I realized that the Magnaflow parts I had purchased were 409 stainless rather than 304.  This means they will tarnish almost immediately, and eventually even rust.  It won't be as bad as regular steel, but certainly not a show-worthy shine. 

So I bought new ones from Vibrant Performance.  I generally don't get excited about shunning an American made product for imported stuff, but these are really nice pieces.  All of the Vibrant stuff I have received has been pretty nice so far. 

I continued on with my catalytic converter heat shield.  I had the main seams welded, then I bent up two more parts.  This will cover the entire converter, plus the welds on each side.

I also bought a weld-on V-band clamp, and a regular slip-fit clamp for the muffler.  It's been slow going recently, but I hope to get some work done on the exhaust system this weekend.

I helped my friend Chris install some new windows in his house this weekend.  While I was there, I snapped a picture of his workshop.   He has a pretty solid tool setup!

I'm having some technical difficulties with the rest of the pictures from this weekend, so that's all for now.