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tcapoccia · Dec 29, 2005, 07:55 PM

Ok Julie..sign me up. The little '05 Black Bird now has Borlas! They sound "Purr-fect!!!"

Here's the installation procedures I followed for my 2005 T-Bird with links to pictures. Hope this helps others (especially the '04 and '05 Bird Lovers) to take the "Borla Plunge"

Installing Borla CAT-Back Exhaust on a 2005 Thunderbird

With the help and encouragement of Julie (Ladybird02—Borla Babe) I bought the Borla Performance Cat-Back Exhaust System for my new ’05 Bird. I received the TBN discount and the Borlas showed in two days via UPS.

There was an issue about Borla not recommending them for the ’04-’05 TBirds, however, Jim Dube had successfully installed them on his ’05 Bird and others had done the same on ‘04s. There was one individual who claimed that they would not fit his ’05 Bird, but it was obvious that the muffler shop who attempted the installation had no clue what they were doing.

The following are my key comments about the installation. The associated pictures are available on my website (see links that follow)

So last night I decided to make my first real mod to my three-week old baby Bird.

1. I looked in the 2005 Thunderbird Workshop manual and found the correct jacking points and jacked up just the rear of the car, placing a jack stand just forward of the rear wheels at the specified locations.

2. I downloaded the Borla Installation instructions (PDF) from the Borla website. What was odd was that there were no instructions included with the Borlas—surely an oversight.
http://www.borla.com/media/installations/140081.pdf

3. I then sprayed all the exhaust rubber hangers and the two factory clamps on the stock front mufflers with a penetrating spray lubricant.

4. I then removed the two front muffler clamps. Then I removed the exhaust hangers from the rubber brackets (two on each side). I had my teenage son hold the back part of the exhaust system up in place. Then with a couple of tugs the whole exhaust system came off as one piece. I then stored it in the shed until Spring when I will decide what to do with it.

5. At this point I could see the exhaust shield and the two exhaust pipes
http://www.biblebb.com/borla1.jpg
http://www.biblebb.com/borla2.jpg

(Note: the only place where I found any obstruction with the exhaust shield was on top of the Borla muffler where it was touching the lowest part of the protruding “bump” of the exhaust shield. I bent this “bump” in about a half an inch, which was surrounding the metal bracket for the driveshaft bearing assembly—it had enough clearance for this little bend).

6. I then got my electric drill with a small grinding wheel to grind off the little round tab on the right factory exhaust pipe (looks orange in picture). As you can see in picture #3 it didn’t even line up with the notch in the Borla pipe. But even if it did, Jim Dube already discovered that by removing the tab completely you can slide the Borla muffler further forward, thus having less tailpipe sticking out the back of the car. Some previous installations seem to stick out a bit too far. Picture #4 shows the tab completely removed.
http://www.biblebb.com/borla3.jpg
http://www.biblebb.com/borla4.jpg

7. I then found the Borla clamps and laid them out to find the two smaller ones for the front of the Borla muffler (again a Jim Dube idea).
http://www.biblebb.com/borla5.jpg

8. I then took each of the Borla connecting pipes and connected them together before putting them on the car, ensuring that they would slide together for complete insertion. I then took a marker pen and made a line at the full insertion point, which came in handy later when tightening up the system, to again ensure that I get the exhaust tips as full forward as I could. I measured the stock Ford tips from the resonator hangers to the end of the exhaust tip and the Borlas were approx 3.5 inches longer than the Ford ones, so ensuring all connections are fully inserted together is very important to keep the Borlas from sticking out too far.
http://www.biblebb.com/borla6.jpg

9. Then, as the Borla instructions indicate, I put all the pieces together with the clamps still untightened. Then I began slowly tightening each clamp so they could maintain position, yet still be moved around to ensure I got the right alignment of the tips. I had to keep ensuring the connections maintained full insertion until I gave it the final tightening. I then started at the rear of the car and started to tighten the clamps so the pipes would no longer move. I worked my way forward, and then made sure the muffler was completely as far forward as it could go.
http://www.biblebb.com/borla7.jpg

10. Lastly, I tightened each clamp bolt to the Borla recommended 35 ft pounds. The exhaust tips, although bigger than the stock ones, fit almost in the exact location as the Ford originals.
http://www.biblebb.com/borla8.jpg
http://www.biblebb.com/borla9.jpg

The sound is “perfect”—not too loud and not too soft. In fact, the best way to describe the sound is a “nice purr” similar to a new Mustang GT. And when you give the accelerator a bit of a push during takeoff the sound changes from a “purr” to a very nice “growl” sound.

Dec 29, 2005, 07:55 PM	#123
tcapoccia 2005 Blackbird Tony Capoccia Location: Columbus, NJ Joined TBN: Dec 2005 Posts: 50 Tony's T-Bird 2005 Black Accent: Full Torch Red	Re: Thunderbird Borla Club Members Ok Julie..sign me up. The little '05 Black Bird now has Borlas! They sound "Purr-fect!!!" Here's the installation procedures I followed for my 2005 T-Bird with links to pictures. Hope this helps others (especially the '04 and '05 Bird Lovers) to take the "Borla Plunge" Installing Borla CAT-Back Exhaust on a 2005 Thunderbird With the help and encouragement of Julie (Ladybird02—Borla Babe) I bought the Borla Performance Cat-Back Exhaust System for my new ’05 Bird. I received the TBN discount and the Borlas showed in two days via UPS. There was an issue about Borla not recommending them for the ’04-’05 TBirds, however, Jim Dube had successfully installed them on his ’05 Bird and others had done the same on ‘04s. There was one individual who claimed that they would not fit his ’05 Bird, but it was obvious that the muffler shop who attempted the installation had no clue what they were doing. The following are my key comments about the installation. The associated pictures are available on my website (see links that follow) So last night I decided to make my first real mod to my three-week old baby Bird. 1. I looked in the 2005 Thunderbird Workshop manual and found the correct jacking points and jacked up just the rear of the car, placing a jack stand just forward of the rear wheels at the specified locations. 2. I downloaded the Borla Installation instructions (PDF) from the Borla website. What was odd was that there were no instructions included with the Borlas—surely an oversight. http://www.borla.com/media/installations/140081.pdf 3. I then sprayed all the exhaust rubber hangers and the two factory clamps on the stock front mufflers with a penetrating spray lubricant. 4. I then removed the two front muffler clamps. Then I removed the exhaust hangers from the rubber brackets (two on each side). I had my teenage son hold the back part of the exhaust system up in place. Then with a couple of tugs the whole exhaust system came off as one piece. I then stored it in the shed until Spring when I will decide what to do with it. 5. At this point I could see the exhaust shield and the two exhaust pipes http://www.biblebb.com/borla1.jpg http://www.biblebb.com/borla2.jpg (Note: the only place where I found any obstruction with the exhaust shield was on top of the Borla muffler where it was touching the lowest part of the protruding “bump” of the exhaust shield. I bent this “bump” in about a half an inch, which was surrounding the metal bracket for the driveshaft bearing assembly—it had enough clearance for this little bend). 6. I then got my electric drill with a small grinding wheel to grind off the little round tab on the right factory exhaust pipe (looks orange in picture). As you can see in picture #3 it didn’t even line up with the notch in the Borla pipe. But even if it did, Jim Dube already discovered that by removing the tab completely you can slide the Borla muffler further forward, thus having less tailpipe sticking out the back of the car. Some previous installations seem to stick out a bit too far. Picture #4 shows the tab completely removed. http://www.biblebb.com/borla3.jpg http://www.biblebb.com/borla4.jpg 7. I then found the Borla clamps and laid them out to find the two smaller ones for the front of the Borla muffler (again a Jim Dube idea). http://www.biblebb.com/borla5.jpg 8. I then took each of the Borla connecting pipes and connected them together before putting them on the car, ensuring that they would slide together for complete insertion. I then took a marker pen and made a line at the full insertion point, which came in handy later when tightening up the system, to again ensure that I get the exhaust tips as full forward as I could. I measured the stock Ford tips from the resonator hangers to the end of the exhaust tip and the Borlas were approx 3.5 inches longer than the Ford ones, so ensuring all connections are fully inserted together is very important to keep the Borlas from sticking out too far. http://www.biblebb.com/borla6.jpg 9. Then, as the Borla instructions indicate, I put all the pieces together with the clamps still untightened. Then I began slowly tightening each clamp so they could maintain position, yet still be moved around to ensure I got the right alignment of the tips. I had to keep ensuring the connections maintained full insertion until I gave it the final tightening. I then started at the rear of the car and started to tighten the clamps so the pipes would no longer move. I worked my way forward, and then made sure the muffler was completely as far forward as it could go. http://www.biblebb.com/borla7.jpg 10. Lastly, I tightened each clamp bolt to the Borla recommended 35 ft pounds. The exhaust tips, although bigger than the stock ones, fit almost in the exact location as the Ford originals. http://www.biblebb.com/borla8.jpg http://www.biblebb.com/borla9.jpg The sound is “perfect”—not too loud and not too soft. In fact, the best way to describe the sound is a “nice purr” similar to a new Mustang GT. And when you give the accelerator a bit of a push during takeoff the sound changes from a “purr” to a very nice “growl” sound. Last edited by tcapoccia; Dec 31, 2005 at 10:21 PM.