Having done the front pipe about a month ago.....the rear pipe where it goes into the rear silencer decided to give up two weeks ago when half way to work (26 miles one way). Window down, sunroof open and my head hanging out occasionally to grab some air, I made it to work. (There was a lot of fumes getting sucked into the back of the car). After work I went via the motor factors to try and pick up some mountings as all mine were at home.
The initial plan was to rob the rear silencer from the '89 spares car and I was aware of the slight difference in mounting, so I planned to take the rear bracket that bolts to the rear chassis leg too.Unfortunately, where the spares car is currently stored, there isn't a lot of room between the motors and I'm not as skinny as I was 20 years ago.
Still, I managed to get in after a fashion and have a go at undoing the rear clamp. Now apart from being in an awkward position, the car wasn't jacked up (and it couldn't be moved as the nearside front strut had been taking off it) and some clown had fitted the bracket with the nuts facing inwards. Eventually though, I managed to undo one and shear the other (as is always the case with these brackets after a month). Whilst wiggling the rear section to separate it from the middle, it came away at exactly the point where I didn't want it to. 
It wasn't as superficially rotten as the one on the BB, but it was hee haw use to me now. There was the option of doing a quick weld lash-up on it, but I decided against this and took the rear silencer off the BB which was only hanging by the rear rings. The design of this particular aftermarket rear section was such that should the break occur in the usual place, the silencer has nothing to support it at the front and hangs down at a jaunty angle. It doesn't hang far enough to scrape the road, but it makes negotiating speed bumps interesting.So then I had two knackered silencers in the back of the car.
DSCF7127.JPG by macplaxton, on Flickr
Both have the same style of flat strip & bent rod rear hanger (although one bends back to the can, the other to the tailpipe). One silencer is about 1cm shorter than the other. You can see the different front mountings:
Older type front hanger fitted to actual pipe before it reaches the box:
DSCF7136.JPG by macplaxton, on Flickr
Newer type front hanger (doesn't dangle the silencer when the pipe goes)
DSCF7133.JPG by macplaxton, on Flickr
Actually, the old rear section has both hangers for early (left) and late (right) cars:
DSCF7138.JPG by macplaxton, on Flickr
And here's the two types of hangers (early, left - late, right) which bolt to the chassis leg:
DSCF7135.JPG by macplaxton, on Flickr
Along with respective rubber mounts (early, left - late, right):
DSCF7137.JPG by macplaxton, on Flickr
After all that, I parked up at home with the task of finding a new rear silencer over here.
Two broken Volvos in the drive and Mrs P wasn't looking too happy.
