How much for this welding job?
 

I'm weighing my options on what to do with my exhaust. My current plan is to buy a downpipe from one of those cheapo ebay sellers. The quality is actually quite good, from what people who've bought them have said.
http://bmw325racing.50megs.com/IMG_0373.jpg

The only problem is that I need a Y for an electric cutout right before the end of that pipe. I have access to a flux welder, but you can't do stainless with flux core and my skills are poor at best anyway.

How much do you think it would cost to have a Y with a cutout flange welded on near the end of that pipe? 50 bucks? I tried calling some shops for quotes but they were all closed. The downpipe is 120 shipped, could I get a custom downpipe with a Y made up for less at a place like coastal or race related? I'd really like to keep it under 200 bucks total.

Forgive me if I am reading you wrong,but if you had the pipe in the pic,I could supply and weld a y at the end for around $75.00,I could not supply and build the pipe shown for under $200.00 though.Hope that helps,PM or call for more details.

I understand, a full custom downpipe for 200 bucks would be really cheap. This ebay downpipe was made in bulk at one point and they're selling them off for nothing, but they've been on the market over a year and people say that the materials and welding are of high quality and have held up very well. The only downside to it is it's only 2.5 inches to the flex, but I can deal with 8 inches of 2.5 piping. Some folks even claim this helps flow.

I just ran it by the folks and I'll be giving you a call Monday to confirm. They set a 200 dollar budget for me to quiet down my car and stop annoying the neighbors, and I think this will do nicely. :)

you can do flux welds on any steels...ive done strong/penetrating welds on iron manifolds, stainless steel steel catback modifications, and mild steel welding.

If you can get a Y pipe i bet i can weld it for u for a little bit of cash...ive got a gas mig welder :naughty:

a custom job like that would be alot of materials. you have the flex section, bend and flanges + hardware/gaskets. It would cost more to reproduce that peice then to modify it.

Hmm. I have a Y pipe that came with my electric cutout, it's mild, though. I've already gotten my parents to agree to that price... I'll think about it. The main downside I can see to doing it myself is that I may save 75 bucks, but even if I get it to hold together with the mild steel Y pipe and my welds, I think I could probably sell it for what I pay+ modification in the future if it has a nice professional weld job done, while I probably won't get my money back if I've got one of my sloppy welds on it.

Good info for the future, though. I want a decent mig setup some day (or hell, while I'm dreaming a portable mig and a TIG in the garage... and a plasma cutter... and a commerical grade air compressor... and so on :D), but I'm broke and there's no place for anything in my parents' garage.

I've welded mild to stainless with a mig, but not flux core wiring. MIGing stainless to mild is quite easy and gives you a very nice weld, even with my hamfisted ass at the controls :lol: