hi sages- my ongoing restoration of an 80volare wagon has a sl6, 3spd manual and 3.2 rear gear. runs well. the window sticker which i still have states an epa rating of 16mpg which the vehicle actually gets in around town driving. i was kind ofhoping for 20 mpg around town which is what my 77 aspen wagon equipped the same way except for a 4 spd od trans and a two barrel super six got. the 80 has an air pump and two cats. the 77 had one cat and no pump. an earlier discussion i had about this seemed to say deleting the pump and going to a 1 cat system like in the 77 wouldnt accomplish much . the reason i am bringing this up is the current exhaust system on the 80 is pretty well worn and rusted. my thinking is when replacement time comes why not dump the old system with the pump and two cats and install a 77 aspen exhaust. i have heard that the old 80 system has been superceded anyway by a single cat with a nozzle pipe to it from the air pump. any reason why i shouldnt do this? should i expect better mileage. by the way no emissions testing in fla. like in nj. my gut feeling is the epa of16mpg which i am actually getting is the best i will see. looking forward to your kind advice. regards bob f

My 77 Volare was the same 20-22 mpg in town and 28 on the road. I would do the swap to the old system. In fact, I would run 2.25" pipe all the way with a good 18" long muffler.

_________________
Aggressive Ted

http://cid-32f1e50ddb40a03c.photos.live ... %20Swinger


74 Swinger, 9.5 comp 254/.435 lift cam, 904, ram air, electric fans, 2.5" HP2 & FM70 ex, 1920 Holley#56jet, 2.76 8 3/4 Sure-Grip, 26" tires, 25+MPG

I wouldn't even run a converter, just a single 2.5" pipe all the way. Then you could ditch the smog pump. That's just a touch more room under the hood to work on other stuff if that thing isn't there. Smog pump doesn't really rob any power, it's just another obstacle wrenches have to dodge.

My two cents anyway.

_________________
If it was easy, everybody would be doing it.