Black 96 rebuild, showing differences to the 97 & 99

[jstx]

As a new Cerbera owner in Texas, I'm loving these detailed pics. Thank you

[camel_landy]

jstx said:

As a new Cerbera owner in Texas, I'm loving these detailed pics. Thank you

Keep watching and reading as this corner of Pistonheads is probably where you'll find the most detailed information regarding the Cerbera, anywhere on the Interweb...

...though Al Mellings posts on the Facebook page are worth a read.

M

[Byker28i]

jstx said:

As a new Cerbera owner in Texas, I'm loving these detailed pics. Thank you

Well that's worth a thread on it's own. Welcome.
Start a new post please, tell us the story, what you have, where you got it, thoughts of it in the US and of course Pics

[Luckyone]

I'm glad people like the pictures, from near & far!

ukkid35 said:

Strange, I have an SP back box (according to Joolz), and no drone either with Cats or with the H link

It's quite easy to tell if you have a SP (Silverstone Performance) back box at least:


The red Cerb I recently picked up has one (& centre pipes), the same back box as the one I put on the yellow Cerb years ago. The tail pipes line up perfectly on that though.

Byker28i said:

Obviously we have different experiences of SP rear exhausts, which is why I replaced it with an ACT system 16 years ago that I still have. Untruthful claims about noise, poor road clearance, poor manufacture as one tailpipe was twisted and offset by 10mm so hit the bodywork and damaged it, poor welding etc.




Probably better now they are made by others.

I remember you being unhappy with the SP when you got it, I had the same issue with fitment so used a scissor jack to fix it:


That dubious mod worked at treat & SP them selves approved (obviously not contesting there was an issue there). As I say the tails line up perfectly with the SP I just got with the red Cerb. The welding is beautiful on both though, the whole thing still looks lovely many years later on the yellow one. I spend a while getting fitment correct. It sits a lot lower on the red Cerb & the under side has taken a good few more knocks than the yellow one by now. Both are still holding up fine though.

FarmyardPants said:

I have the SP exhaust and H link, there is a resonance at 2100rpm (to be specific ) but it is only apparent if you happen to be cruising at that for a while. Also I think it has quietened down over the years to the point of being scarcely noticeable. No way would I go back to wonky sports tails, they are a PITA

I'm sure that's the RPM I have it too, it would have been nice to see if the red one has too but the engine can't hold coolant, so I need to pull it out to take the heads off before I can find out!

I welded braces top & bottom between the sports pipes where they mount on the black Cerb:


They came off the green Cerb & yes they were stupidly wonky on that! So the tail pipes are now fixed together as if it had a normal back box. The problem with sports tails is that they put a huge torsional strain on the centre pipes, those original centre pipes next to it had already been repaired a couple of times.



Finishing off with some differences again, this time door solenoids, these pictures were on FB but they get lost on there & it's nicer to see them together:

The totally different mounting position & solenoid on both the red Feb 96 & black Aug 96 build Cerbs:


Pics above & below taken from rear footwell with trim panel pulled aside.

July 97 & March 99 have this:


This is the whole thing from the later cars when removed (Pic nicked from APM Andy):


Note very different looking solenoid.

[jstx]

Byker28i said:

Well that's worth a thread on it's own. Welcome.
Start a new post please, tell us the story, what you have, where you got it, thoughts of it in the US and of course Pics

Thank you. As soon as I get it up on my lift I'll take some pics and start one. For now it's tucked up with it's friends.

[Champagne-Charlie]

Wow your very detailed write up and pictures are amazing... What a journey you've had. I'll definately be learning alot from what youve posted, thanks a million... Now I just need to decide if my balls are big enough to buy a Cerbera and do the work.

[Byker28i]

Luckyone said:

I remember you being unhappy with the SP when you got it, I had the same issue with fitment so used a scissor jack to fix it:

It was much more than that, unhappy is an understatement.

Mine was an early one, didn't have the logo, most noticeably it didn't meet the sound reduction it was claiming so the very expensive exhaust couldn't be used on track days as they claimed it could. SP blamed my car, had it for a week, lifted the cam covers for some reason and didn't seal them properly , then ran it as personal transport for a week because "it needed to bed in". Gave me it back with almost no fuel in, a puddle of oil in the V that had sprayed the whole engine thanks to the alternator belt and as I discovered later, the fitment had damaged the rear valance, which needed repair and repaint

The exhaust was returned for a refund as promised, but I never got it, in fact my exhaust was sold cheaply to someone else and the money pocketed. I sued for my money back, the damage to the car, won and the company shut down and phoenixed down the road...

Luckyone said:

I welded braces top & bottom between the sports pipes where they mount on the black Cerb:

Ar these needed? I know some have put a link between the two tailpipe hangers, but I've found provided you have the two mounts on the centerpipes fitted with good rubbers it works OK. You do need to adjust the tailpipes fit so there's no stress on the hanger rubbers, otherwise they split easily.