MopaR&D
Nerd Member
As we all know when it comes to V-8 exhaust on A-bodies things can be a real pain unless you drop big $$$ on TTI or Doug's headers. One lower-cost option is the Hedman Tight Tubes which is a shorty/block-hugger design. They fit great but the issue is the outlet location; it faces straight down and is only inches away from the steering linkage. When I first put mine on I had it hooked up the best way it could at the time with the pipes going under the drag link. Of course after only a few hundred miles the pipes got smashed up pretty bad to where they were not more than 1 1/2" wide which obviously restricted flow.
Recently when I went to swap my rear axle to an 8 3/4" model and pull my trans for a TC swap I decided to drop the exhaust and see what could be done. After laying under the car and looking at the situation for a long time I figured the downpipes could be made to go up and over the linkage but the bends would have to be SUPER tight. I took a trip to my local racing parts store (OnTrack Performance off Santa Fe/Dartmouth in Englewood) and had a EUREKA! moment when I came across this:
These are exhaust "donuts" made by a company called Pro-Werks. I'm not sure how they are made but they have a radius of curvature basically the same as the diameter of the pipe itself; literally the tightest bend you can physically have on a metal pipe. I also ordered a set of Sanderson angled collector reducers and got to work slowly mocking up, marking, and MIG-welding the sections together until I came up with these:
Recently when I went to swap my rear axle to an 8 3/4" model and pull my trans for a TC swap I decided to drop the exhaust and see what could be done. After laying under the car and looking at the situation for a long time I figured the downpipes could be made to go up and over the linkage but the bends would have to be SUPER tight. I took a trip to my local racing parts store (OnTrack Performance off Santa Fe/Dartmouth in Englewood) and had a EUREKA! moment when I came across this:
![DonutsFull.jpg](http://www.pro-werks.com/images/parts/DonutsFull.jpg)
These are exhaust "donuts" made by a company called Pro-Werks. I'm not sure how they are made but they have a radius of curvature basically the same as the diameter of the pipe itself; literally the tightest bend you can physically have on a metal pipe. I also ordered a set of Sanderson angled collector reducers and got to work slowly mocking up, marking, and MIG-welding the sections together until I came up with these:
![10390553_10202816116096211_4406524386768362716_n.jpg](https://scontent-b-dfw.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xpa1/t1.0-9/10390553_10202816116096211_4406524386768362716_n.jpg)
![10462538_10202816116296216_3943852605318755202_n.jpg](https://scontent-a-dfw.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xaf1/t1.0-9/q90/s720x720/10462538_10202816116296216_3943852605318755202_n.jpg)
![10411403_10202816116816229_8752676721620899789_n.jpg](https://fbcdn-sphotos-c-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xfa1/t1.0-9/10411403_10202816116816229_8752676721620899789_n.jpg)