I thought about yellow but it fell out of favor for the red in the R badging. The bodywork silver will match the wheels and I considered red 'supercharged' lettering on the hood since it doesn't stand out as is.

In other news, tonight's progress is making some brackets to tie the muffler and straight pipe together to help the alignment. Making them out of 1/8" steel. I'll eventually paint the pipes silver except the tips so it doesn't need to be stainless. I'll post some pics as it happens.

 

Quick update. Ran out of steam last night and decided that since I was too tired to remember how to do basic macro's on the mill I called it a night. I did manage to draw them up on the CAD program. The machines G code language is on the right.


Came home tonight and finished the programming. Left the mill do it's thing and now I have brackets. Still suffering on how to hold the damn pipes still to weld them but this is progress.


More to come.

 

OK, had a moment of brilliance and did this, used the J bend leg to hold the brackets in place. Almost warmed up the welder before rethinking the geometry and layout of the pipes. Remember, the mufflers are on the outside... As a stop gap I clamped the aluminum channel in place.


The muffler inputs are above the level of the mid pipes due to the pumpkin and I don't have a set dimension for that so I decided to mock up a dummy exhaust / tip and tie it to the main once the muffler pipe is complete. So, 13" of pipe gave me a great place to zip the brackets to. The forward ones will be redundant once the pipes are in but work great for now.


Decided to go ahead and whack out the other side. That way if the angles are all screwed up they'll be screwed up the same on both sides. Here's to hoping not... Note that the dummy pipe only have the tips lock screwed in place. I'll fine tune them on the car.


The brackets flats were level to the center line of the pipes so I used them to orient the tips. A round muffler with the tip already welded on added a lot to the difficulty in getting it lined up. Sometimes what looks like the first step should be done later in the process.


And done. A whole lot of time was spent coming up with this, almost embarrassing amount but I'm happy with the results and think they'll fit up well. I have 1.25" between tips and they seem to fit well in the openings.

 

Wow! Very nice!

 

OK I must have missed something here. Somehow I assumed the straight pipe would be hooked up to a butterfly allowing you to go from muffled to straight through. So are you saying the two straight pipes are just dummies for appearance only?

 

Nah, they are just dummy pipes until I get the connection from the muffler to the pumpkin done. Then I'll fit them in. Might even do the valves as well.

 

Okay. I have a very small bag packed and I'm on they way to your place. I won't be any trouble, I'll be very quiet and I'll sleep in the corner and sweep up at night. You won't even know I'm there.
OK OK. So I'll pay rent too. Just quote a price.

 

Ranchero50,

Of all the threads on this Forum that I've read over the years, this one stands out as being the most interesting and informative. It's so fascinating to watch a resurrection in progress, complete with photos and a detailed explanation of each step. I just wanted you to know how much I'm enjoying your reports. Keep up the good work and thanks for the education.

Stuart

 

+1
And soooo jealous of the toys you must have to be carrying out this adventure, and the space to do it in!
This is indeed the most fascinating thread to follow. Best wishes for continued success!

 

Thanks guys. I do this stuff because I enjoy it and since so few have the time or ability to do it I post up what and how I do stuff. As an experienced mechanic I teach less experienced guys all the time. Usually get one for a year before they are taken away and it's a blessing when you get one that loves to learn and understand the principles behind doing a job. Most of this stuff is just learning to open your mind and think of differing ways to do stuff with the parts available.

Speaking of which, state of the car is...






I have two donated wooden thingies that are differing heights and some other odds and ends kind of, sort of holding the tips close to where I want them. Looks good if I squint with my good eye. Nah, actually it's closer than I expected. Car is sitting slightly tail high so I need to comp the tail pipe angles to compensate. I'm going to do one side at a time and move the 'fixture' from one side to the other to help keep things even. I'll spend a couple hours getting the tails tuned and connected. Kind of a PITA but the shiny pipes draw your attention, welp that or those massive flanks and wide tires...

OK, back to it.

 

One leg up. Now I'm torn between finishing this side or starting the other. Mirroring the opposite side typically sucks so I think I'm going to wrap it up for the night. Might fit the Y while waiting for the shop to catch fire after welding. Never leave a hot shop right away.




And I so want to fire it up with both pipes done.

 

Be sure to record a video, so we can hear how great your 4.2L SC sounds!

 

Only if it sounds good. If not, the sound of silence.

Last pics of the night. Mocked up the Y. Still lots of fitting before I cut the hole in the joining pipes.




I think I've done enough for tonight. Hoping to have the exhaust done done after lunch, get the lights and inner fenders back in and see if I can get it inspected. MVA probably Friday for tags.

 

We're gonna need some dash cam footage of the ride to and from the inspection station. You know, just to see if there's a notable 'change in attitude' that maps to the right foot once it's approved for street driving.

In all seriousness, while I'll be happy for you that you've made enough progress on the "Green Turtle" to pass inspection, part of me will be saddened by the conclusion of the adventure. It's been fun to follow along with all of the work you've put into your new-to-you ride.

Now get out there and put your foot into that thing!

 

No need to be sad, my build threads last for years. Started on my truck in '08, boat sometime around there. Sportster has a following. Only the LS has languished but that's more because the forum is full of millennials who are interested in wheels and sound while bitching about fixing broken stuff. Kids now days...

Speaking of which, waiting patiently for my youngest to awaken so we can run some errands before digging into the car.

 

Good to hear! Kind of thought that the exhaust was not the end of the story, more chapters to come!

 

OK, exhaust is 80% done. I still need to tune the dummy tips and then tie that pipe into the main with the valves. Overall the 2nd pipe fit itself. Seriously, I had a length of scrap pipe that fit between the J end sections. It actually fitted up better than the first one.



Looks like this. The diffuser is just flopping there. Had to screw clamps fall out while messing with the pipes. The sagging bottom is also on the list of things to fix.


Hangers are 3/8" stainless rod. I'll add a second brace to the front one and cut off the excess rod.


Lock washers are to lock the pipes in place once they 'relax'.


I used a 3/4" diameter length of pipe to hold the tips oriented correctly. I cheated and got lucky by having the flats on the brackets being parallel to the exhaust pipe center lines. It is a little tight on this bracket so I may need to do 'something'
there for clearance.


Overall, not a horrible deal. Off to get some marker lamps and then get the front back together before powering it back up. I wanted to refinish the headlamps but I'm out of time today so back they go.

 

OK, mission almost accomplished. It was a couple minutes past 4pm when the rubber finally hit the ground. Called my buddy and we are out of time for today so tomorrow morning it should be legally on the road. I took some pics once it was outside even though the car is filthy from all the welding and grinding going on around it.

Pretty darned happy with the pipe alignment. The inner tips need tuned and welded up but overall on the hanger's it's behaving itself. No rattles and thumps and it's staying in place. You can also see the brackets between the pipes so it looks sophisticated.


The tips do stick out a little more than stock. Should help keep the back of the car cleaner.










Stance. I really like the 5% taller tires on the car. They seem to give it a lowered look how they fill the wheel wells so much better than the low profile stuff. I've also come to really like the Toba wheels. Subdued performance look without being too flashy. I like my stuff to look stock but perform better.


About that exhaust... It burbles. And is very quiet at low throttle settings up through 3500 rpm which means it'll cruise quietly. Hammer the throttle and it has a more intense burble, almost like a Borla system. Hopefully once the 2nd set of pipes and valve are installed it'll sound a little more 'boy racer'. It's just not as aggressive at WOT as I'd like.

 

I had the Tobia's on my Super V8 and liked them as well. Can I assume these aren't a staggered set?

How's the interior of the car?

Very much appreciate the ongoing renovations.

 

Sean, the Toba's are 19x9 up front and 19x10 with a 20mm spacer out back.

Interior is 90%. The console is pretty beat up and the door panels have some dings but the visuals while driving are pretty good. I've come to despise the mirror though. Since I'm a taller guy I keep looking around it instead of under it like midgets do.

TPMS came back to life and is unhappy so I'll add that to the 'list'. Washed the car ad realized what I thought were grass clipping splattered on the car was actually tar and chip stuff. A lot of it came off but this car really needed mud flaps with the OZ wheels...