This is timely, as I purchased mine about two months ago and have not gotten around to installing them yet. Just looking at the car I wondered if things were going to be tight, and it sounds like they are. You will probably resolve it before I get around to doing mine, so PLEASE keep us posted. If I figure something out I will let you know....
Busy week, finally getting around to reporting on this past Sunday's project. Thanks to several helpful souls on this forum the passenger side cat pipe has been successfully extracted.:thumbsup From the suggestions I had received, it was apparent that people have used several different approaches. I decided to expand my fledgling mechanical skills, thinking now was a good a time as any to learn to take off the decklid (with a modicum of trepidation to be sure).
I began by covering the lower decklid edges and the adjacent area with green tape and some strategically placed towels in order to protect the paint. My wife and a friend then held each side of the decklid while I disconnected the struts, the wiring harness, and knocked out the hinge pins. They then lowered thr decklid slightly and it came free of its moorings. The decklid is much lighter than I imagined it to be. The entire procedure, sans protective tape application, took only a few minutes. Thanks to Phil (team c) for his encouragement and suggestions.
With the decklid removed, the stock passenger side cat pipe was readily extracted (with judicious turning of the movable flange on the manifold end of the cat pipe, as the movable flange was manuvered past the narrow opening next to the starter). Savored moment for the novice diy'er!!! Next phase, assembly and listening.:cheers