yeh i know about the rears normally being done or going cat back but knowing that holden 8's of late have sounded like a 6 until the new ones and with a hotdog they now sound alot meaner. Yes i will be going headers to just stock cats then mandrel bent cat back soon but thought a hotdog would give that note that makes you crack a fat when you start for the time being. you can get a new hotdog from ebay off a commodore for about $30 and by ridding the centre muffler i thought would loosen up a bit more power as a temp thing while i save the $700 odd dollars for the headers and then some more for the cat back mandrel

If the oil doesnt physically drip on the ground during the inspection it cannot fail.
As Ross said clean it all up and stop on the way for a quick check and a wipeover. Stay with the car during the inspection dont drop it off and pick it up after work. Get it in , get the inspection done and bail!
As far as headers go , keepingan eagle eye on the second market is the way to go. I got my Advances that fit with GT40P heads for $165 off ebay. Another member here just picked up a set for $100 ( I actually picked them up for him and they are in the boot of my Fairlane at the moment).
Just keep and eye out and be ready to pounce!
Exhaust wise go a 3" single system with just the one muffler. Sounds good on a stock motor without being over the top. Also leaves room for further modifications down the track. Mine cost $375 fitted drive in drive out.
Wait until you have the cash and do it once and do it properly. You will never be 100% happy with quick and cheap fixes and you will change it again. In the end costs a lot more money and takes the enjoyment away. I with many others have learnt the hard way over the years.

Your right about ebay... Been keeping an eye out since I got the Fairlane and they so far have been going for $400+ and no locals but they will come. I am also in agreeance with you about doing it once but I have little patience and 3 kids so the want is overshadowed by nappies, schooling etc. Miss the days being young, dumb and full of c*m ( and cash) and really going hard on the mods of "real mans cars" not rice burners. I am also wondering if the Fairlane has extractors on it now? I know what they look like, thats not the issue but whats on the motor now dont look like the factory exhaust manifolds I have dealt with before on other cars. If it was not for the relatively small diameter of each outlet pipe and the fact that one outlet pipe kind of kinks over 2 other pipes I would swear they were extractors. If they were they would be 4 into 1 down to 3" outlet to both cats. I will have to take a pic and post it and see what you guys think. Do the stock exhaust manifolds for the Nc Ltd's look like what I have described? She also currently has a 3" pipe out now to the tip and I was wondering if thats why it sound a bit airy when idling? You dump it and she sounds great but on idle she is like a 6 with an exhaust system on it thats too big. Thats where the hotdog come into it but dropping the centre muffler would even at that be a great improvement but I was worried it would loose too much back pressure. Looks like a "sports system" cat back on it now, but a cheap one.

The factory headers are tube headers that look like extractors. They look nothing like th eold cast iron exhaust manifolds of old.
But in saying that , they are s**t , thumb in bum setups. There are pretty good improvements to be made in exhaust on these for starters.
If you currently have a 3" system get the centre and rear mufflers removed and replaced with just pipe. Technically not legal but it wont fail a pink slip.
Get a coupleo fpics of your exhaust under the car and your headers so we can tell you what it has. No point spending money that may not be required!

Yes.

Just got a manual for the Fairlane in the mail. Its on CD but it has a diagram of the v8 exhaust and yeh they are stock headers. Thanks everyone for all the info so far, and I will be the first to say I aint no expert so thanks also for not making me feel like a d**k. Definately will go aftermarket headers and rid the centre muffler and I have decided to go a decent inline back muffler as well. Got another drama at the moment. The climate control is not blowing heat. The core was replaced about 6 months ago( by previous owner with reciepts) so thats not the problem. I am thinking the thermostat, sensor or the climate control unit? I also thought it might be that the after market sound system is sending heat to the sensor that I have read is behind the climate control unit? I will check the hoses tomorrow to see if they are heating up from the radiator but does anyone know if this is a common problem with the Nc climate controls? If so what is the normal problem? It seems no matter what temp I put it at the temp does not change but on auto mode the fan speed does change but it wants to run the air con all the time. It also was occasionally jumping from front outlets to floor then to demist. Is that normal? I have never owned a car with climate control so I am uncertain. Hell the torry's climate control was the drivers window and my other cars were about the same

Take a look at the climate control tech doc & go thru a diagnostic on it.

You may find it's either the blend air door or the blend air door motor. If it's the motor, the dashboard has to come out, but you don't have to remove the climate box from the firewall, you can replace the motor while the big black climate box is still in the car, i have done it.

If it's the actual door that has failed, the black climate box will have to come out & apart to fit a replacement, which will require a degas of the a/c system.

Cheers

ToranaGuy

thanks man just did the diag test and it come up with e3- cabin sensor. Thought so because when the heater core was done the previous owner did not plug some things in properly so it would not surprise me if its simple like that. The manual i have is telling me to take the stereo out and also the dash facia? is it worth pulling the stereo facia out? I thought its near the climate control unit attached to the dash on the inside?

Pull the stereo facia to get to the screws to remove the clock facia, then you can plug the sensor in. You may also have to remove the trim around the cluster as well.

Cheers

ToranaGuy