Pics of My New TR Test Pipes

Very, very cool!

Something I want to do in the near future. I don't like that the 328 sounds better than the TR!

What brand of exhaust are you using?

 

Am I wrong or can we have test pipes made using the ends off of old cats and having regular exhaust pipe welded in between. If this is the case I will have a local muffler shop make some for me when I get my 355.

By the way, those look really good.

 

You are the man - Exactly what I want to do. Did you do any work on the pre-cats?

To quote Augustine, "The TR with test pipes & a Tubi sounds like Armageddon."

I need that. lol

 

Cool - Look forward to hearing your thoughts on the sound. If you could record a wav file, I would be eternally grateful.

 

Those are way cool Jerry! That Henry K is a great fellow isn't he? He has helped me out on numerous occasions while I've been working on my TR. If I ever get my car totally debugged I'd like to get a set of those pipes. I'm sure your car will sound terrific now and make a tad more power to boot!

 

No offense, I enjoy playing devil's advocate, and please take this for what it's worth (ie.. not much ), but those are some pretty ugly welds. Not that I could do any better, but to coat them with such a nice finish, it was a shame not to grind those welds down a bit, strengthens the weld at the same time also. Enjoy though! I bet they'll sound glorious!

fwiw-

C

 

Jerry: The coatings look great!!!!!!!!!!

Now, about the welds.........well, I am getting better......what can I say? "It gives them character"..............that was nice of you.........thanks.

My next project is to make the complete exhaust, from the pre-cats, back to the tail pipes........maybe I will learn how to weld better by then.........I BETTER!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Geez man, lighten up. It's just a little constructive criticism. "I bet they'll sound glorious!" isn't something nice to say?

If I wanted to be an a** about it, I would have said "those welds look like bird s**t...." But I didn't. Hence the easy opening to my post.

Congrats on finding an alternative test pipe(s). Sounds like you like them, and that's all that matters in the end.



clamming up-
C

 

Quote: "If I wanted to be an a** about it, I would have said "those welds look like bird s**t...." But I didn't."

You just DID!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

I could care less - I want some! lol

Nice work.

 

I was thinking "bubble gum" welds . . . but I bet they sound REALLY good!

BTW I was tired of hearing a sewing machine out of my '89 TR so I ordered a Tubi and a set of cat "test" pipes from one of our sponsors in Germany, the pipes came and they are BEAUTIFUL, I can't wait to get 'em on!

S.

 

Henry,

How mauch are you charging for these?
Will they fit on 512TR?

If so, PM about them

Thanks.

 

I think they look great!!!
As long as the weld does not leak you are good to go!!
I admire your willingness to do them.
As you say, you will only get better.
Heck, those welds are competitive with some from the factory.

 

The welds around the bungs look bad, because I inadvertently weldded them on, before I slipped the flange onto the end. I had to remove them with a plasma cutter, thus making the opening larger........this is why all the weld material there. However, it will not leak. I had no problems with the ones I made for my car..........you should see THOSE welds.........haha!

 

Jerry: I am glad you like the test pipes........now remember to take them off after the test!!!!!!!!!!

Did you have any trouble installing them?

 

There is no real torque figure for this. I would guess that 'too tight' could crush the donut gasket, and they are not really cheap. I think it is important to get the tightness down evenly, amongst the 3 nuts. I made mine just tight, and checked for leakes, every now and then.........not a hard area to get to, if one needs to tighten some nuts down.

What exhaust sealer did you use, that withstands those temperatures?

 

I'd torque them to about 25-30 lb-ft, or alternately using my calabrated arm, quite snug. I'd recheck after 30 minutes of driving and at all service intervals.

I also have a Tubi and test pipes for the TR and when I get around to draging the old girl onto the lift I'll be using new stainless hardware with coppercoat antiseize. I find this stuff to be a godsend when it comes to exhaust hardware. When heated, most of the lubricant burns away and leaves a nice copper coating that helps in future reemoval and also acts like a mild thread locking compound. I've had some real problem engines that LOVE to vibrate out their header bolts, even when torqued properly. After using coppercoat, I've never had one loosen and they are ALWAYS easy to remove. Your mileage may vary . . .

Muffler sealer is also a good idea for the flanges as you've stated.

I use antiseize compound on nearly EVERYTHING! It makes a mess when applied TOO liberally but with a very small amount you get hardware that you'll never have to drill out or experience the pain of rounded hardware. I rarely use it on lug nuts EXCEPT where the nut contacts on an alloy wheel.

Get a small brush (like used for applying flux to copper sweated fittings available at all hardware stores) and use the brush attached to the cap to place a small amount into a small cup or piece of paper. That way you can lightly dab your clean brush into the antiseize without getting GOBS all over your hardware. A little is all you need . . .

One final note WASH your hands! That aluminum antiseize will find its way to EVERYTHING you touch for the next few hours and it's a pain to get off leather and painted surfaces unless a liberal amount of soap is used.

Stuart