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WAYNE0

WAYNE0

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Who here has made there own exhaust system ? Pros and cons What was the hardest part ?
 
Back in the 80’s I made one for a car. 2-1/2” round pipe and straight and angle cuts to create the bends. Welds we’re pretty but I would had been better using square tubing.

pro- it was done in 1 day, I could afford it and it worked

cons- fn ugly.
 
What do you consider "made"?
I bought sections of straight 3 1/2 tubing, mandrel bends and angles, a couple turndowns, and some giant mufflers. I machined my own header and muffler flanges, and cut and pasted till it was where I wanted, then welded it all up.
It helped that I had access to the weld shop, machine shop, and a ten foot industrial band saw, at work.
Would I do it again without all that equipment now that I'm retired? NO! I sure do wish I had taken it off and painted it or coated it after I welded it up, before I ran it.
 
looking for header back i can cut and weld i would think that the over the axle tail pipes are going to be a pain in the a**
 
I bought a 2-1/4” kit for $200 and used a little more than 1/2 the kit.
Came with 4 45 degree, 4 90 degree and 4 u bends. 4 4foot sticks of pipe. Each piece expanded on one end. Amazon.
 
WAYNE0 said:
looking for header back i can cut and weld i would think that the over the axle tail pipes are going to be a pain in the a**
Click to expand...

Dump at the rear axle:

Screenshot_20210709-201803_Chrome.jpg
 
Back in the 70s I made my own out of galvanized tubing. Turned out pretty good but are used headers and never again. Magnaflow sells stainless steel kits that you cut and weld up.
 
I have made a few systems ,all a bodies.
Pros:
Made the way I wanted.
Cheaper
Vehicle in a safe place with me there.
Cons:
Must have cut and weld skills.
May take a little more time.
 
WAYNE0 said:
Who here has made there own exhaust system ? Pros and cons What was the hardest part ?
Click to expand...
The hardest part is over the axle- nicely… LOL!
An annoying little thing is sometimes where headers end, getting the pipe bent in an “S” to clear the transmission frame passed the two clearance areas where pipe can go nicely.

Now you can go to summit and get pre bent S pipes (Hedman) to help get passed this easy and tail miles from several exhaust places. Flow master rod one.

Making bends with just straight pipe is a crappy thing to try. I don’t like it.
 
FWIW, if you have some scratch to spend, Summit/Jegs sell a kit that is made by Heart throb.Good kit, no X or H pipe. With and without mufflers. Mufflers are good to approximately 450hp.

Otherwise, splicing in a H pipe is relatively easy. X pipes a little harder. Ending at the axle is easy and quick!
 
I bought an x-pipe(Hedman?)and fabbed from the headers to the x and x to the mufflers.....then used TTI tailpipes and tips. 3" all the way to the bumper and fits like a glove.
 
I once put a 340 in a 65 V100 wagon with fenderwell headers. I went to the jobber bought some pipe and a pair of Thrush straight-thru mufflers. I hung those bad-boy mufflers, then ran straight pipes up to the front and clamped some of that flex-pipe between the open ends. At the back, I hung the straight pipes under the rear axle, and ran them out to slightly past the bumper....and Go-Time.
Ima thinking that was 5 or 6 hack-saw cuts and the Total time to install was about 14 seconds, lol. I was about 22 at the time, and unemployed.
 
I just finished making an exhaust system for my BB 66 Dart. For me, the pro was that I could build what I wanted, how I wanted. I guess it was probably cheaper than a premade kit too, but that's not why I made my own. The con was the time it took.

Speedway sells 16 gauge exhaust bends at a great price: Combo Exhaust Pipe Mandrel Bend/Header Tubing, Mild Steel, 2-1/2 Inch

Believe it or not, Napa sells 16 gauge straight exhaust tubing by the foot at a great price too: https://www.napaonline.com/en/p/EXH49008?impressionRank=1

Here's a couple shots of the junk I just finished up:

upload_2021-12-11_18-43-3.png


upload_2021-12-11_18-43-50.png
 
Only built my own once, headers and cherry bomb bullets. The sound was awesome.
 
I built mine, dual 3" from the collector to the rear bumper, with a mini tubbed car and a stock tank. Very tough getting a big pipe past the axle with the mini tub. It works, it isn't the prettiest, but theres no rattles and it sounds great.
 
Ive adapted a set of Pro-Parts semi fenders for a 65 A bay, bird **** welds , burn through issues on thin metal, need a big chop saw. Hooker makes tube alignment rings, kinda nice to butt them together with a little support. Dont know how the muffler guys do it all with a stickwelder. LOTS of time planning and cutting and trimming. Not a bad job if you got the time. 70% can be had off the shelf in a old header, then start chopping off tubes that hit and rethink it.
 
20210701_112525.jpg
Barracuda header build 17.JPG

I built these headers for my 64 Barracuda from 1-3/4 bends from Speedway, flanges from Hells Gate Hot Rods and collectors from E-bay. They clear 205-60R15 front tires at full lock. The 3" exhaust was built from Boyce oval tube and 2-1/4 bends from speedway with filler strips cut from regular exhaust tubing. The tailpipes are made from 3" bends from Speedway.
It takes a lot of cutting, fitting and welding but the work is worth it to get a good fit made just to fit the car.
 
grimreaper said:
View attachment 1715835374 View attachment 1715835375
I built these headers for my 64 Barracuda from 1-3/4 bends from Speedway, flanges from Hells Gate Hot Rods and collectors from E-bay. They clear 205-60R15 front tires at full lock. The 3" exhaust was built from Boyce oval tube and 2-1/4 bends from speedway with filler strips cut from regular exhaust tubing. The tailpipes are made from 3" bends from Speedway.
It takes a lot of cutting, fitting and welding but the work is worth it to get a good fit made just to fit the car.
Click to expand...

That looks awesome! Where do the forward hangers mount on the floor?

upload_2021-12-12_13-45-6.png
 
I’ve fabed almost all my stuff. Not because I’m cheap but I just got no $$$.
 
AJ/FormS said:
I once put a 340 in a 65 V100 wagon with fenderwell headers. I went to the jobber bought some pipe and a pair of Thrush straight-thru mufflers. I hung those bad-boy mufflers, then ran straight pipes up to the front and clamped some of that flex-pipe between the open ends. At the back, I hung the straight pipes under the rear axle, and ran them out to slightly past the bumper....and Go-Time.
Ima thinking that was 5 or 6 hack-saw cuts and the Total time to install was about 14 seconds, lol. I was about 22 at the time, and unemployed.
Click to expand...
O those early a bodies been thru a lot of **** with those fender well headers.
 
mopowers said:
I just finished making an exhaust system for my BB 66 Dart. For me, the pro was that I could build what I wanted, how I wanted. I guess it was probably cheaper than a premade kit too, but that's not why I made my own. The con was the time it took.

Speedway sells 16 gauge exhaust bends at a great price: Combo Exhaust Pipe Mandrel Bend/Header Tubing, Mild Steel, 2-1/2 Inch

Believe it or not, Napa sells 16 gauge straight exhaust tubing by the foot at a great price too: https://www.napaonline.com/en/p/EXH49008?impressionRank=1

Here's a couple shots of the junk I just finished up:

View attachment 1715835055

View attachment 1715835056
Click to expand...
That looks almost exactly what I've envisioned having a shop fab up for my 65 273 Barracuda. How much was the material?
 
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