Changed my '76 Exhaust

[rzrob]

Even though my car looked great, the sound was another thing. I likened it to a jet boat idling out of the no-wake zone. After popping it up on a lift at my local Midas, I noticed the exhaust was perforated from front to back (more holes than a slice of Swiss cheese).

My local yard actually had a fresh exhaust from the manifolds back ($350).
So, I came back in my pickup, loaded up the exhaust with the rear muffler hanging through the back window, and the rest running to the back and home I went.

I jacked up the car and put it on stands with the front wheels about 3" off the ground (necessary). The exhaust is basically held on by 4 bolts to the manifolds (2 per side), and 4 rubber donut hangers.

Getting the bolts off the 1st time was a pain. I used a 13mm socket with a universal (wobbly) and about 14" worth of extensions to get me below the steering stuff. The hard part was that the nuts on the back kept turning. I ended up taking a cheap 12mm open end I had (thanks Harbor Freight) and bending it with a torch. Definitely replaced the bolts, and both these and the hangers were cheap at the dealer and the best quality.

Turned out the exhaust I bought was slightly different. My year didn't use gaskets as the original pipes had donut flanges, presumably because of the heat generated by the manifold-based cats. Of course I didn't notice this until I changed it and said "somethin aint right here folks."

So, I took the exhaust back off (easier the 2nd time), noted the difference in the flanges, cut the old flanges off, with the precision of a surgeon and swapped them to the new pipes. It looks factory, and sounds GREAT!!!
I couldn't find a cheaper way to do the job.

RZ Rob