During the Modification...

Now we come to the whole reason that I put this web site together.  THE CLAYTON ROOT MOD (slightly modified).  This is what took my whole weekend up.  Good thing that weekend wasn't so hot.  The steps are below each picture so that you can go step by step.

*** NOTE *** Be sure that you have your batteries charged if you are using a cordless drill.  Looking back on it, I probably would have preferred to use at least a corded drill if not an Impact Drill.  But, I don't have that toy yet.  Also, you might have just a cup of water around so that you can cool off your drill bits in between uses.  I would say that if I had a cup of water in the beginning, I might not have gone through the first set of drill bits the first day!

So, I started....

Above:  This is actually my bottom pipe.  That is because I learned from the top pipe of what not to do.  (don't worry, my top pipe isn't messed up, it just took me longer)  As you can see, I drilled in pilot holes using the 1/16 drill bit on the ear and the 5/32 drill bit on the baffle.  The reason for the bigger one on the baffle is because at an angle, the 1/16 worked to get the little pilot hole but I went right to the 5/32 to get the full pilot hole.  I drilled three pilot holes in the baffle and 8 pilot holes in the ear.  I didn't use any cardboard cutout or anything like that to make the holes on the ear even.  I figured, I have a steady enough hand and it looks pretty good to me.  As you can see though by the scratches on the baffle, it was tough to hold the 5/32 steady which is why I used the 1/16 bit.  You can start out using the bigger bit, but that is what took me longer on the top pipe.

Above:  Again you can see where I drilled the 8 pilot holes with the 1/16 inch bit.  Using the 1/16 bit to start the holes is so much easier when you are going at an angle like the ear is.

Above:  Here is what the top pipe looked like when it was pretty much finished.  After I had gone this far (the top pipe as it looks here and the bottom pipe with the pilot holes) I started her up to see what she sounded like.  Yes, it was louder and a little deeper.  I then took it out for a test drive and hated the way it sounded.  The garage acted as an amplifier and I thought I was finished, oh no, I wasn't.  To get to this point from the pilot holes, I stepped up each and every drill bit.  After having the problems on the top pipe, the bottom pipe went so much easier when I did that.  Plus, it didn't wear out the bits as fast.

Above:  Here is the ear with the holes drilled out at 7/16.  By this time, I had worn out my first set of drill bits.  Obviously, they weren't as "Titanium" as they said they were.

Above:  Picture of the top pipe from above.  This is mainly for reference and to show you that you will scratch the ear up and probably the baffle.  Just be careful, and you won't scratch the chrome.  I'm very thankful for removable end caps.

Above:  This is a close up of the pilot holes in the bottom pipe baffle.  Again, you can see that you will scratch this up a little because you are having to drill at an angle.  I would say that the degree of angle was probably no more than 10 degrees.  Also, you can see where I caught the edge of the ear.

Above:  Again, mainly for reference.  This is the bottom pipe with the 1/16 inch pilot holes drilled.

Above:  This is what the pipes looked like with the top pipe nearly finished and the bottom pipe with the pilot holes drilled.  Again, I tried just starting out with 5/32 on the ear and that proved to be the wrong starting point.  Start out with the 1/16 inch (if you aren't comfortable with the 1/16 not breaking on the baffle, step up a couple) and then move your way up through each drill bit.  I will tell you that as you go from the 1/4 to the 5/16 it won't be as easy as the smaller ones.  You will have to keep at it for a while on this step and all the other bits from then on up.  But, don't push too hard or you might end up with the same thing I had, drill bits that are no good, and words of pain starting to come out.  Just put enough pressure on it and let the drill bit do the work of eating through the metal. 

I went ahead and finished out the bottom pipe and ended up with 8 7/16 holes on each ear and 3 7/16 holes on each baffle.  So I started her up again.  Oh yeah, this was much better than before.  But again, I was in the garage and it's basically like singing in the shower.  (everybody sounds good when they sing in the shower).  So I took her out for a test drive.  It wasn't what I wanted and I felt that I could do more.  Now, here is where you can stop if you like the sound or you can go on.  I decided to go on.  I drilled 2 of the baffle holes on each baffle into 1/2 inch.  It probably is a little bigger again due to the angle that I had to drill at.  Then I started her up again.  Sounded really good to me.  Took her out for a test drive and it seemed to be the sound that I was looking for (considering they are still stock pipes).  So, I decided to punch out the ear holes to 1/2 inch too since the end cap would cover the baffle and all my pretty sound.  So, I punched those out, put the end caps on for a quick test drive, and all was well.  I took the end caps back off and finalized my mod.  You can do more if you want like cut off the ear and drill more holes, I just decided not to do that.  I used the flat file to "sand" down the rough edges on the baffle where I drilled and the back of the ear where the metal just gave way (instead of shaving off, hence the reason for the bad drill bits now).  I didn't get pictures of the finished holes before I painted it though.  But, I'm sure that you will get the idea in the next section.

Next, on to the after mod section.