long story -

i had a triad dual out exhaust, and i scored an early deep valence.
i had the hole welded up, and was going to have to cut 2 other outlets anyway.....

so now i have a eurorace single out header. guess what, it goes out about where the old hole used to be....

so how do i cut the hole and not fubar the paint?

masking tape? Jigsaw? Dremel spiral saw? plasma (joke?)? 3.5" holesaw?

maybe i can make a nice "trim ring" for the porthole exhaust, kinda like what you see on boats and mustangs where the exhaust goes thru a "porthole"

ideas?

anyone wanna help by GAF next weekend? LOL


EDIT: here is what look like an easy way to cover up a not so stellar hole cut.....
now, can anyone make one for me? LOL

Try an electrical die (male and female) They work slicker than hell and are used for punching holes in electrical panels for conduit. I used them to punch the holes for my oil tank. Any electrician will have a set. You might still chip a little paint though but I think it would be the cleanest way. Make sure they are sharp and not worn out.

Plasma cutter?

Plasma cutter would blister the paint. I'd just use a dremel and try to cut really smoothly. I don't know how I would paint the insides of the cut tho.

I would think that the hole punch would work fine if the metal is flat, I can't remember if the rear was curved or not, if it's curved, it might crease the metal and cause the paint to crack.
I'd probably cut it first with a pnuematic saw such as this, I've used one on my car and it cuts real nice, then clean it up with a dremel.

The hole punch (die) is a good idea but even on a square D sub panel which

is 14 ga or thicker it would misshape the metal and that was flat. On curved metal

the best results I have had was starting with a holesaw. I would lay down a few

layers of duct tape perpindicular to each other this keeps the hot shavings off

the paint and helps keep the paint from being grabbed and pealed off. Drill a pilot

hole for the saw and cut slowly keeping the saw at the same angle you started

at. Hole saws can grab your material so go slow and be ready if it happens.

Have someone feed a small amount of water from a squirt bottle on the saw but

careful not to get it in your drill. Finish with a dremel. If the valance is off the

car secure it to a bench or board.