Well it looks like I may not be able to remove the old exhaust without cutting the nuts and studs off. After doing that, is the exhaust junk or could it be reused by drilling out (punching out?) the remain part of the studs and just using nuts and bolts to hook it back up?

The reason I ask is because I'd hate to ruin it just in case I wanted to return to stock (let's say before selling the car) or I might want to sell/give away the original exhaust. I'd like to keep my options open.

If I'm not going to ruin it, then the option to cut is more appealing. If I am going to ruin it, I might think a bit more about other options (although I'm running out of those ... hmmm)

 

The replacement studs are available from MINI, they actually have splines under the head and are pressed in. You could also use regular bolts if you want. Go ahead and cut away!

 

You're good. You can always bolt it up or weld it up!

Jeremy

 

The studs and bolts on my friends Nissan were totally shot. Cut the things off and replaced with 3/8in grade 8 bolts. I have yet to here a complaint.

 

Why not use stainless steel bolts to avoid the rust problem? Is is the cost, the strength? Does stainless not react well to the heat? Just asking since the new system obviously bolts on and it came with grade 8 bolts.

-thanks for all the input guys!