muffler shop in so cal

[silvercruiser]

Fellow 80'ers
I'm in need of new cats and don't feel like spending a lot of $. Anyone have any recommendations? I'm even considering Midas.
Thanks in advance,
David...

 

[Slomo]

I could be wrong but I think you can legally switch to one cat as long as it is CARB compliant and still run the dual O2 sensors without upsetting the computer. I know Magnaflow makes a good one but the CARB one is twice as much as the 49 state one at $200 but if you can get by with one that's not too bad. I know there is a big discussion on this as I read it but forgot who's post it was.

The only muffler shop I would personally use is Stanley's Custom Exhaust in San Clemente. That is a bit far for you, bout 1.5 hrs or so no traffic? They do very good work though. Don't shy away from getting it over the frame if neccessary. Good luck.

 

[LandCrusher'70]

Having one cat would be awesome. I NEED to go over the frame!!!



As long as it's emission compliant . . .

 

[Slomo]

Having one cat would be awesome. I NEED to go over the frame!!!



As long as it's emission compliant . . .

ROTFLMAO! Where in the hell did you find that smiley Reid? That is too funny.




Oh, almost forgot. I talked to the guys at Stanleys and they were willing to work it over the frame with 2 1/2" tubing on both the side rail and the crossmember over the rear axle. I don't think they have done the frame rail before though so they might be in for a surprise. If I were in your shoes David I would definitely go single cat and over the rail. Just haven't gotten the cash to do it on mine yet.

 

[LandCrusher'70]

ROTFLMAO! Where in the hell did you find that smiley Reid? That is too funny.

You know, I'm not sure. I've had it for a while. It's in my Photobucket "dump".

Oh, almost forgot. I talked to the guys at Stanleys and they were willing to work it over the frame with 2 1/2" tubing on both the side rail and the crossmember over the rear axle. I don't think they have done the frame rail before though so they might be in for a surprise. If I were in your shoes David I would definitely go single cat and over the rail. Just haven't gotten the cash to do it on mine yet.

I've also been seriously considering a 1" body lift to aid the frame over routing.

 

[Ian Rogers]

there is this place that i go to in Pico, they are super cheep and do good work. I will get there number for you in the morning. They did the whole exhaust on my 40 with muffler for 150.

 

[DirtyRice Joe]

I was very pleased with Awesome Performance in Rancho Santa Margarita, 949-858-9898. Two years ago they did a complete custom job on my 62 - re-routed so both pipes and cats were inside the framerails. It's much cleaner than the original design. The total cost with 2 new cats, 1 muffler (Magnaflow, IIRC) , exhaust and tail pipes was $650. I shopped the job around and their price was best by far. They've also done work on my carpool buddy's 40's, and he's been pleased with both the prices and the workmanship.

It's a hike from the South Bay, but they do Saturday by appointment only. Many years ago there was great muffler shop in Inglewood, at the corner of Market & La Brea. I don't know if they're still in business, same owner, or anything else, but if you're in that area you might swing by and check it out.

Good luck,
JR

 

[SOCALFJ]

The Muffler Man does bitchen work for tons of race teams and hotrods and hes very reasonable. Ive been going to him for years.

OC MufflerMan - Home / Contact Us

 

[CSA]

Mesa Muffler in Costa Mesa. They do lots of custom work and have the cleanest shop I have ever seen.

Walker | Dynomax | Flowmaster | Exhaust at Mesa Muffler Service - Costa Mesa, CA

 

[KightOwl]

I had a custom exhaust done by Ed Hanson in La Mesa. I'm Very pleased with his work. He has state of the art tooling and is professional. No way would I take any of my vehicles to midus.
Ed Hanson's Muffler Service in San Diego, can help you get better gas mileage with a quality, energy efficient exhaust system for your car, truck, motorhome, vintage and classic automobiles.

[SIZE=+1]Ed Hanson's Muffler Service
[/SIZE]3916 North Barcelona St.
Spring Valley, CA 91977

(619) 698-7030

PS. The image didn't turn out well.

 

[fj80toyman]

Sweney's Muffler shop off the NorthEast corner of Sepulveda and Western. It's a little one-bay shop behind the front buildings. I've been in there to talk to him about doing mine, but then I ran into more trouble (cracked y-pipe) so I have to go a little deeper to figure it all out.

His work looks very good although I don't have any references, but he was working on somebody's 60-ish resto-rod and the exhaust looked very good. He builds and races outlaws, so he's an enthusiast of some sort.

However, as far as I've been able to find out, it's very risky going to one cat from two in Ca. I'm pretty sure any legitimate SMOG check will turn that up. Sweney's told me that he's heard that most shops check the number of cats a vehicle is supposed to have, so I decided I'd better stick with two in-line OBDII compliant (ka-ching$$$).

Wherever you go, post up and let us know your result - I'm especially interested. Pics would be good, too. Do you have rock sliders?

Dan.

 

[Slomo]

Sweney's Muffler shop off the NorthEast corner of Sepulveda and Western.

OMG! I forgot about Sweeney's. Is Vern still there doing his thing? I grew up in Torrance for my first 20 years and used to go there all the time, first with VWs and then with my 4Runner. Too funny, thanks for the flashback.

I can vouge, he does excellent work. He routed my runners exhaust out the rear quarter panel for clearance and even custom made an exhaust that exited in front of the rear tire on a rear engine Squarback! Consider that one.

 

[fj80toyman]

Yeah, I've been in there a couple of times to check different things, he probably thinks I'm just shopping around for prices or something. I really do intend to go there when I get things squared away with my cracked y-pipe. I haven't talked to him about options for that yet, but I will. New ones are serious ca$h.

I also need new (2) cats, and he actually sounded interested to do it, along with a muffler. Another question I had was which muffler would give me good flow without too much noise at hiway speed (?). He seemed to know which one would be good, but I've forgotten which one he suggested just now. It'll all come together sooner or later.

...hmmm, running exhaust forward on Vdub? I'll have to hear about that one someday.

Dan.

 

[boydmick]

Just info FWIW:

The emissions sticker under my hood is coded for the techs who run the smog checks. It specifically lists 2 cats as being required. I don't know how closely they check this, but it is "officially" listed.

Technically speaking for CARB approval on the FZJ the only cats acceptable are the factory duals. Aftermarket is not allowed.

 

[Slomo]

I also need new (2) cats, and he actually sounded interested to do it, along with a muffler. Another question I had was which muffler would give me good flow without too much noise at hiway speed (?). He seemed to know which one would be good, but I've forgotten which one he suggested just now. It'll all come together sooner or later.

If you happen to remember or go in again to get the scoop I would be very interested in his opinion on the muffler. I want my muffler to meet the same criteria. My Magnaflow currently is great but it sticks down so low I drag it on the rocks all the time. I need to find a smaller package that still muffles reasonable.

...hmmm, running exhaust forward on Vdub? I'll have to hear about that one someday.

Dan.

I will tell you all about it over a sometime. My Pop still lives in Torrance very close to the courthouse so I am up there fairly frequently.

Just info FWIW:

The emissions sticker under my hood is coded for the techs who run the smog checks. It specifically lists 2 cats as being required. I don't know how closely they check this, but it is "officially" listed.

Technically speaking for CARB approval on the FZJ the only cats acceptable are the factory duals. Aftermarket is not allowed.

Good point Boyd. I forgot the Nazi factor of CARB but I believe they allow after market cats as long as they are CARB certified and compliant but you are correct that the vehicle must be equipped with the same or more current emmissions equipment than the factory supplied. 49 state might be another matter.

 

[boydmick]

Good point Boyd. I forgot the Nazi factor of CARB but I believe they allow after market cats as long as they are CARB certified and compliant but you are correct that the vehicle must be equipped with the same or more current emmissions equipment than the factory supplied. 49 state might be another matter.

Since the #1 cat is integrated into the downpipe CARB says the replacement must be the same. There are currently no aftermarket downpipe/cat combos available that have gone throught the process to become CARB compliant.

With that said, most of the smog shops I have encountered see so few 80's they wouldn't know the difference on the downpipe - but they can still count to two

Mount up two new cats, go drive through some mud and dirt so the don't stand out as "just replaced" and give it a go!

 

[Slomo]

Since the #1 cat is integrated into the downpipe CARB says the replacement must be the same.

I didn't realize they had it classified that way, I thought it was just the number of cats. Good to know.

I know with the mileage over 50k you can legally replace the cats so that wouldn't be a problem. I think with the test only centers being more by the book I wouldn't chance it with one cat but with two and one not in the downpipe you would probably be fine. Easy to reccomend, harder to part with the cash on chance.

 

[silvercruiser]

Guys...sorry for the late reply I've been traveling a ton. I'm going to check out Sweeneys next week. Ian were you able to remember the shop you were talking about?
thanks again for all the tips,
David...

 

[silvercruiser]

Dan,
I do have rocksliders....Metal Tech. I'll find out what will fit there soon.

 

[e9999]

yup, the cats check issue is a problem potentially...

then again, I don't recall ever seeing the tech looking under there. Plus if you have Ken's sliders, you can tell the tech he's welcome to take it all off to check under there if he wishes...