John Bzdel's
1988 Monte Carlo SS
LS1/T56 Change-over page
July
2002 Project Updates
Header coating is complete!
It seemed like forever (four full weeks!) to get my headers back but they're
here and look very nice! The installation was pretty straight
forward. I had to undo both motor mount bolts and the transmission mount
so that I could jack up the motor and shift it slightly. No biggie though,
I put both headers in place by myself within 15 minutes once the bolts were
undone!
- Here are some different views of the completed headers:
- This view shows
them in their coated condition prior to installation
- This view
shows the drivers side installed from the engine compartment
- This view shows
the ground clearance from the drivers side where you can see how nice and high
the tubes are in relation to the oil pan, engine crossmember & lower
A-arms.
The next big chore was fabricating the balance of the exhaust
system. Lots of fabrication (cutting, welding, and grinding) this
month! The final exhaust system configuration consists of dual 3.5" exhaust pipe
entering the Dr. Gas "X" pipe and then transitioning the pipe to
3" diameter to enter the 3" inlet/outlet DynoMax Super Turbo mufflers
and finally the 3" tailpipes. I elected to build the front head pipes mating to
the headers with four bolt 3/8" thick flanges matching the 4 hole header
collector gaskets and also added flanges behind the "X" pipe so that
the whole head pipe assembly could be removed to facilitate easy transmission
removal. This pic
shows how well the flanges came out by using an Abrasive Water Jet to trim them
to match the gaskets. I also need to be able to install the Carsound
Catalytic converters for emissions testing so I actually fabricated a 2nd front
pipe section in 3" diameter with the CAT's welded in and fabricated my own "X" pipe with
rear flanges for easy removal/installation with the 3.5" "off
road" head pipe assembly.
- Before I could start the pipe routing I had to rework my drive shaft
loop to clear the huge 3.5" pipes. This is a before/after
pic with the original configuration on the left and the final modified
version on the right.
- This view
compares the two front interchangeable/replaceable 3.5" and 3" head pipe sections
(prior to installation of the rear O2 bungs for the CAT version)
- This view shows the
3.5" head pipe assembly w/"X" pipe transitioning to
3" pipe prior to the mufflers before final installation.
Note, the front pipe section has had the welds ground flush since I plan
to have this section also ceramic coated to match the headers so that
the exterior heat generated will be reduced due to the snug body
clearances. The rear pipes have been painted with high heat paint.
- I actually routed
the 3.5" pipes next to the transmission and the over the
crossmember so that the crossmember will protect the pipes and maintain
maximum ground clearance. This view
shows the 3.5" "off road" head pipe section
installed.
- This rear view shows the
complete installed
exhaust with the 3.5" head pipe. I also welded a tab to the front head
pipe which has a 10mm bolt attaching it to a mating trans. metal tab to minimize pipe travel
in relation to the engine/transmission during torque flex.
- This view
shows the "street legal" version of the 3" head pipe
assembly with the CAT's installed. Note that the pipe routing here
goes under the crossmember reducing the ground clearance a bit but guess
how many days of the year this pipe assembly will be on the car ;>)
As for the tailpipes, I didn't like the welded on tailpipe
hanger tabs at the rear of the tailpipes as provided by Torque
Technologies (TT). This view
shows a side by side comparison between the "as fabricated" pipe
hanger tab by TT on the left pic and on the right pic my revised look after
cutting their welded tab off, grinding the pipe smooth and painting it. I
then fabricated my own "stealth" tailpipe hanger clamps using the OEM Buick GN/TR tailpipe
hanger brackets for support just in front of the fuel tank.
- This view shows my
new completed hanger clamps that I fabricated from 3/8"
diameter rod, the 1/8"T x 1/2"W bar stock (both bent in a
vice!), and the OEM Monte Carlo hanger clamp weld nut and bolt after
paint.
- This view
shows a comparison of my new clamps on the left (prior to paint); the OEM clamps
for 2-1/4" pipes and one of my new 3" ones on the right pic;
and then on the bottom pic it shows my clamp installed through the drivers side
GN/TR painted tailpipe hanger.
So what does this exhaust system sound like?
AWESOME! Very unique tone due to the size, the "X" pipe, and the
LS1 engine firing order. Here are some sound clips below to enjoy.
The files are a little big (up to 1.3MB) but I didn't want to compromise the quality
since I used a professional sound mic to record these:
- This wav
file is my favorite at a cold idle where the motor is programmed to
run a little richer and at a little higher RPM (~1000RPM) and sounds
absolutely wicked with the nice tinny sound created by the B1 camshaft
loping!
- This wav
file is at a standard idle ~800RPM once the car is warmed up and has
a little deeper tone
- This wav
file is a very casual acceleration recorded from the passenger seat
(both windows down) so that you can hear how quite the DynoMax mufflers
are under "easy on the pedal" driving conditions
- This wav
file (unfortunately the mic connection was clicking a bit, sorry!) is a casual rowing through the gears shifting at 4000RPM into
2nd, 3500RPM into 3rd and 3000RPM into 4th (using about 1/4 throttle to
about 60MPH) recorded again from the passenger seat with the windows
down so that you can hear how awesome the combo sounds from the inside
of the car with a little bit of engine load. You can just
imagine how wicked this sounds on the outside with the behind the rear
wheel side exit tailpipes to the typical roadside bystanders :>).
And how does it perform? It definitely sets your cheeks
back! Expect big results
in next months update!!!
Click here to return to John Bzdel's LS1/T56 Change-over main index page
© 2002 by John Bzdel