I did a lot of research on the site, as well as the internet, on getting a little better sound from my '97 XK8 coupe. I decided that removing the two middle mufflers would give me a littte more growl but not be obnoxious nor result in drone. Being a DIY kind of guy, thought I would give this a go. I'm lucky in that I have a lift, and it made it easy. Total project took less than an hour, and cost less than $30. First drive was encouraging. Sound is just a little more growl than stock when accelerating, but same quiet at speed. I'll drive it this way for a while, and if I really like it and feel that it is not a long term solution, I'll take it to a local muffler shop and have them weld in a pipe.

First thing I wanted to do was to stabilize the large middle muffler. Cutting the mufflers out will leave the rear of this muffler unsupported. Welding in replacement pipes would have supported it well, but my solution uses flex pipe, so I didn't think it would be able to support the weight. Bought a cheap muffler support at O'reilly's. It bolts to an existing bolt above the muffler, and I welded it to the muffler pipe where it exits the muffler. A clamp on support would work just as well.


I used a sawzall to cut the pipe 1/2" behind the middle mufflers. Left enough so that they could be welded back on, and made a couple of witness marks to make alignment easy if welding is required. Saved the old mufflers and clamps JIC.
Used Flex pipe, 2 1/8" dia by 16" long. Auto parts store gave me two different brands. I liked the Rol-Tech one better for fit. Need a couple of 2 1/8" exhaust clamps as well, although you may be able to re-use the stock Jag clamps.


Fit was pretty easy. Only thing to watch for is the over the axle pipe touching the rear axle support. Over time, the flex pipe may "flex" enough that this starts to touch. That's when I may have to have it fixed right!



For now, I'm only out $30 and a little time.

 

This is a good way to find the sound you want. My experience with 'Flex Pipe' is that is rots out in a few years. I used a local muffler shop to remove the two final pairs of mufflers like you did, then replace with 2 1/2" pipe leading to oval tips. The sound is really Nice. Cost was $300 here in S.W. Fl. Took all of 2 hrs.

 

darbysan,
Very cost effective and good fabrication idea to support middle box. For the same result, it cost me £200 English pounds in UK to have solid 'over-axle' pipes and basically achieve the same 'box delete' result.

 

darbysan, now that you have a couple of months, are you still happy with this setup? To confirm you still have three boxes in place (the center forward and the two after the rear axle)?

 

So far still happy. I can hear a nice little growl when I accelerate, but other than that it's as quiet as before inside the cabin. No drone, which was my main concern. Won't sound like a mustang with straight pipes, but I have other toys for that kind of noise

 

Got a gift card at O'reilly's, so decided to go a step further and remove the rear resonators. Total cost was $60. Just for info, I measured the Db level of the stock exhaust at 80.9 db. The Db level with the middle 2 mufflers removed was maxed at 83.7 Db, and with the rear mufflers also removed, the Db level was at 88.6. Only driven it once, and can say that it is definitely different from driving in a nice quiet Jag. Reminds me more of driving my modified El Camino. Good growl when accelerating, at any throttle level, but it quiet's down nicely when cruising. You can tell there is a slight "growl" at 75 when cruising, but almost not noticeable inside the car ( Coupe). Since it's my fun car, and unlikely to be going on long trips, think I will enjoy this for a while. Will be easy to replace if I get tired of it- 2 exhaust clamps and it's done.




Needed parts are 2 ea Nickson 36" 2 1/8" exhaust pipes 17674, 2 ea 16" RolTeck Flexible Exhaust pipes 540213, 2 ea Nickson 2 1/8" Exhaust Clamps 511213 and 2 ea Walker Exhaust Pipe Clamp 36518. Cut the exhaust pipe to 32" ( do not cut the expanded end). Remove the stock exhaust . Cut the weld for the exhaust tips if you want to use them ( I did). If using them, you will want to slight flatten the expanded end of the new pipe so that it fits the tip. I cut the expanded end at 15 degrees to improve this fit. Spot weld the tip to the pipe. Install the flex pipe onto the existing over-the-axle pipe, inset the new pipe and tip, and then position the pipe for fit. You can use a piece of bailing wire to hold stuff up while you work on it. Find a good spot for the exhaust hanger ( I welded mine to the pipe, and attached to the body with self drilling screws) but there are other versions that can be clamped). Last thing to do is install the exhaust clamps and tighten on the flex pipe. The pipe comes with one clamp in the box. Be sure to position the upper clamp so that it is not hit by the driveshaft or the sway bar.

One of the reasons I went with the "cheap" solution was just to see if I like the sound. If not, then I'm not out much money. If I like it, and decided I want to make it more permanent, then I just go to an exhaust shop and tell then to replace the flex pipe with exhaust pipe bent to fit. Should not cost much, and certainly a lot less than a custom or "purchased" solution. Of course, I like doing this kind of stuff, and have tools and equipment that make it easier for me. Also gives me something to do while I'm avoiding the Covid!