Mufflers

I have a 1978 Intermeccanica that I just bought, 1600cc engine with twin 40 IDF's, runs great, although I would like to change the muffler from the what appears to be a stock VW unit to a more performance oriented one...whats a good one to get ?? Is seems that with the intake side of the mill hopped up ..the exhaust side should be as well...thanks Tom

You have a couple of choices depending on what you want and your budget. For a 1600, and to keep the original Speedster look you could get a VW Mexico (EMPI also sells it under their GT name) header with dual tailpipe for around $50.00 (that's what I have in my car now). If you want something a little less restricitve you can go with a Tri-Mil style dual tailpipe exhaust as sold by Vintage Speedsters (click on the Makers tab here). There's also more high end types such as Gene Berg, A-1 etc. that are more costly. It depends on what you want. Judging by your displacement alone, I'd go with the VW one.

Are there reasonably priced stock stainless steel ones available? Or is the approach to have a new one ceramic coated to make it last and look decent? Does ceramic coating help or hinder heat dissipation? The Busch header system seems to have a very bad name -- is that quality, performance, fit, noise or something else?

Wolfgang, is the "Busch" or do you mean "Bursch"?

Ahh yeah - my error those beer cans don't rust at all!

Here's a good article on exhaust systems -

http://www.superbeetles.com/performance101/may.htm