I have a Silver/Characoal 1981 with custom rims, old hypertech speed chip, a few years ago it was nice, not anymore, new soundsystem, and silver mirrored t-tops.
As you can see its bare and factory pretty much. I'm looking to tweak it up though cause i live out near alot of these little civics and imports that stack on stuff like a lego, and I'm determined not to be outdone.
So my first idea, which is where i want to start since i have to replace it anyways is the exhaust system. Mine is stock exhaust and its getting eaten out or close to it, i found a small 1 inch tear along one of the pipes coming out of the y-pipe to the mufflers.
What I am seeing is not what i want though, I am thinking of a custom exhaust piping, maybe 3 inch pipes with dual catalytic converter. (one of my changes is gonna be the engine so I am thinking ahead) My question is has anybody ever seen something close to this done, I am thinking of replacing the crossmember with a custom one to get the clearance for the pipes and catalytic converters, but I just wanna see what people have seen done to these cars. Also threw out the idea of a dual exhaust without CATs cause of NJ's strict emission laws.
In a nutshell i am thinking of taking out the crossmember and replacing it, so i can get clearance for a dual 3 or 2 1/2 inch exhaust system with dual CATs. Any ideas?

 

IT would really help to know overall what you want to accomplish with the car (what's the plan) and what type of budget you want.

ANythign is possible giving time and money. First thing is to make the car safe, then fast. ASsuming it is already safe, there are many customer exhaust packages out there for Vette's. Check some of the major's like Borla and Flowmaster and others. Some of the major vendors like Mid-America offer aftermarket (off-road and legal) for sharks.

 

Well my overall plan is to change the following....

Exhaust System (true dual-exhaust, no y-pipes, dual CATs)

Hood (saw a hood for an earlier model vette, think it was a 78, had "gill slots")

Rear Lights (thinking bout blackout lights, or hi-luminosity bulbs with the "venitian blind" look on them)

Rear Spoiler (looking at a rear spoiler sold by Mid-America, looks nice)

Tracing Lights along underside of vette

Engine (heard good things bout the ZZ4)

K&N Air Filter (saw a nice one in Mid-America bout a month ago)

New Tires (no leads yet)

New Weatherstriping

New Mufflers (was looking at some dual straight pipe designs from Monza)

New Speedchip (still looking and weighing options)

Might change the tranny but haven't really decided yet, plus still weighing all the options out.

Any ideas would help, no matter the cost, this is a project i expect to finish in maybe three to five years. I'm as old as this vette is, so me and the vette have all the time in the world to finish this project out. If i forgot something, I'll add it in later to the list. Thanx alot for any info you guys have on anything like this being done before or have done yourself. Also i didn't mean to get the idea out there it is gonna be raced, or street raced in anyway. This is purely going to be for looks, around this area alot of guys sup up their cars with all these lego like additions, and I just want to ask the corvette community what they know about this, or is it just purely a import only thing?

 

One other suggestion would be to click on Home Pages above and go through and look at some of the great work and fantastic cars that other members have. Get some ideas from there.

Get a copy of Mid-America's, Zip, Ecklers, and other catalogs and put together a shopping list.

It sounds like you want to not only look good, you want to run good. I would do the safety and handling items first, make it look great second, and beef up performance 3rd. But, you could easily switch the order around depending on whether or not you want to drive the car during this work or not.

 

Hawkfire81,
I have dual pipes, but without cats so I don't know about any crossmember problems you may get (there were no problems at all fitting the dual pipes).
I have got Monza pipes (one inlet pipe branching into 2 outlets & no baffle plates). They look excellent and sound awesome. There is a bit of a drone at very low speed but at cruising speed they sound OK from inside the car. I think they're great :D
Good luck fitting new weatherstrips - some fit exactly the same as the originals & others cause no end of adjustment problems :(
I don't think that you need to bolt lots of bits to it - the '81 looks cool in standard trim. :yesnod:
Is there any significance in the name Hawkfire??
:cheers:
Paul

 

I would think you'd have no problem finding a gas station to pass you through inspection for a few $ in jersey city... I live up in morris county, and my mechanic passed mine (and i don't have cats).

Theres plenty to do with these cars, the question is how much you want to spend.

I plan on Getting a ZZ502, EFI, a 6spd ROD, and 3" sidepipes.... but I have to keep saving $ to make that happen.


[Modified by Bifkin, 11:18 AM 9/26/2001]

 

zz4 or 383 would be my suggestion,,,, and dump the computer carb for either an EFI setup, or non-computer carb.

:crazy:

 

Ya I think that zz4 is the best bet, the mods to put that 383 would be more trouble then I'm willing to deal with right now.
I have never thought bout doing the old fashioned scratch someones back routine, just because I'm scaried poopie bout getting the car impounded somehow. But maybe its the best bet for my wallet.
With the weatherstripping i need it done, I got the most annoying freakin wind sound coming off the driver's side window at high speed, it has the most to do with the stripping not getting the windows exactly cause it has chipped over time and kind of shrunk also in that area. :mad
About bolting on stuff, I like the idea of that rear wing, its very nice and low profile, not gawky. Maybe you guys have seen it, I think its from Greenwood but Mid-America sells it through their catalogue.
Another point is i can't find any of these home pages whenever i click on them at the top, it just takes me somewhere to make my own??? :confused:

 

Hawkfire81:
I changed all my weatherstripping (due to craking/shrinking) & have now got a rushing air noise from the rear of the drivers window (the fixed piece of weatherstrip that is non-adjustable). Had the window & front weatherstrip adjusted so that there were no air/water leaks (& was thinking "hey, whats everybodies problem with these weatherstrips"?). Then I changed the T-top weatherstrip, which then held the window away from the rear seal. If I adjust the top weatherstrip so that the window is against the rear seal, then it leaks at the front or the top!! The whole thing is a frustrating juggling session.
The rear wing you've seen looks pretty :cool: & is about the only thing I've seen that I'd consider bolting to my car.
Are you a HawkFan by any chance?
:cheers:
paul