Did you order the wrong part?

 

This happened to me when I was installing manifolds, 200 cell cats, and xpipe and I had a similar gap and was confused. When the headers and xpipe are set in place, the only way to get the 200 cell cats to clear is to push the xpipe or hpipe and muffler towards the rear of the car. The hangers have "slots" that allow them to push forward and backward to give clearance. I had forgotten that I had pushed the mid pipe and muffler back. Also on one side of the midpipe, there is an adapter that rotates 360 to allow for any additional adjustments.

Maybe try that? i have a v8 vantage though. I made an install video of the manifolds and 200 cell cats thats somewhere on here that shows the exact same issue you had.

 

Yes I wrapped the 02 sensors in heat shield tape as the original oem headers had a heat shield that the wires were routed through. The VAP headers did not allow for the oem heat shield to be reinstalled, thus exposing the wire and starter to the heat. Now I wrapped the headers and ceramic coated them to keep the heat down, and just for good measure taped the wires as well. I was able to get route generally in the same path and reused some of the same mounting points, but since they were extensions had to find an alternative way.


Its around the 20 min mark where I tackled the O2 sensors and show the re-routing. Best of luck

 

@V8Vdrew , this is AMAZING! KUDOS to you for tackling you Vantage in this manner. I watched both videos over the weekend! Well done.

I'll be working on the routing this week and hopefully getting the car back together by the weekend if all goes well.
Stay tuned.

Jim

 

Slow progress tonight. I had previously re-installed the subframe, however, one of the steering rack mounting bolts got jammed into a position that required removing the subframe again. That worked out well because I'm also getting the O2 Sensors re-routed to keep them away from the headers and the subframe out of the way helps.





I did replace the ball joints and got the covers replaced on the wiring harness above the headers. (Had to order new ones from Scuderia...they came late last week)
Awaiting some silicone/fiberglass heat wrap for the AC line on the right side of the motor and then we will begin putting this thing back together.
This prjoject has taken way too long! Assuming it gets back together and the software loads/starts/runs without issues, I'll be driving it to Minnesota and back (1,100 mile round trip). I'll tackle the timing cover leak on my return.

Jim

 

Major progress today. Got all of the O2 sensor wires wrapped in heat shield material, routed and tied off. From @V8Vdrew 's video I drilled holes in the heat shield and ran the rearward sensors on top of the heat shield and down through the holes above the Cats.I cut some 1/8" fuel line that I had lying around to make some grommets to protect the wires from rubbing against the sharp aluminum. This worked really well. THANK YOU DREW!
Cats installed with the spacer that I had made. Not sure what happened but I do not have the ability to push the rear of the exhaust forward enough to close the gap so I'm using a spacer between the header and 200 Cell Cats. When I pre-fit without the spacer, the exhaust hangers were stretched about as far forward as they could go. I talked to VAP and they suggested that I get bolts in there and draw everything together, however I'm not sure this was the intent from the factory to have the hangars stretched like this.. Regardless, with the spacer, the exhaust hangers lie as they should.

About the time I finished hanging the exhaust bits, a buddy and his son stopped by to help me install the subframe. This was a minor challenge as we had the same issue as the previous post. That damn steering rack bolt!!!! After 2 tries we got it in place. From there:

Subframe bolts in and torqued.
Stering rack secured
Engine mounts secured
Lower A-Arms re-installed into the subframe
Ball Joints reinstalled

Looking forward to another

 

Very nice progress and glad I was able to offer some help there. Not sure if it's too late, but a few things to consider before everything is bolted back up.

Since you have a spacer between the manifold/headers to cats, I would run two gaskets between them as opposed to one. Can't tell from the picture, but one on either side of the spacer to ensure no exhaust leak. Also, I know people have had issues with the motor mount leaks, I should have just replaced mine with new ones while I had the subframe and manifolds out rather than wait for them to go. Lastly, Im not sure where the starter is located on the DB9, but V8 Vantages are located passenger side right below the headers. Since the original heat shield is no longer there, I wrapped mine but also should have just replaced it with a new one as its impossible to remove the starter while headers are in place.

Cant wait to see this thing finished. Love the color BTW. Most DB9s Ive see are silver so its nice to see a loud color.

 

There are 2 gaskets in there. Definitely don't want an exhaust leak.
Thought about the motor mounts....They appear to be in good shape so I took the chance. Now that I have the subframe back in and considering what a PITA it was, I probably should've replaced them. LOL!!
The starter is in the same location. No need to replace it but I may take a look at wrapping it up.
I'll be working on the car this afternoon. More to come.

PS, I LOVE the yellow as well. Definitely stands out. Being at 6Spd MT and Sport Pak, it's a 1 of 1 car.

Jim

 

Well, the car is 95% back together. I have 1 body bracket that I'm going to have to epoxy back into place. I'll do that tomorrow, otherwise I have 3 wheel liners back in place and 3 wheels on the car with the rears torqued down.
I would've started the car today, however, my office manager is the only one in the company with a PC and I used it to download the ECU and send it off to VAP. She took Friday off and I never got to grab her laptop so I'll do that tomorrow as well. Stay tuned for a first start video. I'm super excited!!!!

 

Well...started it tonight. File is too large to post here so I uploaded it to my Youtube Channel. Here you go:

https://youtube.com/shorts/Z9K5-zZsTTY

Jim

PS....It sounds SICK AF!

 

sounds pretty epic…nice job….thanks for bringing us along…

 

Thank you! It's been a fun project. I'm dying to hear the exhaust under load. Should have it on the road by Wednesday evening. <fingers crossed>

Jim

 

It’s gonna turn some heads…enjoy..

 

Obviously a very well managed and executed project but the requirement for those spacers would have my blood boiling. The supplier has dropped the ball somewhere and I would expect greater precision for that kind of money. Some form of instructions/tip sheet would be appreciated as well. You shouldn't have to stretch your mounting points like that.

 

I did end up talking to the supplier, who insisted that their jig was set up perfectly and should be able to close the gap by stretching the exhaust hangars out as far as needed. The curious comment to me was...."The engine settles forward and the mid portion of the exhaust settles backwards, so when it's off the lift everything will come in alignment." The first part of that doesn't make a bit of sense to me. Regardless, I was able to have an engineer friend create the spacers for me at his cost, so all is good.

I'll have it on the road tomorrow AM, so expect a full shakedown report!

Jim