Interesting finds on the Rust Bucket.

[Dirt]

Oy oy.

Did a previous owner of my car put an aftermarket header on it? It appears to be a 4-1 header.

I'm sure there will be more suprises to come.

Pete

[jgerry2002]

Yes its an aftermarket header. If you care about NVH, I'd probably replace it with a tii manifold.

[Dirt]

Thanks for the info. I had to look up what NVH was. I'm guessing you're not talking about the California company National Vehicle Holdings.

NVH is a generic term/acronym that covers the branch of engineering relating to vehicle refinement in terms of noise (acoustic) and vibration experienced by the occupants when the vehicle is in service. The term is used mainly in connection with road vehicles, but exactly the same techniques are used in air and rail transport to improve refinement.

NVH is less important to me than performance. I imagine a Tii manifold will probably do better than this rusted old hung of metal. I'll definitely add a new manifold to the "to buy" list.

Pete

[winstontj]

I imagine a Tii manifold will probably do better than this rusted old hung of metal. I'll definitely add a new manifold to the "to buy" list.

Pete

Wanna sell that "rusted old hunk of metal"?

thomasjwinston at yahoo dot com

[Dirt]

Wanna sell that "rusted old hunk of metal"?

thomasjwinston at yahoo dot com

hahaha. I like rusted old hungs of metal.

Not yet. If I do, you're first on the list. I have no idea what it is and quite frankly I haven't learned enough about my 02 yet to make that kind of decision.

If I do, I'll let you know.

Pete

[jgerry2002]

Lol, yea Noise/Vibration/Harshness. Not like '02s are exactly known for being quiet... but the little stuff can make a huge difference over longer trips.

Yea, headers on a street car are eye candy.

Building a race car? Different story.

[Dirt]

Well it isn't going to be a daily driver. I'm going to keep this car street legal, but I'm building it for track days and autocross. As long as I can quiet it down enough to keep from getting pulled over ALL the time, It'll be fine with me.

At some point I'll get something to replace it. Like I said, I need to do a lot of research first.

Pete

[winstontj]

Well it isn't going to be a daily driver. I'm going to keep this car street legal, but I'm building it for track days and autocross. As long as I can quiet it down enough to keep from getting pulled over ALL the time, It'll be fine with me.

At some point I'll get something to replace it. Like I said, I need to do a lot of research first.

Pete

Keep your header pete. At least until you know what you're getting rid of. New ones will run you upwards of $500 for a quality one with ceramic coating. Get your motor and car sorted and use the one you have while you build things up. Then when you're ready go all out and get exactly what you want. Headers aren't the really loud thing - Ansa exhausts are!

[jgerry2002]

Yea it typically does not add that much externally, its the sound in the cabin that can drive you crazy. Many headers fit poorly, offer little or no performance gain, and have a tendency to crack at a much faster rate than stock.

If its in good shape, then try it out. It might be fine for what you are trying to do.

I'd concentrate on the rust first. That will take up the majority of your time and resources. The performance can come later. To start with, the first think you need to learn is that these cars like to rust everywhere.

[Dirt]

I spent my first day working on the car dealing with rust. I know there are many more like this to come.

Thanks!

Pete

[TobyB]

I imagine a Tii manifold will probably do better than this rusted old hung of metal.

Depends. Gonna run a 3" exhaust? Long duration high- lift cam? Keep the revs over 5K? Then the header is often better. It even looks like it's a pretty large- tube thing. The tri-Y that the stock system makes is actually meant more for torque and a less- peaky powerband... something that's good in even a mild race car, but at a certain point, there's just no replacement for unrestricted flow. And the stock system's reasonably restrictive by modern standards.

And a rusted exhaust really won't hurt your lap times, as long as it doesn't leak.

t

[dubois]

exhaust systems are not an exact science with 02's, way too many variables to predict what you will needor like. It looks like a decent one - other than the surface rust. You may find one that works better, but it is good to have something to compare it to.

[Dirt]

I found that under about 1/2" of accumulated grime and crap that the carb on the car is a Weber 32/36 with water choke.

It isn't matched to the intake manifold very well though. I'm guessing that milling out the manifold to match the circles on the carb might increase flow a little.

I'll searcha and go out for recommendations on how to adjust it. It is now absolutely clean as a whistle inside and out. I even made my own paper gasket because I didn't have access to one today. Thanks Terry for offering your spare.

Pete