V6 exhaust coming along ( again my way ) - Third Generation Forum

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V6 exhaust coming along ( again my way )
Saturday, June 11, 2005 10:04 PM
While I am working on the gauge cluster I started working on the exhaust as well . Right now I am tacking everything together until I can get it to my friends garage . From there I will TIG everything up . One thing I can say is a MIG with stainless wire does greatat welding stainless steel . I was able to tack the V-bands on to the cat. conv. , resonator , and get the piping all the way to the rear axle today . The down pipe and flex pipe have to have a little work done to center them up with the tunnel . Hopefully I will get that taken care of with a 90* which I have cut to form an offset to line everything up . Bad thing is now I have to order another 90* for the rear of the car . To install 3" pipe in a Cavalier I found it necessary to remove the heat shield . I see that the gas tank is pretty close to the new pipe so I will fix that with some header wrap on the rear section .

I will get some photo's of the exhaust out of the car . But I will post those once I get the down pipe finished and have it attached .


<a href="http://users.adelphia.net/~rdbryant1/index.html.html"><img src="http://registry.gmenthusiast.com/images/mrgoodwrench/personal_pic.jpg" border=4></a>

Re: V6 exhaust coming along ( again my way )
Sunday, June 12, 2005 2:02 PM
Have you run your car yet?



Re: V6 exhaust coming along ( again my way )
Monday, June 13, 2005 7:43 AM
No that is why I am getting all of this stuff finished . The exhaust and gauge cluster is coming along great . Even with the fact that I have to work on the down pipe . But today I worked on the rear ( muffler , tail pipes ) . I have to run the last few pieces over the rear axle to the muffler and finish the down pipe . Bad news is it has been raining and the groud is soaking wet . So I am not crawling under the car today .

The NOPI show in Bristol is less than a month away . I am working my @ss off to finish it for that weekend . I may be taking some vacation days to finish the exhaust and gauge cluster up . From there I will be able to run the wiring for the gauges when I rewire the car .

The whole exhaust setup uses no gaskets exceot for the exhaust manifold . I can also remove different sections ( cat. conv. , resonator ) and replace them with straight pipe by removing two bands . So when I go to the track I can basically make it a very free flowing exhaust ( not to mention loud ) in about 5 minutes .


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Re: V6 exhaust coming along ( again my way )
Saturday, June 18, 2005 12:14 PM
Well the muffler and tail pipes are hanging under the car . It started raining so I stopped working . Now I have to install the exhaust pipe and install the hangers . From there I can finish the final piece on the rear that will connect the muffler to the rest of the exhaust . From there TIG everything up and finish the down pipe after the rest of the exhaust is in the car .

I can say that the V-bands are nice to have when you install an exhaust . If you need to turn the pipe a little just loosen one bolt and turn the pipe then tighten it up again . There are no gaskets to worry about either .

Pic.s will be coming soon , I just want to get the final piece in the rear tacked up and then I will pop a few pic.s of everything .


<a href="http://users.adelphia.net/~rdbryant1/index.html.html"><img src="http://registry.gmenthusiast.com/images/mrgoodwrench/personal_pic.jpg" border=4></a>
Re: V6 exhaust coming along ( again my way )
Saturday, June 18, 2005 1:01 PM
You've been working on this ever since I can remember, how long has it been since you actually drove your car?

Glad to hear its comin together.





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Re: V6 exhaust coming along ( again my way )
Saturday, June 18, 2005 11:20 PM
Well one thing that made it drag out was working 3rd shift and trying to get time . Another was paying for everything as I went . But everything on thecar that has been put on it is paid for and there are no loans associated with the swap . Also weather is the main thing that holds me up at times since the car is outside .

Anyway Here are some teaser pic.s of the exhaust . Since I have the muffler hung with tailpipes installed . Yes I know they are not exactly straight but I will be able to fix that after the piece going from the pipe over the axle to the muffler is installed .

Here are the parts for the exhaust . The pipe and other pieces are not pictured .


Here is the exhaust system with the Cat. Conv. and Resonator . I am still working on the down pipe but have the piece going around the gas tank and over the axle done .


Here is another angle of the exhaust system .


Here is a pic of the tail pipes after hanging the muffler . I do have them straight and centered . But they are close to the bumper . I will be able to fix this once the rest of the exhaust is under the car .


Here is an angle shot of the tail pipes . As you can see they are very close .


The things that are not shown are the stainless steel hangers and exhaust bushings . Also when going around the gas tank I will be wrapping that section of pipe with header wrap . I had to remove the heat shields to get the 3" exhaust in the car . But with the resonator the V6 should sound pretty good . This coming week I will finish up the exhaust and welding the hangers onto the other section of exhaust . Then the only thing to do will be finish the down pipe .

I ended up using 3" T304 stainless steel pipe and mandrel bent sections . From the exhaust manifold where I am using a 2.5" to 3" reducer it will go into a 3" flex pipe on to the 3" in / out Cat. Conv. . Through a 36" length 3" in / out resonator which drops down to 2.5" inside the resonator . From there it will go through 3" mandrel bent piping to an 80 series Flow Master which is 3" in / 2.5" out to a set of Tanabe double wall exhaust tips .

When I was fabricating the new exhaust together I actually used the stock exhaust as a template . Thank God the new exhaust was able to set on top of the old one . I was able line everything up and cut the pipe to length and also get the curves right . The only hard part so far is the down pipe . I had to cut on of the 90*'s to make an offset to make the exhaust pipe run down the center of the tunnel . Which I will be working on this week .

Then it is on to the electrical and hopefully tuning the computer .




<a href="http://users.adelphia.net/~rdbryant1/index.html.html"><img src="http://registry.gmenthusiast.com/images/mrgoodwrench/personal_pic.jpg" border=4></a>
Re: V6 exhaust coming along ( again my way )
Sunday, June 19, 2005 1:32 PM
the body kits got to come off this beast... make it a sleaper man...

chris


'02 Z-24 Supercharged
13.7 @102.45 MPH Third Place, 2007 GMSC Bash SOLD AS OF 01MAR08

Re: V6 exhaust coming along ( again my way )
Monday, June 20, 2005 8:46 AM
NO keep the body kit and I'm glad to see you are almost done



Re: V6 exhaust coming along ( again my way )
Monday, June 20, 2005 11:45 AM
Well as of today the only things left on the exhaust are the down pipe and fully welding the pipe up . I now have the Pipe run from the firewall to the rear end . 3" is a little tight under there but it does fit . I have already started on the down pipe but I think I may have to order another 45* to use on the down pipe . When I was running the pipe from the axle to the muffler I had to use my last 45* to put enough of a bend in the pipe for everything to line up . Oh well , right now I am further ahead than I was figuring I would be .


<a href="http://users.adelphia.net/~rdbryant1/index.html.html"><img src="http://registry.gmenthusiast.com/images/mrgoodwrench/personal_pic.jpg" border=4></a>
Re: V6 exhaust coming along ( again my way )
Tuesday, June 21, 2005 11:04 AM
Today I have been working on the down pipe ( that is until it started raining here ) . But as in an earlier post I had to use one of my 90*'s . So now I have to order another 90* and use it at the bottom going into the Cat. Conv. . I am glad that I tacked everything together , I had to cut the tacks loose a couple of times to get the right abgle and cut some of the bends to center everything up . But everything is going smoothly now . I have had to remove the Cat. and Resonator because I am going to cut some of the extaensions off to make more room for the other 90* coming down from the exhaust flange .

The rest of the exhaust from the gas tank back is ready for welding now and by Friday I will have the rest of the exhaust ready for welding . Saturday is Super Chevy so I will be in Bristol for that , so not much will get done over the weekend .

Anyway I have to check on somethings for the electrical and will start on it by next week .


<a href="http://users.adelphia.net/~rdbryant1/index.html.html"><img src="http://registry.gmenthusiast.com/images/mrgoodwrench/personal_pic.jpg" border=4></a>
Re: V6 exhaust coming along ( again my way )
Tuesday, June 21, 2005 2:54 PM
Well the down pipe fits and is centered up . The only thing left is to order the 45* I need to connect it to the Cat. Conv. . That will be ordered this Friday and will see if I can have it shipped 2 day mail .


<a href="http://users.adelphia.net/~rdbryant1/index.html.html"><img src="http://registry.gmenthusiast.com/images/mrgoodwrench/personal_pic.jpg" border=4></a>

Re: V6 exhaust coming along ( again my way )
Saturday, July 02, 2005 10:51 PM
Been a little while and since I am off for the 4th of July weekend . I have been busy working on my car . Not just this weekend but everyday After I get off of work .

Well the down pipe was finished after getting the last bend in . I have as of today finished welding up everything . I also have the wrap on the exhaust , Just to clarify why I am using header wrap on the exhaust . It is not for peformance increases but to be used as a heat shield . I sort of removed the factory heat shields to install the new exhaust . Everything is sitting in my Fiero right now until tomorrow morning when I continue on the electrical .

The new factory harness showed up yesterday ( Friday ) , and I stuck it in the car and started removing the old PCM wiring from it . Today after getting back from my friends shop I finished the clean up of the harness and have ran the TEC3 harness through the firewall also . I have also made a new mag snsor mount for the ne trigger wheel . The new trigger wheel is installed and now everything is really coming together . The only problem I have ran into is when it rains That is when I have to pack everything up and call it a day .

Oh yeah I also have the piping for the intake and need to pick up the battery relocation stuff to mount the battery in the trunk . The new intake and filter take up the whole drivers side of the compartment . While I am getting the stuff to relocate the battery I need to pick up a grommet to install the IAT sensor into this intake .

I will get some pic.s of the entire exhaust ( from the down pipe to the tail pipes ) while it is out of the car and in one piece .

Well until next time this is all the updates I can think of .


<a href="http://users.adelphia.net/~rdbryant1/index.html.html"><img src="http://registry.gmenthusiast.com/images/mrgoodwrench/personal_pic.jpg" border=4></a>
Re: V6 exhaust coming along ( again my way )
Saturday, July 02, 2005 11:40 PM
may i ask what kinda tips those are and where u got them... they look hot
Re: V6 exhaust coming along ( again my way )
Sunday, July 03, 2005 9:00 AM
How much has this all cost you so far...? After seeing how well yours is coming along I'm actually considering a V6 for my 03 Sunfire.
Re: V6 exhaust coming along ( again my way )
Sunday, July 03, 2005 5:22 PM
Evil Serpent wrote:How much has this all cost you so far...? After seeing how well yours is coming along I'm actually considering a V6 for my 03 Sunfire.


Another question I have is can someone list all changes that would be needed when swapping for a V6?
Re: V6 exhaust coming along ( again my way )
Sunday, July 03, 2005 6:43 PM
Evil Serpent wrote:
Evil Serpent wrote:How much has this all cost you so far...? After seeing how well yours is coming along I'm actually considering a V6 for my 03 Sunfire.


Another question I have is can someone list all changes that would be needed when swapping for a V6?


Plan on spending at least a couple grand to do it right. If you do it Mr G's way, the computer and harness alone are more than that. However, it's been done using a reflashed factory ECU from the 3400 engine, and that swap worked well. Mine is using a 95 F-Body computer, but I have a 95. That won't work for your car.
Just make sure to get something from a similar year (00+ should be fine) to your Fire. Get as complete of an engine as you can. Recomended from an Alero for simplicity, but the upper mount from a 94-97 Grand Am 3100 is a simpler install to the J-Body. You just have to swap a couple of pieces on the passenger side of the engine. Nothing major there. The biggest thing about this swap is wiring and plumbing. The rest is pretty straight foreward.







Re: V6 exhaust coming along ( again my way )
Sunday, July 03, 2005 10:13 PM
Can't wait until you have this running.



FU Tuning



Re: V6 exhaust coming along ( again my way )
Sunday, July 03, 2005 11:12 PM
The tips are Magnaflow Tanabe's . You will find them in the double wall stainless tip section of their website .

Was going to shot some photo's of the whole exhaust today but got tied up working on the harness . A small set back is I need a crimper that will do weatherpack connectors and I don't have one . But I have found several places that sell them , and I am waiting on a price quote . After that I will get them to overnight it to me .

The price for this swap is a little more than it could actually be done for . I have a TEC3 standalone engine management system , full stainless exhaust , reground cam , reworked intake for an LS1 T/B , 27LB injectors ( from a WS6 ) , under drive pulley , SPEC stage 2 clutch , and a full compliment of Autometer Lunar gauges replacing the factory gauge cluster . I have had to pay for everything as I went and some of the stuff was pricey but it is paid for . Not to mention some of the parts I needed had to be fabricated . The Dogbone , hoses , and the exhaust flange .

Out of the whole exhaust I would have to say that the downpipe is the crowning achievement of the exhaust . It took more time to fabricate this 36" piece of pipe than the rest of the exhaust ( tack it together , test fit , remove , cut the tack welds and reweld or cut the pipe , test fit , remove and doit all over again ) but it fits perfect .

For those wondering if the exhaust is under the car now . It is'nt in fact it is setting in the passenger side of my Fiero . Yes the exhaust can be broke down to fit in a small car and still have plenty of room for other junk . LOL

Anyway the harness is getting ran and I have everything seperated and going where it needs to go . The factory harness I am using is from a 2002 ECOTEC . What a surprise Carparts.com said it would work with my car ???? It has the unused wiring removed now and I have started routing the wires around the engine compartment .

Future plans at this time will be P/P the extra intake and heads I have , nitrous , and turbo for this engine . I plan on making more power and possibly upgrading the clutch soon after .

This week will be very busy with the gauge cluster panel being finished , wiring the car , installing the exhaust ( 30 minutes at most ) , and tuning the computer ( hopefully ) .


<a href="http://users.adelphia.net/~rdbryant1/index.html.html"><img src="http://registry.gmenthusiast.com/images/mrgoodwrench/personal_pic.jpg" border=4></a>
Re: V6 exhaust coming along ( again my way )
Monday, July 04, 2005 7:10 AM
How much horsepower do you estimate to have on this car once you've completed this project?
Re: V6 exhaust coming along ( again my way )
Monday, July 04, 2005 7:46 AM
More than 180 HP , I am hoping to get somwhere around 220 HP while being N/A . But I am not going to really be sure until it is put on a dyno .

I will see some very big increases after the turbo is installed .


<a href="http://users.adelphia.net/~rdbryant1/index.html.html"><img src="http://registry.gmenthusiast.com/images/mrgoodwrench/personal_pic.jpg" border=4></a>
Re: V6 exhaust coming along ( again my way )
Monday, July 04, 2005 6:03 PM
Is a V6 the biggest you can fit in a Sunfire or Cavy? Would it be possible to somehow fit a V8 out of a Firebird or a Vette engine in there?

<---- I'm a new so I'm just trying to learn a little. Best way to do that is by askin' questions, lol. You're V6 swap is so bad ass it's inspiring lol.

Re: V6 exhaust coming along ( again my way )
Monday, July 04, 2005 8:24 PM
Read This

I'm pretty damn sure this can be done. Would be a very expensive swap, though.






Re: V6 exhaust coming along ( again my way )
Monday, July 04, 2005 10:29 PM
What are we calling expensive? I'd love to see a 3rd gen Sunfire with a V6 or V8 in it.
Re: V6 exhaust coming along ( again my way )
Thursday, July 07, 2005 3:57 PM
Weather pack crimper came in today , and we have what is left from a tropical storm dumping rain down on Virginia right now . Anyway I have already tried the crimpers out on some extra wire and a few weatherpack terminals I had laying around . It does a sweet job crimping . The rain should be gone by tomorrow ( Friday ) so I can finish wet sanding the gauge panel and starting the electrical tomorrow .


This weekend I will get the exhaust out of the passenger side of the Fiero and get some pic.s to post . It will be the downpipe to the tail pipes with the header wrap on it .

I already know I am going to be asked why the header wrap is on it . But I will wait until then to say anything .

Oh one gripe about the company I ordered the filter from . I ordered the filter on 6/30 and they finall shipped the filter out on 7/05 . This is almost a week after being paid for . Why did it take them so long to drop a filter and prefilter in the mail ??? I ordered the weather pack crimper on 7/4 and recieved it on 7/7 . The filter is'nt scheduled to arrive until the 12th . That is 15 days of waiting for something that I could have ordered from someone else and gotten quickier . If you order from www.4filters.com be prepared for a place that will takes its time .


<a href="http://users.adelphia.net/~rdbryant1/index.html.html"><img src="http://registry.gmenthusiast.com/images/mrgoodwrench/personal_pic.jpg" border=4></a>
Re: V6 exhaust coming along ( again my way )
Thursday, July 07, 2005 4:48 PM
You need to come to Texas to work on your car, seems everytime you work on it it rains. We've had about two inches total the past two months where I live. Bring some rain here!




I would have wrote you a poem, but I couldn't find anything that rhymed with F@#K OFF!
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