i went to get emissions on the 81 i just got, and it turns out that it doesn't have a cat converter on it. so i took it to a shop and was going to get on put on, but when they got under the car, they said the stock exhaust had benn taken out and a different one had been put in. the exhaust sys on the car now dosn't have enough room to but the cat on. they said they can put a new exhaust on for $720 plus tax (w/ flowmasters). or if i found an exhaust sys that would work they would put it in for $300.

can anyone recomend an exhaust sys that would fit my car? i also want to put some better headers on the car, now would be the time to do it right?

its an 81 z28 with a 350

i'm really lost looking at all the parts out there. any help is apreciated.

thanks,
chris

 

You weren't aware it didn't have cats before testing or that the exhaust wasn't stock??? Both those quotes are high - get some estimates from every shop within your area - search around, make calls....ever know what you'll find - I didn't even know for the longest time that I live 15 mins from Speed Inc. and 30 mins from FLP....you never know what you'll find! Also, is it a possibility for you to do your own work? Purchase a system and put it on for near free? What about contacting the previous owner (if bought private party). Ask if he has the old system laying around for some reason, you never know...or they may be able to reccommend something... Also, now isn't the time to do headers. I'd wait till after emissions...especially since you may run into problems with headers/emissions... That is of course if you do your own work. If not, might be a little cheaper to have that done while it's all apart. I really reccommend you try to solve these more alone than let a shop handle it all - I hate to see people pay high labor fees and miss out on learning/experience they never knew they could have.Good luck!

 

Try JEGS or SUMMIT ... You can get manifold/header back exhaust kits for under $200... You can get a couple of cats on ebay pretty cheap... If you have visual emisson inspections, you might have to go back to a stock exhaust routing set up with the single cat.