Work on the exhaust continues. The exhaust piping has pretty much found it's shape. Of course some details such as brackets and sensor bungs are still missing.
I will after all make a little space in the firewall to get a flex piece in the rearmost headers. My hands are a bit tied with the locations because I want to place the O2 sensors in the headers rather than the exhaust pipe to keep the exhaust easily detachable. I also wanted to place the V-bands in the downpipe area where they are less likely to snag anything. I haven't quite got the hang of welding upside down with the flux cored wire. It's more or less spattery and runny. When welding in normal position I'm happy with the results.
When I had the front end of the exhaust in shape it was time to move on to the catback section. I had to make a small lobster cut in front of the pipe connections to point them down and avoid hitting the gas tank and its heat shield. Likewise I had to make a similar cut in front of the rear muffler to have it horizontal. It took less modifying than I thought according to my first mock up. I had cut off the exhaust tips to have the rear muffler in correct position.
The pipes could be a little closer to rear subframe. If it seems to be a problem, Ill make further modifications. The exhaust tips need to be extended and tilted sideways to line them up with the rear apron.
I'm not the biggest fan of the slanted exaust tips but I decided I didn't want to modify the plastic apron. When the exhaust tips were tacked in place I started eyeing the supports for the rear muffler. The original brackets in the rear muffler didn't work so I cut them off. E36 exhaust mounts will work when placed according to the cutouts in the exhaust heat shield. Although I had to make a bit more space on the right side.
That's where I got so far. Next time I need to bring some stainless flat steel to make the brackets in the muffler.
I will after all make a little space in the firewall to get a flex piece in the rearmost headers. My hands are a bit tied with the locations because I want to place the O2 sensors in the headers rather than the exhaust pipe to keep the exhaust easily detachable. I also wanted to place the V-bands in the downpipe area where they are less likely to snag anything. I haven't quite got the hang of welding upside down with the flux cored wire. It's more or less spattery and runny. When welding in normal position I'm happy with the results.
When I had the front end of the exhaust in shape it was time to move on to the catback section. I had to make a small lobster cut in front of the pipe connections to point them down and avoid hitting the gas tank and its heat shield. Likewise I had to make a similar cut in front of the rear muffler to have it horizontal. It took less modifying than I thought according to my first mock up. I had cut off the exhaust tips to have the rear muffler in correct position.
The pipes could be a little closer to rear subframe. If it seems to be a problem, Ill make further modifications. The exhaust tips need to be extended and tilted sideways to line them up with the rear apron.
I'm not the biggest fan of the slanted exaust tips but I decided I didn't want to modify the plastic apron. When the exhaust tips were tacked in place I started eyeing the supports for the rear muffler. The original brackets in the rear muffler didn't work so I cut them off. E36 exhaust mounts will work when placed according to the cutouts in the exhaust heat shield. Although I had to make a bit more space on the right side.
That's where I got so far. Next time I need to bring some stainless flat steel to make the brackets in the muffler.
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