Find a decent dealer.
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Hi... do you need to have the Elgrand de-cat or not.. had differing advise from sellers?
- Thread starter marie brock
- Start date
- Messages
- 841
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- Location
- Petersfield, Hampshire
- First Name
- Chris
- Elgrand
- E51
- Region
- South East
I got a vast array of quotes from about 10 different exhaust fabrication companies. Bob got lucky with his one for £1250 all in. The same place quoted me in excess of £2500. I was quoted approx £900 by Man2Automotive in Farnborough. A lot of places won't touch the front cats due to the legal implications, and the fact that it's a bastard of a job.
In the end, my front cats are still in (155k km), Stainless bypass pipes instead of secondary cats and Standard mid box from Adrian at Winchester Car imports finished with a imported back box from Ace imports....cost me £650 all in. Steve at Hampshire Elgrand Workshop was meant to be swapping out my front cats for a de-cored set last week, but I'm in a bit of a financial hole atm)....these things are a money pit.
- Messages
- 2,153
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- 223
- Location
- North Yorkshire
- First Name
- Simon
- Elgrand
- E51
- Region
- Yorkshire
Strikes me most if not all 'reputable/decent' dealers/importers are quite happy to do rear cats only as its obviously the cheap option....but as I think we can all accept its not a 100% guarantee.....so should it really be such a sales plus?
There is nothing wrong with purchasing a bus with all 4 cats intact if the rest of the spec meets your wishes, and the price is correct and you are happy to cost in removing front cats from a garage of your choice.
That was my decision and I recently got front cats decorred by Steve at Tojo (and an excellent job too)
Cost was about £500, and given the bus of my choice was I'd reckon a grand less than others of similar spec (and advertised with rear cars done) I would say it just made sense.
There is nothing wrong with purchasing a bus with all 4 cats intact if the rest of the spec meets your wishes, and the price is correct and you are happy to cost in removing front cats from a garage of your choice.
That was my decision and I recently got front cats decorred by Steve at Tojo (and an excellent job too)
Cost was about £500, and given the bus of my choice was I'd reckon a grand less than others of similar spec (and advertised with rear cars done) I would say it just made sense.
- Messages
- 599
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- 1,888
- Points
- 213
- Location
- Isle Of Wight
- First Name
- Colin
- Elgrand
- E51
- Region
- South East
How would I find a local garage that could undertake such a task…
- Messages
- 2,153
- Reaction score
- 10,241
- Points
- 223
- Location
- North Yorkshire
- First Name
- Simon
- Elgrand
- E51
- Region
- Yorkshire
I guess that's down to personal searching. Steve at Tojo was not that local to me, 160 mile round trip but I a was able to leave it with him for a week while that job and few others were done.
- Messages
- 481
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- 1,043
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- 313
- Location
- Somerset
- First Name
- Andrew
- Elgrand
- Looking to buy
- Region
- South West
If you are lucky and the Elgrand has all four converters intact find a mechanic that’s prepared to remove the fronts and remove the catalyst and replace. It will pass an emissions test with the rears alone as long as there is no other issues with the engine. Give or take £300.
- Messages
- 12,572
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- 37,037
- Points
- 473
- Location
- Normandie
- First Name
- André
- Elgrand
- E51
- Region
- Rest Of World
Or have it converted to LPG and have all cats removed and it'll pass the MOT if presented running on LPG. It'll stink a bit while on petrol though.
- Messages
- 621
- Reaction score
- 1,038
- Points
- 233
- Location
- ventnor. Isle of Wight
- First Name
- allen
- Elgrand
- E51
- Region
- South East
I actually think mine sounds throatier after having the fronts decored, but then I might just be dreaming.....
- Messages
- 621
- Reaction score
- 1,038
- Points
- 233
- Location
- ventnor. Isle of Wight
- First Name
- allen
- Elgrand
- E51
- Region
- South East
mine dosn't stink at all...
- Messages
- 621
- Reaction score
- 1,038
- Points
- 233
- Location
- ventnor. Isle of Wight
- First Name
- allen
- Elgrand
- E51
- Region
- South East
front cat removal is around £300-350 dependant on who does it.
- Messages
- 621
- Reaction score
- 1,038
- Points
- 233
- Location
- ventnor. Isle of Wight
- First Name
- allen
- Elgrand
- E51
- Region
- South East
I had to go to Steve at Hampshire Elgrands to do mine, don't think anyone on the island would do it Colin.
- Messages
- 12,572
- Reaction score
- 37,037
- Points
- 473
- Location
- Normandie
- First Name
- André
- Elgrand
- E51
- Region
- Rest Of World
I wonder if the people travelling behind you would agree.
- Messages
- 621
- Reaction score
- 1,038
- Points
- 233
- Location
- ventnor. Isle of Wight
- First Name
- allen
- Elgrand
- E51
- Region
- South East
why would it stink when on petrol then ? anyway the only time it's on petrol is on warm up.
- Messages
- 12,572
- Reaction score
- 37,037
- Points
- 473
- Location
- Normandie
- First Name
- André
- Elgrand
- E51
- Region
- Rest Of World
It's got no cats so you have raw exhaust fumes. If you've been behind a vintage car or boy racer who's decatted his Nova then you know the smell.
- Messages
- 2,153
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- 10,241
- Points
- 223
- Location
- North Yorkshire
- First Name
- Simon
- Elgrand
- E51
- Region
- Yorkshire
A bit like that 1960s 1970s classic car smell when following them. I love that smell
- Messages
- 4,808
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- 13,501
- Points
- 373
- Location
- Mid Yorkshire
- First Name
- Simon
- Elgrand
- E51
- Region
- Yorkshire
I think the smell from a lot of classic car exhausts is more due to them burning oil and running rich than from the lack of cats.
If I were following an Elgrand (that didn't burn oil) running on petrol I don't think I could tell if it had cats fitted or not from the smell of the exhaust. I think back to driving in the early 90's when most cars on the road were built in the 80's and didn't have cats, I don't think the exhaust fumes smelled much different to today's exhaust fumes except for the odd car that burned oil (burned oil smell) or was running too rich (petrol smell).
Some Elgrands have cats decored after suffering cat failure. If someone were to smell the exhaust before the cat failure when working cats were still fitted and smell the exhaust again after the cat problem and cat decore, if the smell were much worse after the cat decore it could be because the cat failure caused the engine to burn a bit more oil rather than the cat decore making the difference?
If the petrol is high in sulphur content the cat will help reduce the hydrogen sulphide rotten egg smell by helping to turn it into odourless sulphur dioxide... But modern petrol contains less sulphur than petrol in the 80s and 90s and running too rich with cats fitted is more likely to give the rotten eggs smell than running too rich without cats.
Lpg wins on emissions because it contains much less sulphur and other contaminants than the lowest sulphur purest petrol or diesel and because there is a higher ratio of hydrogen versus carbon in the hydrocrabon make-up... Burn hydrogen and you get water, burn carbon and you get CO2, burn sulphur and you'll get some sulphur compounds out of the exhaust.
If I were following an Elgrand (that didn't burn oil) running on petrol I don't think I could tell if it had cats fitted or not from the smell of the exhaust. I think back to driving in the early 90's when most cars on the road were built in the 80's and didn't have cats, I don't think the exhaust fumes smelled much different to today's exhaust fumes except for the odd car that burned oil (burned oil smell) or was running too rich (petrol smell).
Some Elgrands have cats decored after suffering cat failure. If someone were to smell the exhaust before the cat failure when working cats were still fitted and smell the exhaust again after the cat problem and cat decore, if the smell were much worse after the cat decore it could be because the cat failure caused the engine to burn a bit more oil rather than the cat decore making the difference?
If the petrol is high in sulphur content the cat will help reduce the hydrogen sulphide rotten egg smell by helping to turn it into odourless sulphur dioxide... But modern petrol contains less sulphur than petrol in the 80s and 90s and running too rich with cats fitted is more likely to give the rotten eggs smell than running too rich without cats.
Lpg wins on emissions because it contains much less sulphur and other contaminants than the lowest sulphur purest petrol or diesel and because there is a higher ratio of hydrogen versus carbon in the hydrocrabon make-up... Burn hydrogen and you get water, burn carbon and you get CO2, burn sulphur and you'll get some sulphur compounds out of the exhaust.
- Messages
- 4,808
- Reaction score
- 13,501
- Points
- 373
- Location
- Mid Yorkshire
- First Name
- Simon
- Elgrand
- E51
- Region
- Yorkshire
I still remember walking to primary school around the age of 6, a kid I went to school with only lived just around the corner but had his mum drop him off at school in their mk3 Cortina, on cold mornings she'd still got it on high choke when parked outside school with the engine running... I liked the smell and enjoyed walking past it lol.
- Messages
- 960
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- 4,125
- Points
- 303
- Location
- Tyne&Wear
- First Name
- Ray
- Elgrand
- E51
- Region
- North East
Remember my uncle carrying chocolate in the glove box of his old *Wolseley 5/55 , & would taste of engine oil...
*(the one where the radiator badge would light up)...
*(the one where the radiator badge would light up)...
- Messages
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- 373
- Location
- Surrey
- First Name
- John
- Elgrand
- E51
- Region
- London
That takes me back. I had a Wolesley 15/50 back in the early 80s bought for £50 at auction. Great car...auto gearbox, big luxurious leather seats, real walnut dash...and as you say the wonderful light up badge.Remember my uncle carrying chocolate in the glove box of his old *Wolseley 5/55 , & would taste of engine oil...
*(the one where the radiator badge would light up)...
One of the few cars I've had which I can still remember the number plate for - CTA 611C.
Had a few years of luxurious motoring out of it until it went to the great scrapyard in the sky.