Well, the Magnaflow muffler had a core break loose after about 24 hours of normal driving. Fantastic!
I verified that the internals of the muffler had detached from the body and had my classmates saw the muffler off to be mailed off. The base exhaust without a muffler on (distance driven: class to home, home to the muffler shop so about 6 miles total at the most) sounds just like a single-engine propeller plane to me. It's not as loud as most trucks, but it's way too loud. Did not help that the piping was ended under the trunk. I was going to wait on a refund from the seller we bought it from on eBay, but the guy managing the shop was too difficult and we'll be redeeming the warranty through Magnaflow and selling the replacement. Apparently certain models of Magnaflow mufflers are more prone to failure, so I don't feel willing to put the replacement on and risk having it fail as well.
I drove the Imba Impala for the next day until the thermostat bypass upper pipe blew out a 1.5" gash and spewed a lot of coolant about halfway home. Luckily it didn't overheat and I have a replacement L-pipe at the shop I work at ready to be bought at a discounted price.
I bought a Thrush welded muffler (#17659) and had it welded on for $80. Sounds fine to me and weighs considerably less than stock. Sound will come much later. It is also not the same size as stock and louder, but doesn't drone on the highway (75-80 MPH) as the Magnaflow did.
My next projects:
[*]paint exhaust system, excluding tip and header, VHT flameproof red for rust protection and also just because
[*]remove Magnaflow tip because anger
[*]JEGS tip with Thrush logo engraved on it (??? this may be a pricey task)
[*]roof rack caps
[*]cams
My mom walked by and told me I spend too much time on my car, as though maybe I should spend it instead on painting my nails or watching the news 24/7. Given that I'm waiting for Zach to get off of work in the next 30 minutes at my parents' house, I'm not sure what she really expects me to be doing?
"If you don't love me at my diddliest, you don't deserve me at my doodliest." - User ktluvscricket of reddit