Capri - Extractors & Exhaust System

This all started at the recent All Ford Day. Another club member was looking over the engine bay of my green 1600 Deluxe & remarked that it would go a lot better with a set of extractors. I agreed & said I had considered fitting them but couldn't find any at the right price. He just happened to have a very new set of Hurricane extractors that had been hanging in his garage for some time & wanted to sell them. After a very reasonable agreed price, I collected them. They were in as new condition, even with the Hurricane sticker still on them. After having them for some weeks, I decided it was time to fit them. But before that, I wanted to spray them silver to match the other engine parts. I finally decided on HDT Flame Proof, flat silver paint. I gave them a good cleaning, a light sanding & then cleaned them several times with grease & wax remover. Then after 3 or 4 coats, they looked really good. Here are some before & after photos.



I also knew that if I fitted the extractors, I would need to renew most of the exhaust system as the rear resonator was rusted through & the muffler had a small hole. Apart from replacing a small section of pipe near the manifold flange, I have not replaced any of the exhaust system since getting the car in 2008. So the plan was to remove the exhaust manifold & system myself, take the old sections to a muffler shop to have a replacement system made & then to refit it all myself.
The manifold & front section all came off very easily. However to remove the muffler & the rear section was a little more difficult. After finally getting the four rubber rings off, I still could not manoeuvre the rear resonator over the back axle to remove the system. After a lot of huffing & puffing, the metal bladed saw came out & I cut the resonator off. Then it all came away with ease. The photos show how rusty the back section was.


The next job was to find an exhaust shop that would make up the new sections for me. After phoning several, the story was the same. They claim the only way to do it properly is to fit the new system on the car, so as all the lengths & clearances can be exact. I eventually changed my original plan to fit it all myself & resigned myself to the fact that if I wanted to get this done, I would have to put the manifold & exhaust pipe back on the car so as I could drive it to a garage to get it done. I also had to purchase a new exhaust extractor gasket (Part No: JA503 - ProTroque or Permaseal).
After several calls, I settled on Grant's Exhaust Shop at Woolloongabba as the guys (Peter & Bill) were quite helpful & actually knew all about Capris as they do a bit of work on classic cars.
Bill has been fitting exhausts for 36 years so he knew what he was talking about. We settled on a new 1&3/4 inch system, one muffler with a sporty but not too loud note. I was happy with the final result. The car is not too noisy with a slight burble, no vibrations or noises & goes well. Also the big pipes in the engine bay look a bit meaner. Here ends my extractor/exhaust story!