TR Borla...not a Tubi....but I'm poor !!

Hey everyone! I recently purchased a used Borla exhaust system for my TR. Borla discontinued these systems years ago, and judging by the complexity of making it and the low volume of sales....I can understand why. Well....I wasn't satisfied with the brown/tan look of the stainless pipes and the years of grime....so I decided to clean it up a little. This was a BIG weekend job and I spend many hours on it....but the results are worth it I think. It looks pretty exotic, like a stainless steel spider or something. I can't wait to get it in the car and hear what it will sound like. I would love to have a Tubi but I'm just a regular guy and can't justify the huge cost of one. So I kept waiting for something used to pop up. I'll post a before and after pic if your interested.
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Thanks Everyone for the kind words....makes it all worth it. I bought some buffing wheels and polishing compound...and buffed out one of the inlet pipes. It took a whole day and the results were NOT worth the effort. So I tried a wire-wheel and it cleaned things up pretty good, but left a rougher texture than the buffing wheel. For the tight spots it was good ol'e elbow grease, steel wool and mother's mag polish. I did use the buffing wheels on the mufflers, but the pipes were done with a wire wheel and then I polished them by hand. This job took me about 20 hours to do I'd say...I worked through lunch and dinner...just kept at it without breaks. I just wanted it finished....it seems that the more I did....the more I had to do. But as you can see the results are pretty good for a system that when new wasn't polished. I have to fabricate some way to hang it from the factory mounts....the brackets are too close for the stock muffler "ears" to bolt up to it. But I will get it in the car this week sometime. I'll take some pics after the installation.

CAPONE: I believe this system was around $2,800 or more when it was new. But it has been discontinued by Borla....I emailed them a couple of years ago about buying one and they said "we don't make it anymore....good luck finding one on a shelf somewhere!" I like this system because it does away with the precats and cats, and takes about 50 pounds of weight off the car. And TRs can use all the weight reduction they can get. I've heard that the car will sound like an Indy car....well....I'll know by next weekend.

328GTS: For cleaning your tubi, since they are nicely polished....I'd try fine steel wool (grade 000) and some fine polish. If that doesn't do it...then maybe a buffing wheel and polishing compound. The trick is to get a smooth rythum going, don't push too hard, and don't stop in one place. Tubis have a very nice finish and it shouldn't take much to get it back. Proceed carefully.

One thing I must say....I have a new-found respect for those fancy exhaust systems like Tubi that have a mirror-like finish. That takes a lot of hand work and patience to get it that way.

 

Gary...yes I've heard that too. You can get stainless steel wool....which I would think would be okay? I will keep after the appearance of this system so the little specs of rust won't be an issue....I hope.