You're correct. I had the muffler welded on by a local shop. The one I got was 18.5" end-to end (14" shell). No problem with the questions. I was nervous too, but did a bit of research, myself.the 2" inlet and outlet wasnt a problem when you had it welded right? like it wasnt too short or something. sorry if i seem slow, im not too sure about the reason behind different sizes on each end of the muffler.
how much did that muffler cost you?