Understood... Was trying to order on line (which doesn't always give good result)...

I guess I'll take it around.

The guy said he "doesn't see fittings like this much anymore"... Maybe I should be alarmed, lol

 

A year or so after buying my '88 XJ-S I ripped out the entire stock exhaust, and stock intake air filters, and upgraded the pipe size from 1⁷/⁸ inch to 2.5 inch which exits in front of the rear wheel and not out the back. So the widened pipes are about half the length when you take into consideration all the bends to get around the rear end and wheels. I added two 18 x 7 inch straight through rock mineral Magnaflow mufflers to make it civilized. Now with the cats gone too, the unburned fuel ignites in the pipes and sounds like huge muffled popcorn, and auditorilly has an uneven idle as the fuel ignites unevenly in time and between each pipe, but the idle is not uneven, it sounds like a low tone muffled popping sound like a small baloon being popped under a heavy blanket is the only was I can describe it. The car has a rocking movement at an idle when the gas ignites in the pipes and it isn't loose motor mounts. And the higher the octane the faster the popping and huffing sound. About three times a second. I added a high efficiency K & N air intake, and made some linen covers to put over the air filter so no dust gets in my engine! The filters come with a special oil to coat them so even the finest dust is kept out of my engine, especially with the linen cover covered in oil too. People need to be very careful to make sure the stock air filter with the paper filters is closed tightly and the seal is not crushed from the box being not closed carefully around the soft rubber seal so no dirt gets into your engine!
The province I live in does not check for smog monsters, so no cats for my cat! And anybody that follows me smells gas! HOUSTON WE HAVE IGNITION!!
Maybe I can post an audio or video file?

 

A year or so after buying my '88 XJ-S I ripped out the entire stock exhaust, and stock intake air filters, and upgraded the pipe size from 1⁷/⁸ inch to 2.5 inch which exits in front of the rear wheel and not out the back. So the widened pipes are about half the length when you take into consideration all the bends to get around the rear end and wheels. I added two 18 x 7 inch straight through rock mineral Magnaflow mufflers to make it civilized. Now with the cats gone too, the unburned fuel ignites in the pipes and sounds like huge muffled popcorn, and auditorilly has an uneven idle as the fuel ignites unevenly in time and between each pipe, but the idle is not uneven, it sounds like a low tone muffled popping sound like a small baloon being popped under a heavy blanket is the only was I can describe it. The car has a rocking movement at an idle when the gas ignites in the pipes and it isn't loose motor mounts. And the higher the octane the faster the popping and huffing sound. About three times a second. I added a high efficiency K & N air intake, and made some linen covers to put over the air filter so no dust gets in my engine! The filters come with a special oil to coat them so even the finest dust is kept out of my engine, especially with the linen cover covered in oil too. People need to be very careful to make sure the stock air filter with the paper filters is closed tightly and the seal is not crushed from the box being not closed carefully around the soft rubber seal so no dirt gets into your engine!
The province I live in does not check for smog monsters, so no cats for my cat! And anybody that follows me smells gas! HOUSTON WE HAVE IGNITION!!
Maybe I can post an audio or video file?

 

Now ain't that a jig saw!!!?

Having a hard time getting the flanges on the new downpipe to line up and the old one,,, just looks questionable... Damn,,,, ain't life grand!?

 

I take that back... Why does steel gotta be so hard and unforgiving? A half inch feels like a mile, sometimes, when things don't line up...

I got everything lined up afterall. The downpipe flanges to manifold connection can be tricky... JIGGLING things helps, lol... Good ol jiggle. I am very pleased with the amount of room going down into the tunnel, around and more away from the walls and steering rack, oil filter and all the good stuff down there.

I took the downpipes out again to clean up some things and to make sure I have everything the way it's supposed to be... A hard Day's work with good results.

I started her with ZERO exhaust... Smoothest the engine has ever run,,,, go figure. No shaking at all, cold... A couple little bursts of flames out of the manifold, lol, let me know what I was dealing with.. Dogs barking, howling and up on hind legs from here to Tennessee. Loud!

Looking forward to getting her over to the exhaust guy to button things up...

More to come.

 

So, I took a breath, which caused a pause...

Not sure what folks will think about the looks of these,,, but I decided I should wait and find the matching OE pipes. The seller convinced me they are solid.

Any suggestions for making them pretty?

After placing the Walker pipe, it seemed to hang too low at it's connection point, be a bit thinner walled than the mangled OE section on the RH side pipe (what is left of it - see pic) so I waited to see if anything else turned up.

I paid 51usd for this set - don't even want to tell what shipping cost - I think seller was not willing to look to hard for best prices,,, but they are on their way.

Still, will have to get fittings for O2 sensors.

They ain't pretty...

 

As long as they are solid, whack 'em on. You will never look at them again! As the Great Shelby said "we build these cars to drive the wheels off them!"

 

Lol... Yes! I can't wait to get my hands on them and put them in. I may scrape them down a bit and paint them red or black,,, so I can feel coooool...

Now, I have my mind on rear hub bearings and UJoints! Thanks to YOU and Darrel...

One step at a time.

 

Purchased 2 used OE downpipes on eBay on the 18th of November...!!! They are LOST in New Jersey somewhere... Still waiting, wanting, raring to bolt them in... PITA

​​​​​Down with Parcel Force!!!

 

if you ever do get them the best looks would be Thermal Ceramic coating, and help reduce under hood temps!

see the exhaust manifolds , thermal coated , been 25yrs still perfect!

 

Damn, Dude! And so much else....
That, IS puuuurdy!

Thanks for the suggestion...
And is the red high heat paint? Hi temp?

 

Damn Dude... Ron

You've got me thinking all day. I've had this thing for a couple of years or more and STILL has not been a ready, driver. Which is ok, btw...

So now, here I am, in a way, last needed parts in hand so I'd be able to jump in her anytime and go for a spin,,, and now. Ceramic Coating... Right now, the down pipes and heat sheilds are off. Taking down the manifolds???

How hard is it,,,, how many bolts,,,, and are they known to shear off? I'm skerd!!!!!

What's this,,,, the Jedi Mind Trick????

The coating is pretty expensive... Any brand recommendations?

 

Hello JJJ

"Jedi mind trick" - I think this implies to all car restoration. Ceramic painting, yes it looks nice, and does keep the heat away, but is it worth removing from the motor to do this when your motor is running good?

I think we all know there is no such thing as a 5 minute job. I almost got mine going on boxing day, Noticed I had a small power steering leak, so I got under her, couldn't quite get my spanner on the leaking part, so I thought if I removed the one next to it, then I could give it a go. The extra one I removed came out a bit strange, and the thread was a bit damaged, and I thought the steering box thread itself might have been damaged. After procrastination, finally got it fixed yesterday, which means hopefully I can get her going this weekend.

Sometimes I think it is best to follow the principle of - if it is not broken, don't fix it. But sometimes that is a bit boring

The force is strong with these Jags

Cheers
Steve.

 

Ceramic coating is usually a couple hundred bucks its worth it, I will at some point get my intake and exhausts coated but its not something you just do on a saturday. The exhaust bit can rust-weld together and bolts can snap, I've seen some where the manifold itself simply broke due to heat stress.

If I had a while-your-there situation I'd strongly suggest spending the extra $200. Or whatever, and do it. Delete the CATs or gut them to for heat and fire hazard reduction

 

Definitely... The whole point of this (well, a good part) was to get rid of all converters and to just clean up an exhaust system that had been pieced together with a bunch of mismatch and even wrong parts. I am very excited about a clean and understood exhaust system...

I found 2 of the 3 cats either gutted of having had shattered and blown out or, bits and pieces of them remaining in the system? The LH mid muffler I am recycling and the RH is new, from Welsh. Nice and shinnnny, and stuff. I bet it will be worth shaking the around the reused mid muffler to see if there are any chunks in there. The second cat on the LH side was loaded with a crumpled pile and crushed CAT bits. Must have been running blocked up.

Anywho, I'll still have to get a muffler guy to rig me up the intermediate pipes,,, but I am very relieved in where I'm at and can't WAIT to finally hear and drive her with a clean and flowing exhaust.

I'm not going to tempt fate and start turning on those manifold bolts... Imagine!? One, two, start shearing? Not so much on this car, but shearing bolts is a HellA on a 928 I work on (kinda), and awful on the XK8... It's such a gut punch when it happens in a way that puts the brakes on all next steps... And, scarrrry...

Heat was another reason for wanting to get rid of the CATS on the downpipes... Honestly I hate the proximity to so many other areas of the car as they pass out of the engine bay,,, in a car that get so hot,,, as the XJS... It was the main reason the ceramic coat sounded so good to me. Maybe just the downpipes for now,,, since I have them in my hand?

But,,, 4oz of the stuff is 100 bucks...? The description was that the coating shields (or something) 90% of residual heat..? Could that be right/true? Anyone have a product that they recommend? And, what's the process? Do I just slap it on and let it dry? Lol... Ron!!! Why didn't ya mention this earlier? Jeeeeeze Louise

 

Hahahaha,,,, the force IS STRONG... Well said. I love Star Wars...

I also like and find myself reciting the 'if it ain't broke" saying. Usually, its when I start messing around with something that wasn't broke, I break it,,, I fix it,,, and I'm driving down the street panting, dirty, and frustrated at what just happened and I'll say "well they say,,,, if it ain't broke"... What really makes me nuts is when my girlfriend looks at me blankly,,, and says it, lololol... As a former Detroit machinist,,, she thinks I'm an absolute nutt, and caveman - with a hammer - the way I approach things, sometimes.

Don't mean to be a smart ***,,,, but when I work on my power steering pump, I remove the breather,,, and the reserve/expansion tank,,, and deal from there. There might be one or two other things as well. I find that a bit easier. I hate that weird high pressure line that curls around on the the from of the cross member. Jus say'n

Anyways,,, in my imagination it's worth it. I can visualize being there with a nice clean engine like the one Ron showed me,,,, but I always fail to visualize the 3000 steps it takes to get there... Or, don't even know them in the first place, lol...

Yes, the force is strong, in these Jags...

 

.
mine were done by SWAIN Tecnologies NY state , cant remember where(google)

 

.
mine were done by SWAIN Tecnologies NY state , cant remember where(google). back 1994 mine were $50.bucks each!(but time changes all things!).

AND MAY the FORCE be with YOU!

 

!.
Jedi the coating i use is a big process ,it is 1st cleaned by glass bead machine , then sprayed with a powederd compound, then into a high temp ovens, and polished after cooling!
ron

 

Hmm. I'll be holding oft on the big process. Por15 has a product that I think I'll use to slap a coating on the down pipes, for now. We'll see what the future holds. I still have a ways to go in other areas of this critter,,, at the same time, it seems like the best time to do things, while they are out and in my hands. Ahrggg!