Exhaust manifolds

[mack]

I've just become the lucky owner of an '89 registered Griff 500,ex-factory development car,which is crying out to be legally de-catted!!I've been told that it's probably better for gas flow,to replace the original manifolds/Y piece and keep the original exhaust.I've seen Peninsula's manifolds-which looked good value for the money-and wondered if anyone has had experience of these,or can suggest any alternative ones
Cheers

[mack]

No it doesn't look like the Speed 6,although,it does have the same wheels as the '97 show car on page 7 of steve's book.Basically,my car was registered in march'89 and was one of the 3 cars used for the '90 motor show(anyone got any pics?)Since then,the factory has kept the car for developing modifications to the production Griffs and Chimaeras.During 2000,it was uprated to the latest specs and had a new engine,T5 box,BTR diff,brakes,suspension,wiring loom,alarm,radio,
complete interior retrim,etc.The car was also used for developing the spec for the last 100 Griffs and, consequently,has all of the latest goodies-bigger front lights,revised rear lights,clear indicators, Tuscan mirrors,Cerbera seats,16" front wheels,ali dash and switchgear,round vents,pas and aircon.It now looks like one of the last 100 Griffs-though not quite as new!!The other bonus is that the car is the same colour as my last Griff,formula red,although I don't think any colour would have put me off the car!(it's a lot of car for the money)I'll try and post some pics when I get to grips with the technology

[mack]

Thanks for the replies,guys.I asked the factory how they used to convert the cars for the channel islands-apparently they used exactly the same manifolds/Y piece
(obviously without the cats)with an ECU chip,new tune resistor and fuel filler neck.Presumably,this setup worked well and the total cost of parts is only £73(if you modify your own manifolds)The only thing is, I seem to remember someone mentioning on here that it wouldn't sound right-has anyone done anything similar?
Obviously,I don't want to fork out for new manifolds if it doesn't need it-especially seeing that I've just treated her to a new hood-but I want to make sure that the car will run and sound ok.As the factory/dealers/
exhaust manufacturers all seem to offer conflicting info-would I be right in assuming that the factory know their stuff?

[mack]

Initial response from my existing insurance company(Mannings) wasn't very helpful-'you can't insure Griffs for an agreed value,only the purchase price' (unfortunately,I'd already mentioned that to him,doh!)Spoke to the MD and she was more than helpful in arranging an unrestricted agreed valuation policy for me.I had to fax 13 pages of history,estimates,
parts lists and letters from the factory though. Still,if the unthinkable happens,I should be able to buy a decent Griff and stick the goodies back on.Just goes to show that things can be done,even if there isn't a box for the monkey to tick on the computer!