James,
Firstly, don't worry too much about driving around with a noisy exhaust -
the only thing you'll damage is your eardrums! Be aware, however, that the
cops can pull you over for it if it's very bad, either for a ticking off, or
insist you fix it, or insist you have an MOT test - they may even be able to
fine you, I'm not sure.
It's a pity to pay someone else to do a job this simple, as it is really
money down the drain. You may even find that it is as cheap to buy a set of
wheel ramps and do it yourself as it is to pay someone else, and then you
have the wheel ramps to use again on another job! I'm not a huge fan of
wheel ramps, from the safety point of view, but I can afford to feel this
way as I had a lift I could use at my last job, and since I have moved my
wife has promised me a lift for my birthday when we move into our new
workshop... errr... house!
Unless you want to go loud, and it sounds like you don't, you are probably
best off with the standard-design exhaust system. Last time I looked I
think they were around 70 quid for a complete system (excluding the manifold
itself) in mild steel, but you are much better off spending the extra (I
think they are about 120 quid) on stainless steel, as it will never need
replacing again. Made me laugh when my mate spent 250 quid on a mild steel
system for his Honda CRX a week after I paid less than half that for my S/S
system!! All available at the Usual Suspects - write back if you want a
brief list of UK suppliers.
One tip - there is supposed to be a copper gasket that goes between the
manifold and the down-pipe. These seem to last all of a few months before
they blow, at least on Daffy (it is possible that that is all that is wrong
with your set-up right now). I have found that if you don't put the gasket
in at all, and do the nuts up tight, the joint is adequately sealed, and
there is then no gasket to blow!
And another tip - it is worth making sure all the clamps that are supposed
to be in place are there, as there is not a lot of clearance between the
exhaust and the chassis rails, so it only takes a little movement to get a
horrible clattering noise.
http://www.rimmerbros.co.uk/spitfire/catgifs/12bx.gif shows all the clamps,
although it is not quite as clear as it might be what they attach to on the
car.
Don't know for sure about the effects of changing your exhaust if you have
changed your filters from stock, but if you stick with the standard exhaust
that shouldn't be an issue.
Richard & Daffy
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