Thread: '97 3800 Series II n/a needs exhaust work. Suggestions?

1997 Pontiac Grand Prix SE
Single stock exhaust
3.8 NA Series II
173,000+ miles

My exhaust has always been 'noisy' since i got my GP on 11/10/'10. After a drive down a ridiculous dirt road it finally became LOUD! I must have little to no back-pressure right now.

Two things:

1. For about 1000 miles I've driven this car with exhaust so loud I can't hear my stereo. Ironically I haven't had the time to get it looked at because I am on-call 7 days a week doing quality assurance for auto parts suppliers...
2. I have roughly $800 to spend on a new exhaust system. Parts wise that buys a lot of exhaust, but Western Michigan winters are so brutal that without a garage I'm forced to pay someone to do this for me.

I visited a local Muffler Man, and after explaining this to the mechanic there he enthusiastically said "lets go put something on the lift and I'll show you what we can do". He put a customer's ride up on the lift and walked me through what he does. He said we can swap out each component as needed.

For an SE, I just need a working exhaust, but I was wondering what my options are without any extra tuning/modding. Most likely I'll go with a new O/E exhaust but I was curious what I can get away with. I just want to have it bolted on.

That's the problem with shops, "no customer parts accepted" was right on the front desk. I'd do it myself if I had the experience, but I don't want to roll around in slush under my ride with my nose 3" from the muffler.