2 Exhaust Questions - SF Peninsula/South Bay

[climbingmadman2000]

Hiya,

2 exhaust questions for you re my 73:

1. Anyone know a good exhaust/muffler shop on the Peninsula? I'm in the Menlo Park/Mountain View area and need some exhaust work done.

2. Speaking of exhaust work, here's the deal: My 73 has headers on it, and they leak. The headers have air injection rails on them. Specifically, the driver's side header leaks, mostly because the air injection rail has holes in it. I think it's also leaking around one of the exhaust ports.

What I want to know is this: How hard is it to get those rails off and plug the holes? And, how hard is it to get the headers off, replace the gasket, and reattach?

If it comes down to it, can I replace the headers and bolt them to the existing exhaust system myself? Or should I have a shop do this?

Thanks guys - appreciate any help.

Eric

 

[RustyMule]

1. I used to work right off of Castro & Evelyn. We used Michaels mufflers in Sunnyvale and had a lot of quality work come from there. I recommend it if it's not too far for you.
2. If the headers are from Cali, I wouldn't worry about rust too much. If they do give you trouble, spray em down with wd40 and work the fitting back and forth. The key to most everything in life is to add more lube!!! If your not gonna keep the air rails, just cut it and use a deep socket. I think you can find the plugs at Home Depot or similar.

It's not too hard to take off headers, but I can say that because I've taken mine off countless times. Take the spark plugs out first! You will most likely break one if the header drops on it. Use a good (and I mean GOOD) quality gasket. If you use a cheap set, you will have lots of practice replacing them.
And if you replace them, you have to use the same brand header you already have. There's no guarantee that they will be exactly the same, but they might be close enough to work

Hope this helps, good luck.

 

[chev4life]

I second the Micheals muffler thing, I had my blazer done twice there...once when I got it and once when I put my headers on. I recommend them to everyone. I use the one down in San Jose off of San Carlos.
Have fun with headers, I am still trying to stop the leaks on mine, going to try the super duper thick crush graphite ones, they seem pretty sweet on my collectors.

 

[climbingmadman2000]

Thanks

Thank you, Gents...