[Black05Pony]

I'm really getting over this exhaust thing. The only shop in town that i've found that will convert my exhaust to duals AND trim my bumper tells me something different every time I call. First time I called the guy said he'd do the entire job for $250 but I had to bring my own hangers. The next time I called he said $250 for the exhaust and $100 for the bumper, again bring my own hangers. Now I called again today and they told me $600 and they supply the hangers. I told him i'd bring my own and he said $560. When I inquired about why it was $250 before and now its $600 he said that the person before was probably quoting me on just adding another mid pipe and H pipe and that apparently I shouldn't add a second 2 1/2" mid pipe to the stock one because I would lose power.

In his infinite wisdom he recommended that I change all the pipes from the cats back to 2 1/4" all the way to the mufflers.

So now i'm looking at the Pypes system. I already have my GT take-off mufflers and v6mustangstuff.com sells the Pypes X-pipe, mid pipes, hangers and clamps for $315. With shipping I can get the whole system here for $360 and cut the confounded bumper myself for free. What would be involved to install this myself? Any cutting? Any other ideas on what I should try?

[zenflow]

Hey, I did a write up on how to do the cut-out. Just search and see if you can find my old post on that. Get a mini-hacksaw and a dremmel tool with the sandpaper attachment. I've got some pictures floating around too, might be on that same post. It's not that hard. The hardest part is getting your measurements correct. In my write up I explained how when you take the bumper cover off, there will be two little flaps at the bottom of the bumper cover (they have holes through them and use those plastic fasteners to attach to the car). You CAN use those flaps as the measuring refference points.

[zenflow]

I found my old post where I wrote up the instructions. I have links to three of my pictures there as well. Here is the link to the post:

http://www.allfordmustangs.com/forum...tout-just.html

Just take your time tracing the template and measuring. It is much easier removing the bumper cover like I did. It would have been a pain trying to do it with it on the car. Remember, after you trace the template from the passenger side hole flip the template over for the other side. It is not a perfect semi-circle. You'll see when you make the template why you'll need to flip ot over (like a mirror image).

[Black05Pony]

Zen, thanks a lot man I really appreciate it. Did you have to trim the lip off the right hand side to make them match? The shop I called said that had to be done or it would look terrible and wouldn't match at all.

Did you install your Pypes system yourself? Did you have to cut any of the pipes underneath the car?

[zenflow]

Tell them not to even mess with the passenger side. The way the bumper cover slants in down there you can't even see the edge unless you bend down and look underneath. And when you get the mufflers on you really will not see it at all (I got the pypes system with the violator mufflers, the tips are 4 inches so it fills the hole really well). Just trust me on this, just cut the hole on the other side. I had the shop install it since I don't have any ramps to get the car up. No, I don't think they had to cut anything. The old y-pipe should slip off and the X-pipe should slip right on. I had them weld the mufflers on though. My kit came with hangers for both sides. Not sure of the size of the tips on the mufflers you are using. Again, I wouldn't mess with the passenger side hole. You (and anyone else for that matter) will never be able to tell one has a beveled edge and the other doesn't. It slants in enough to where you really can't tell.

[Black05Pony]

Yeah, i've seen several pics of "converted" or "trimmed" v6 bumpers that still have the lip on the right hand side and you can't even tell. I guess that guys just another f-ing tweaker... I think i'm going to do this myself, i'm getting fed up with getting jerked around about something that seems so simple. I need to get my ramps back so I can get tinkering around under there and see if I can't figure out how to get the stock pipes off, then I can order my Pypes set-up and install it myself after cutting the bumper.

Oh, the mufflers i'm using will be the GT take-offs. They're not too fancy but give a little louder sound and a better growl, keeps my ears smiling and doesn't attract ricers who are out looking for a quick bout. I believe the tips are 3".

[zenflow]

Yeah, do it yourself (the cutout anyway). I don't think I would want the muffler shop doing it anyway. They will probably just be in a hurry to get it done and will be more prone to eye-balling it. Do it yourself and you can take your time and get it just right. Cut the hole a little smaller than it should be, that way you can gradually open it up with the dremmel and sandpaper attachment. You can always take a little more, but you can't put it back. I'd say I used the dremmel to do about the last 20% of the hole, so I could gradually get it just right. Hang on tight to the dremmel, you don't want it to slip and leave a gash across your clearcoat on the bumper cover. It's not difficult really. Just set aside about 3-4 hours to take your time with it.

[MakeMyStang]

Originally Posted by Black05Pony

I'm really getting over this exhaust thing. The only shop in town that i've found that will convert my exhaust to duals AND trim my bumper tells me something different every time I call. First time I called the guy said he'd do the entire job for $250 but I had to bring my own hangers. The next time I called he said $250 for the exhaust and $100 for the bumper, again bring my own hangers. Now I called again today and they told me $600 and they supply the hangers. I told him i'd bring my own and he said $560. When I inquired about why it was $250 before and now its $600 he said that the person before was probably quoting me on just adding another mid pipe and H pipe and that apparently I shouldn't add a second 2 1/2" mid pipe to the stock one because I would lose power.

In his infinite wisdom he recommended that I change all the pipes from the cats back to 2 1/4" all the way to the mufflers.

So now i'm looking at the Pypes system. I already have my GT take-off mufflers and v6mustangstuff.com sells the Pypes X-pipe, mid pipes, hangers and clamps for $315. With shipping I can get the whole system here for $360 and cut the confounded bumper myself for free. What would be involved to install this myself? Any cutting? Any other ideas on what I should try?

Na don't let them jerk you around. When I had my 05 V6 i did it myself. I bought the JBA true dual exhaust and did it in the garage. cut the pipes as in the instructions, and installed the system. of course you need to put the car on jacks go get the pipes under. Took me a whole Saturday and even cut out the bumper hole on the drivers side with a cooping saw. (Made a templete first to cut the exact hole using the passanger side and reversing the templete.)

[Black05Pony]

I'm just pretty much fed up with the shops i've talked to and there doesn't seem to be any others that will do it. Most shops wont even consider the bumper so i'll probably be doing that myself anyway. I'll most likely cut the bumper myself and have the rest done at another muffler shop. I was quoted $250 and under by 3 other shops but none of them would do the bumper. Worst case scenario; I end up buying the Pypes system and do it all myself.

If you want it done right.. Well, you know the rest.

[SOHCman]

Originally Posted by Black05Pony

Zen, thanks a lot man I really appreciate it. Did you have to trim the lip off the right hand side to make them match? The shop I called said that had to be done or it would look terrible and wouldn't match at all.

Did you install your Pypes system yourself? Did you have to cut any of the pipes underneath the car?

Yes, the stock pipes get cut somewhere behind the cats (the instructions should say where.

The rest is bolt-on.

SOHC

[WinterHawk]

Here's a link to the Pypes left side cut-out template you can download and print-out to use.
http://pysales.com/inst/SFM68-bumper-cutout02.pdf