saruken
saruken Reader
11/16/20 9:41 a.m.

Like the title says, the previous owner of my '83 Civic hatch cut off the exhaust at the manifold:

It's all one piece up to the header, and the pipe has some complicated bends to it.

I want to do all the work on this car myself, but I don't have a welder. Is this when I need to buy one? Should I try to track down new parts? Is there some kind of magic clamp/joint I could use here?

Thanks all. I've never tried to do any exhaust work myself before.

84FSP
84FSP UltraDork
11/16/20 10:24 a.m.

You might get away with a vband slip joint and extra pipe length to an aftermarket exhaust setup.  They work really well and are cheap if you hunt them on amazon etc.

Streetwiseguy
Streetwiseguy MegaDork
11/16/20 11:34 a.m.

You need to connect to the inside pipe.  The outer is just a heat shield.  You need to add a flex joint of some sort somewhere, solid pipe will break pretty quickly.  

You need a welder.

Dusterbd13-michael (Forum Supporter)
Dusterbd13-michael (Forum Supporter) MegaDork
11/16/20 11:48 a.m.

This is the time for a cheap ebay header and exhaust. Easy button. 

Stefan (Forum Supporter)
Stefan (Forum Supporter) GRM+ Memberand MegaDork
11/16/20 12:01 p.m.

Grab another exhaust manifold and downpipe off car-part.com or eBay.com.

Otherwise, you'll need to cut back that heatshield to get to the inner pipe, then cover it with a new heatshield to avoid heating the oil up too much.

84FSP
84FSP UltraDork
11/16/20 12:49 p.m.

Probably easier to just grab a used / new header and downpipe if you can find one.  

captdownshift (Forum Supporter)
captdownshift (Forum Supporter) GRM+ Memberand UltimaDork
11/16/20 12:50 p.m.

Ebay turbo manifold, turbo, injectors, downpipe, raising rate fuel pressure regulator, fuel pump. 

saruken
saruken Reader
11/16/20 1:20 p.m.

Thanks everyone for the replies. I'm only seeing 1 header on eBay for my actual engine (1.5L EM-1), but no downpipes. Almost everything is for D Series engines, but mine is a 2nd gen ('80 - '83) Civic.

Car-part.com does list 1 header in my area, but the yard's website is down. I haven't used car-part.com before – Are their recyclers generally willing to ship?

jfryjfry (Forum Supporter)
jfryjfry (Forum Supporter) Dork
11/16/20 4:32 p.m.

Sounds like you're doing the right thing.  But keep in mind:

Buying a welder might make you a welder but doesn't mean you can weld.  

Keith Tanner
Keith Tanner GRM+ Memberand MegaDork
11/16/20 5:11 p.m.

Band clamp. Easy.

Or swing by your local exhaust shop. They can build you something.

Curtis73 (Forum Supporter)
Curtis73 (Forum Supporter) GRM+ Memberand MegaDork
11/16/20 6:05 p.m.

New manifold, new header, or simply stop by a muffler shop and have them weld a flange on your existing pipe.

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