Can I fix my exhaust before ECC?, I have 2 weeks. :( Options

[VaccaRabite]

My exhaust has been getting louder and louder with every ride. More pops, and occasional LOUD backfires. On Saturday night I took it on a tuning ride, getting ready for ECC, and I could not hear what I was listening for as the stupid exhaust kept going pop-pop pop pop when ever I was off throttle but the car was moving. Add a little gas, and sometimes I get a BANG!

So I put the car in the air. I know that I am going to see, but I am surprised just how bad the sealant I put on the pipes last year have failed.

The guys at aircooled.net had suggested using high temp RTV on the slip fit collector to seal it up. Thats what the red goop was. I put a big bead around the pipe and slipped it in. All the goop that was smushed out I pushed back into the seam with my finger. It worked for a little while, but the popping started quickly. Quiet at first, and then louder and louder.

In the following pics, you can see the cracks and sooty jets where it leaked anyway.
(IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/uploads_offsite/farm5.static.flickr.com-1435-1283908362.1.jpg)
(IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/uploads_offsite/farm5.static.flickr.com-1435-1283908362.2.jpg)
This one was my prime offender:
(IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/uploads_offsite/farm5.static.flickr.com-1435-1283908363.3.jpg)

So, mad, I pulled off the rear of the exhaust from the collector back. The goop made it hard to remove, but a few gentle taps with a rubber mallet did the trick.

This is the collector configuration I am dealing with:
(IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/uploads_offsite/farm5.static.flickr.com-1435-1283908363.4.jpg)
My first thought was to weld it all together, but the way the pipes are, I would never be able to weld the inside of the fourth pipe, and I would be right back at square 1.

ScottyB and Rich Towle have both said to put a flange on it. This is beyond my skill level. Scott could do it over the winter, but that means my car is out for ECC, which will annoy me greatly. But I am not going to drive the car for almost 4 hours if it is popping and backfiring all the way there and back and through the AX course either.

Tomorrow I am going to find a local exhaust shop and take the rear end of my system there. Show them the issue, talk about the flanging idea, and ask if there would be any way to get the car back by the Friday of ECC. I would have to put the back on and take them the car, obviously, if I had any hopes of it fitting right.

Is this a lost cause? Am I doomed to be driving my Subaru to Cumberland 2 weeks from now?

Zach