Here's the "old" stocker. Not a bad unit.. just a little too pedestrian for something as bold as a Lightning:
Another view:
Ben Did a great job of documenting the recent install of a Bassani Exhaust system on his 2001 Lightning
With his permission the pictures
and description are mirrored here
Here is the original Thread from F150Online - http://www.f150online.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=65547
I know I asked a lot of questions
before I bought my Bassani. But now that I've taken the plunge, I figure I'd
return the favor and share some of my experience with you all. Please be patient
as there are lots of images that need to load...
First, if your truck has any miles at all on it, budget a good half hour the get
the dang stock muffler off. Mine was already replaced once by the dealer only
1000 miles ago and it was practically welded on by the time it was time to come
off. Had to coax the thing off with a little heat and an enthusiastic mallet.
Was considering saving the stock exhaust in case I wanted to return it to OEM
later, but a couple swings with the mallet put those plans to pasture:
Here's the "old" stocker. Not a bad unit.. just a little too
pedestrian for something as bold as a Lightning:
Another view:
Inside the box you will see 3 boxes: one for each
muffler, and another for the X-pipe. The fasteners come
in little baggies, and you get a little disclaimer sheet
with warranty info and 2 pages of instructions (text and
photos). The clamps are kind of floating around in the
box so don't lose those. You also get 2 cool stickers.
NOTE: Bassani has changed the sticker design to this new
style - the old style were silver letter cutouts that
looked a little better on the window glass.
I recommend you leave the bubble wrap on the exhaust tips
to keep them scratch-free while you are aligning the
exhaust later.
Here's a close-up of the x-pipe.
OK, now on to the
installation. Sorry I don't have any in-between shots (I
was busy dammit) but here are some notes I remember
while putting the new sucker in:
1) Feel free to toss the old rubber hangar donuts as you
won't be using the factory hangars anyway.
2) When installing the new hangars, PAY ATTENTION to the
photo instructions - it's very easy to put something in
backwards. No I'm not an idiot but at 3 AM anything is
possible. 
3) Do not lose any nuts. (goes without saying)
4) If your L is lowered, you may need to find a
different way to mount one of the hangars... see other
board members for info on this.
5) The 2.5" spacers supplied in the box are too
LONG! Or the bolts that go inside them are too short.
Either way you'll need to cut down the spacers or
discard them all together for something else (like
stacked washers) to get enough threads above the frame
rail when installing the biggest hangar. This will seem
vague to those who never installed one of these, but if
you've done a couple you know that Bassani gave us the
wrong size parts and a little customization is
necessary.
6) Do NOT tighten anything until the whole exhaust is in
place. That way you'll be able to align everything
properly.
7) If your lift arm was in the way like mine was, by all
means lower your L, move the arm, and lift it again. You
may not be able to line up the mufflers properly
otherwise.
8) Bassani has changed the clamp design yet again. They
used to furnish U-bolts but not anymore. Use whatever
you want, but tack-welding is probably recommended for
the highly modded L's.
The finished results:
Take the
bubble wrap off
the tips BERY KERVULLY!
BTW, the new Bassani exhaust tips have the logo stamped or engraved on each tip, while the older ones do not (nyuk nyuk nyuk):
Hopefully when you're done everything is lined up
properly and you only have a couple washers left over.
WARNING: Exhaust will STINK like Dana Stubblefield's
cleats whenever you drive it for the first few days.
NOTES: I noticed my Bassani was almost SILENT at idle -
it barely even hissed. But my friend's Bassani has got a
couple thousand miles on it and he has a nice rumble at
idle. I'm not sure if Bassani changed the design or
sound characteristics of the exhaust since he got his,
but I imagine that the whole thing gets a little louder
(meaner) with age as its broken in.
So how do I like it? I
LOVE IT!
The SOUND: I was surprised as how quiet it was at idle
(although I do expect it to get louder). At around 2000
RPM the crescendo will fill the cabin, and the blower
wine is being overwhelmed. Briefly visiting 3000 RPM,
you're roaring down the road and it never stops after
that. Let off the gas and the exhaust note changes and
bubbles a bit . It drones a LITTLE bit when going up
hills at partial throttle at cruising speeds, but
coasting is absolutely silent (for now). It only comes
to life when you put the pedal down. The exhaust doesn't
seem quite as deep as before, but it's definitely LOUDER
and has a nice aggressive note. It's not harsh at all,
which I like. I am very pleased with the sound, but
unfortunately the factory stereo is having a hard time
keeping up.
How does it FEEL?
Well, I don't notice any loss in power, and the L still
takes off with the same grunt as it used to. But it does
seem to stay alive a wee bit longer in the higher RPMs.
This could all be psychological of course, and I haven't
calibrated my butt dyno to SAE specs in weeks, so take
this with a grain of salt. I have to say it does seem
just SLIGHTLY stronger, like it's holding the power band
a little longer and higher than before.
Was it WORTH it?
IMO, yes. The craftsmanship is super, and almost
everything fit perfectly. Took an hour to install and
the only hold-up involved adapting the spacers. The tips
look great and really fill in the side skirt opening
well. And the sound.... WELL TIME TO GO FOR A RIDE!
Ok, enough bandwidth for now...
Ben ('01 Bolt)
Contact
Ben for questions at this address -
Click on this link to send him mail
http://www.f150online.com/forums/member.php?s=&action=getinfo&userid=15161