Reese Shadowmount hitch & exhaust clearance

Hey all --

WTF, I can't say "y-apostrophe-all"??

I just put a Reese Shadowmount hitch (now discontinued) on my kid's 96 Camaro so he can pull his 14' aluminum boat w/9.9hp outboard. Boat, motor and trailer combined probably weigh under 600 lb.

I got the hitch at the junkyard off a car that had no exhaust, so while the $30 price was right, I didn't know it wouldn't clear the Flowmaster that's on his car. See, the main frame of the hitch goes further to the drivers side than the passenger, because of the way the gas tank is offset. The pipes are evenly spaced under the car. The DS tailpipe hits the hitch hard. If I spaced them out further so the DS cleared the hitch, the PS would probably hit the spare tire well. I'll try it though. If I just moved the DS pipe, they'd be lopsided.

I'm thinking I could notch the DS tailpipe to clear. It's a stock 3.8, so it's got more exhaust flow than it needs. Or I could change to a muffler with the outlets on the same side. Or a single exhaust. Or I could try a different hitch.

Any other experience with this hitch? What exhaust did you use?

thanks!
kevin

rebuilding v6 3rdgen with my kid -- what to mod?

Hey all--

I bought an 85 2.8 Camaro for my stepson. He's 14 now, so we have a couple of years to work on it. I paid $100 for it, and I think that was a fair price for what we got.

Pics here

Anyway, it wil be a daily driver for him, and he'll take defensive driving classes, then use it for HPDE and AX. Maybe OT someday.

The stock 2.8 V6 is STAYING! One day it will be replaced by a 3.4 with some mods, but not until he proves to deserve a car that's not slow as molasses. We do have a 5-sp for it.

I'm not concerned with fitting into an AX class. I'd just like to know what mods I should make to make it a nice car.

We'll be doing a complete mechanical rebuild, so where appropriate I'd like to use aftermarket performance chassis or durability-related parts instead of stock. But we will be on a tight budget.

My ideas include:

4thgen rear with SLP Torsen
4thgen wheels -- cheapest style that clears brakes -- salad shooters?
home-made C5 or LS1 front brakes like I've seen on some other F-car sites
LT1 rear brakes
SFCs, possibly home made
battery in rear
exhaust -- I like the way an Aerochamber sounds on the V6-60 -- we'll see what he likes
Getting shock ideas from JonA and djborden on cc.com.

That's the easy ones. Then there's the things I really don't know enough specifics about F-cars to choose:

What about bushings? Springs? Reinforced or upgraded f/r control arms or PHB?
Cooling? Steering? What else?

thanks!!
kevin