Re: [alfa] Euro Manifolds and Downpipes

[Jon Pike <jhpike@xxxxxxx>]

Been away on vacation,  and have gotten a few responses on this..

Seems still to be uncertain, my question of does the early 
downpipe/resonator/pipe line up with the later
cat converter era center muffler. (not counting the no flange/flange 
situation)

Most responses were of the "just have it custom welded" type,  a 
reasonable solution,  but I was hoping for a easy mix and match cat in 
or out, smog or performance manifolds in or out, kind of setup.

I did get sort of a confirmation from TC that they didn't line up 
exactly,  but he may have had a non stock downpipe setup as well... so 
not certain there.

After looking at 4-5 exhaust shops,  and literally hundreds of flanges 
and pics in books of flanges... it looks like the Alfa cat flange is 
unique.  Since I've had no bites on the offer of trying to get a batch 
made for reasonable $$ at the laser cutting place, I'll give up on 
that.  I guess very few are in my situation.

I may just haul off and get a one piece downpipe/center muffler 
section..  my center sounds like it's gradually getting louder..  then 
R&Ring everything forward of the rear muffler will be my solution for 
standard and performance exhaust.

Jon


> Hi Jon:
>
> I've got a '72 - '74 exhaust on my '87, from the head out.  Of course, 
> everything bolted right together, being made that way.  I've got the one 
> piece downpipes/front resonator/center muffler, and as far as I know, 
> that's the only way you can buy the downpipes now, although you can still 
> buy the center muffler alone.  I've got no cat on my car, but the exhaust 
> has been sniffed with an analyzer, and would pass inspection in FL if we 
> still had them, as a well-tuned L-Jet car can run pretty cleanly.
>
> I know that's not what you asked, but may be of interest because a good 
> exhaust guy should be able to remove the front resonator from the '72 - '74 
> front section and weld in a cat in its place.  As for your specific 
> question about how the parts from mixed years line up, they all follow the 
> same path along the bottom of the car, once you get past the various 
> manifolds/downpipes.  The bracket on the trans is the same for all years, 
> as are the hangers further downstream.  It's just a question of getting 
> appropriate flanges, slip joints, etc., to mate with each other.  I know 
> from previous experiences with old XKE's that a skilled exhaust guy can 
> make anything look like it came from the factory, or better.  Don't know 
> about what the performance improvements would be to your '77, but on my '87 
> I'm very happy with the difference.
>
> Can't you purchase weld-on flanges from someplace like 
> www.jegs.com  ?  They've got a good selection of cats, too, last time I saw 
> a catalog.
>
> Regards,
>
> Dean
> Lutz, FL
> '74 & '87 Spider Veloce'
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