1989 Grand Marquis

[89GrandMarquis]

Finally took the time to take some pics . . . .

[Grand Marquis GT]

[zwack88]

Holy shitthat looks good. Very nice. I forgot you were from nebraska, I am in kearney.

[89GrandMarquis]

I'm in Falls City, Nebraska. About 20 miles from Missouri, and 10 from Kansas. There's another guy up in Omaha or Council Bluffs, too.

[RoyLPita]

Where did you get the muffler delete pipes and clamps?

[89GrandMarquis]

Where did you get the muffler delete pipes and clamps?

I went to the local parts store and measured a muffler for length and for offset. Then I took the measurements to the local exhaust guy and he bent me up a set. I know I'll take some heat from some about my no-muffler opinion, but hey, it works for me. I don't claim it works for everybody. I've got a large video, full throttle for about a mile, that will have audio, too. The wind noise is louder than the exhaust. Anyway, the only downside to no muffs is that there is one speed, about 60 or so, that is noticeably louder. At all other engine speeds, it is pretty quiet (for me). I've driven by many-a-cop, and they've never given me a second look.

Now - as a qualifier - I still have stock cats. If I replaced the cats with an off road H-pipe, or something else, I'd have to get muffs.

I put the pipes in mainly for one reason - $$$. I got the muffler replacements for about $30, certainly less than one quality muffler. I thought, what the heck, I'll try it for $30. I liked the sound, so I kept them. I see no reason to spend the money on muffs when this works great, and will never wear out.

Ok, the clamps: they are "truck style" clamps, and I bought them at my local parts store. They were about $8 each, and I like them a lot. They seal pretty well, and the pipes have never slipped. I bought the clamps as part of my no-muffler experiment, which became permanent. I figure that if I went to muffs, I could re-use the clamps. Long term, though, I would like to weld the system up - but I have to buy a welder first, so it may not happen for some time.

To help you out, I just went to Jegs, and here is a part number: 555-30730.

[Mr. Land Yacht]

WOW!
That is awesome!
I'm so jealous!
if it had window tints, it would killer!

[89GrandMarquis]

How about a little video?

http://www.supermotors.net/vehicles/...media/412830_1

Sorry for the jumpy camera - its hard to film and drive at the same time, especially at speed.

[Paul_]

Nice, another two-tone coach roof Grand Marquis!

BTW, your car is a California-equipped car.

[boXman]

I think that's chrome instead of tutone, Paul.

Nice car!

[Southern_Pride]

That thing looks good. And way different from my 89.

[89GrandMarquis]

I think that's chrome instead of tutone, Paul.

Nice, another two-tone coach roof Grand Marquis!

BTW, your car is a California-equipped car.

Yes it is chrome, not paint.

BTW - what makes my car a California-equipped car? I don't think you are correct, but maybe you can teach me a thing or two. The CARFAX history had no California in it.

[Paul_]

According to the owners manual for the '88 I have now, California-equipped cars had a Check Engine Light rather than a Check Oil light. That's what I was referring to. Your car has the Check Engine light.

[RoyLPita]

Have you gained or lost horse power? I thought that an engine needed some exhaust back pressure.

BTW, my vic also has the brougham roof.

[89GrandMarquis]

Have you gained or lost horse power? I thought that an engine needed some exhaust back pressure.

I've gained horsepower. From my perspective, backpressure is one of the topics often talked about, but seldom understood. Here's a link:
http://www.veryuseful.com/mustang/te...Scavenging.pdf

Read the article. I know that there is a LOT out there about backpressure, so I'm not trying to start a war on this topic. My experience is that I lost nothing and gained some. I would also expect the same response if I gutted my cats, or installed an H-pipe. This article made sense to me. Open headers, you loose torque. Add a length of pipe, you get it back. Backpressure is bad. It seems that just a length of pipe is what helps, not the backpressrue.

If you read the entire article, you will note that in some, very limited applications, backpressure can help the torque/HP at a narrow range of RPM, but will hurt at the higher RPMs.

It is also noteworthy to mention that pretty much all muffler makers design their products to dampen noise with as little backpressure as they can (within the design limits of dampening noise). I've never seen a muffler maker make the claim that "we've kept the minimum backpressure high for your engine".