I purchased a 1965 M20C as my first ever airplane and although the performance has been a nice step up from 172s, I definitely have not been lucky with the maintenance. It is in its first annual since I've owned it right now out of N87 and the mechanics have been searching for a new exhaust system because as it stands right now, according to them the exhaust has major cracks that are beyond weldable at this point. I know it's a reputable shop so I haven't pushed back too much on it and they have been struggling to find anything for several months now. I'd like to avoid having a new exhaust built because the cost of that plus the annual would be quite brutal. I thought it wouldn't hurt to reach out on here to see if anyone has any connections that could maybe point me in the right direction.
Any advice would be much appreciated because as a first-time owner, this whole situation has been tough!