Terry Houston downpipe
I am running a Terry Houston Stainless Steel 3" Downpipe for my GN. I was undecided as to what finish to use on the downpipe. First I was going to polish it out but from what I have seen on other cars the stainless quickly starts to change colors and I wanted something low maintenance as there are enough other things to keep up with. An attempt at painting the downpipe with some high temp paint was a waste of time as it quickly flaked off the first time I drove the GN with it on! The pics below are what the pipe looked like with the high temp paint. Pretty but it didn't last. So, off came the pipe and I shipped it out to Jet-Hot for some of their 2000 degree coating in gray. This finish is flat but will hold up to the extreme heat the turbo puts out.
Before sending the pipe out I had my welder put a header collector ring on the end so I could swap out my test pipe with the converter with ease when the need arises. Better than having to beat on the pipe with a hammer to swap come emissions testing time.
I am using an aluminum chrome plated turbo shield that allows the Houston pipe to fit without any modifications. (the stock cover has to be cut for it to work). I usually just run a test pipe with a cutout but since my car sits so low I had to make an adjustment to the dump portion of the test pipe. Out of the box it points slightly downward but due to a steep driveway I would always drag the dump every time I went out for a drive. PLUS, I am working on a special project that is going to be connected to the flange of the dump. (more on that below!) I had my local welder remove the 4 bolt flange and rotate the pipe so that both flanges are at the same height.
NOTE! UPDATE! Houston downpipes are hard to find these days. My company is now selling a chrome plated downpipe that is available from my website!
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Hooker 2.5"Cat-Back Exhaust System
I had previously put a 3" single shot exhaust system on the GN but could not stand the sound and drone of it so it was taken off after only 200 miles of use! If you want something that sounds obnoxious, by all means use one but it was just too loud for me.
I have seen a lot of good comments about the 2.5" cat-back system that Hooker makes for our cars and decided to order the kit from Summit Racing. For under $300 you receive everything from the catalytic converter to the tailpipes in 2.5" diameter, aluminized steel. The price is right and for a car that isn't driven more than 3,000 miles a year it should last a while. It is supplied with Aerochamber mufflers, all the clamps and hangers necessary and was easy to install. I did it on ramps in my garage without any problems but it sure would be easier on a lift. I painted mine system with flat black high temp paint. Here are a few pics of it installed.
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Electric Exhaust Cutout Project!
One thing that always bugged me about Turbo Regals is how quiet they are. We just don't command the respect of say, a 69 big block Camaro rumbling into a cruise nite or show. I have been testing an electric exhaust cutout that will get the crowd's attention at car events! This plate bolts on to any dump using the standard 3" pipe header flange! With a flick of the switch you can go from quiet to LOUD in about 5 seconds. When fully open, it can be quite obnoxious sounding. You can stop the cutout wherever you want to get the exact sound you are looking for. Please note that the small elbow after the cutout is something I made up myself for my GN. Below are a few pictures to whet your appetite! UPDATE! I am now running an electric cutout from a new source and it has been working fine. This setup is top notch in machining and wiring. It also seals well which is what I have been looking for in an exhaust cutout. As supplied from the manufacturer, the motor would not clear my frame but upon close observation, I just flipped the motor 180 degrees and it fits like a dream. I have a Terry Houston downpipe with a test pipe with a dump on it but I have tweaked it a bit as explained in the Downpipe section above. Please note that I have added a slight turnout on the end of the cutout to redirect the exhaust from the frame but a regular cutout will not need this as it points more towards the ground. I am a distributor for this product and it can be purchased from my website.
The wiring harness is a work of art! You can even disconnect the cutout and remove it from the car as it has plug about 6" off the motor. Very important if you have to go for emissions testing! I mounted the simple momentary rocker switch in my gauge pod in the console. Picked up a power source from my switch panel in the ashtray and ran a ground in the same area. I then ran the cable to the motor thru the floor grommet under the console where the shifter cable goes thru. The cable was tie wrapped to the transmission crossmember and over to the motor being careful not to come near the exhaust system. As supplied the cable had about 2 extra feet and for now I coiled it up and tucked it up in the frame rail. I will be shortening it as time permits. Installation time takes about 1.5 hours and the hardest part was removing the console for access to the floor grommet.
Have been testing it out a lot and it is cool to open it up when pulling into a show. My wife likes a quiet car so for normal cruising around with her and my son in the car, I keep it shut. If I come up in back of a Mustang though, I will open it up and usually scare the wits out of the driver. Lots of fun!
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