By tedshred (63.224.195.169) on Wednesday, September 26, 2001 - 09:21 am:

It's up on the blocks right now. I've bolted Don's header on, which was pretty fun to drive to the shop with no restrictions and no cops thank god. I am having the shop weld flanges and bending the 2" pipe to follow the original exhaust pipe path to a Thrush mini turbo muffler.

The shop wanted 200 bucks, which is twice what I wanted to pay. I said it was too much. They came down to 175. and I decided I wanted it. Question: Did I pay too much? Does welding and custom bending warrant this cost, or did I get reamed? I have no idea.

At least the job will be done.

By natcho (208.195.243.199) on Wednesday, September 26, 2001 - 01:15 pm:

Hey, Ted!

I had all my similar custom work done for around $100, but the flex pipe was sub-par and wore out in 3 months. As always, you get what you pay for (just make sure they weld on a decent flex pipe. The brain cells that were cooked by all the exhaust in the cabin have yet to grow back, and the replacement pipe/welding wound up costing another bill). Oh, and the flex pipe is important because it takes the stress that caused by engine movement during hard driving off of the header/exhaust system. Very necessary, in my opinion, when running a car with a sideways-mounted engine. Plus, anything that keeps your header in good shape and leak-free is a good thing! Some shops/people don't think that flex pipes are necessary on a little Honda, but then most shops/people don't realize that our "little" Hondas generate as much power and torque as they do. Advantageous on the street or at the track, but not if it winds up costing you money. Best of luck.

By natcho (208.195.243.199) on Wednesday, September 26, 2001 - 01:25 pm:

In case it was unclear, I meant that the general lack of knowledge about our cars is an advantage, not that a flex pipe is only advantageous if it doesn't cost money. Did that make sense? SEE, I AM a walking poster child for proper exhaust system management! Oh, how I miss my brain cells!

Anyway, I just love pulling in to a shop to get my very not street legal car smogged. The tech is almost always younger than the car, and he/she usually has no idea which parts should and should not be bolted on to my engine. Of course, I always pass with flying colors because it's a CVCC and it runs cleaner than most of the stuff they're used to seeing, but it's still a lot of fun knowing that they've just approved a "race car" for use on the street.

Just wait until I've got a Turbo.