Has anyone removed the cat from their 1st gen 4 cyl or know of anyone who has? The one on the temporary Convertible sounds like metal ball bearings in a cement mixer when I accelerate. If I punch it out will there be any other problems that I could create. In my state there are no emission tests for cars prior to 1994 so I do not have to worry about smog testing. And this car will probably only be driven no more than 500 miles this season once the good car is back on the road.

The problem child!





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Oops, Forgot to add that this car (the brown Cav convertible) has a 1992 2.2L swapped in!

Well not sure it would hurt it being cutout and gutted and reinstalled.I seriously doubt the back pressure it has would be a engine run problem.Years back I removed mine completely and strght pipe.The only problem I have is nothing.I replaced the cat and it has to be on the car for safety inspections soley for comsmetic reasons as for a A intact exhaust system oem.I say gut it,make sure u cuts are clean for some good band style clamps not the U style they suck.Napa sells the band style that covers it like a pipe and has a spacers with two bolts so it goes around the entire pipe.Go for it.

Thanks Ron, Never considered the band style clamps, those will make it a LOT easier.

John



Vintage picture of wifes car circa 1987........Notice the correct placement of Cavalier emblem that got moved when the car was painted in 1991.




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I had a similiar situation. My heat shield was falling off. I removed it and drove a couple of years, then had a local place make me a 2.5" downpipe back custom piece for $200 that included the muffler. That was the best move ever - the magnaflow muffler sounds sweet!