I’m in the final stages of an IRS swap into my Mustang and will need a new catback as the orientations are all wacky now. I could drop the car off to Mufflerman and have them piece something together using my current mufflers…I could pick up a Cobra IRS specific catback, however I’d still need to do some modifications to get it to work…
This got me wondering as I see a lot of DIY builds going one around here where one-off exhaust’s are needed. So, who has fabbed up their own tubing? Where did you source the material from? What worked well for you? What became a pain in the ass???
I did aluminized cheap ass pipe from summit for my cavalier.
It was a PITA and I did it with the car on jack stands. I had to mate the OEM cat, to a magnaflow 24" resonator, then bend off the center to the side and then up and over the rear twist beam. To get over the beam is not a straight up and over either. It too had an angle on it to get back over to my center inlet brulen muffler.
If I had it to do over again, I probably would, but it would look a LOT better
I used aluminized mild steel mandrel bends for my Z. I bought a 2.5" downpipe, welded a 2.5"->3" cone adapter to that, used one of those slip joint band clamps there, went 3" back to the muffler(summit brand turbo muffler) with another band clamp holding that on. I got the bends from http://www.mandrel-bends.com/ and I went to a monroe muffler and bought some pipe for like $20. I used a chop saw with an abrasive disc to cut everything, that worked very well.
If you use aluminized, make sure to grind the aluminizing off both sides, inside and out, of the joint. If you don’t, your weld will suck ass. When you’re grinding on it it won’t spark at all until you’re through the coating.
Overall, I’m very happy with how it came out, I just wish I hadn’t forgot to make a mount in the center of the system, it’s held up with bailing wire at the moment. :lol:
I have done it on many of my vehicles. Do you have some pics of what you need done? I just search online for the best price on bends and straights and get to cutting and welding.
Aluminized BLOWS for welding. I would 100% say DO NOT use aluminized steel if you are planning to weld it yourself (especially as a newbie). I really wish someone told me about it before I spent a crapload of time and money on that shit
I used aluminixed for my 1st time.
It went OK. I did have a bunch of little holes to fix. Lots of grinding and rewelding.
I found them by putting a flashilight down the pipe and sectioning it instead of welding in place.
Did I mention how much of a PITA it was learning to weld under a car that is 18" off the ground…?
Thanks y’all, some good feedback…feel free to include pics to!
I’d really like to use stainless, here’s a basic idea of what I’d need to make. *note, I HATE oversized tips…would intend to keep a 2 1/2" size all the way to the tip, last pic shows this quite well.
i back mufflerman comment. my dads buddy runs it, i came to him with an idea, he did came back in an hour and it was perfect, cheap, quality and anyone whos heard the car can vouch for how BA it is
the 300 or whatever it cost me to know its done right is far worth the alternative headache of DIYing
Only thing I don’t like about them is the non-mandrel bends…at least that’s what I’ve heard. I HOPE to have the car drivable by end of the night so I can drive it up there tomorrow to get an estimate (and truth to the mandrel bend). I really like the idea of building my own…but the learning curve, lack of tools, and my desire to be done yesterday will def keep Mufflerman as an option.
who gives an F what kind of bends they are, who are you. will it sound cool, maybe perform better, and not fall apart?
i know what a mandral bend is. but dont know much about the need for them… i’ve never had any issues nor heard of anyone having issues due to lack of mandral bends…
I’d ask you for pics but know you never take any;) If yours only took you a few hours I’ll hire you to come make mine!!!
Damn dude. I care about the bends, would prefer to have a nice looking bend where the pipes are going to be visible. Now I wouldn’t expect them to have nasty crush bends, but that’s why I’m going to check them out in person. The pic above of the stock Cobra exhaust isn’t what I’m looking for as those bends aren’t mandrel.
ive done alot of exhausts, its really not that hard at all. having a lift makes it alot easier, but it can be done on jackstands. just tack each piece in place as you go from headers back, pull it out each time to fully weld seam, bolt back up to do next section and so on. i usually take prebent mandrel pieces and cut where needed to get the angles i need and just weld it up. make up some hangers from 3/8" rod and weld em on the pipe and use factory hanger locations.
muffler man will bend up you custom exhaust. they do not have a mandrel bender.
The exhaust i replaced was a muffler man special. It was crush bent back in 02 and lasted ~3 to 4 years before I started having to replace sections as it was just mild steel. IIRC it was ~$500 to go from my turbo DP back while incorporating the stock cat and my current muffle in 2.5".
I do not knock their work, but when you get into custom stuff, the ordinary guy pays extra.
