did however locate Heakack Classic Insurance in Florida. They are covering it as a Pro Street with an agreed value of $35k so I got that going for me.

I suppose I will have to just blow everyone away so they can bend the rules.

 

That's awesome! Can't wait for you to get out east with it. I'm dying to check it out in person.