MCfan Posted February 16, 2017 Share Posted February 16, 2017 My thoughtful wife gifted me with a new set of Patriot ceramic coated mid-length headers for Christmas. Of course, I had searched high and low for a set of full length headers that would fit a big block, manual transmission ’70 Monte, but nobody makes one. Several are available for big blocks with automatics because they don’t have the Z-bar in front of the firewall that interferes with a swept-back #7 pipe. An unknown brand of full-length, tuned 2” headers were severely massaged and installed way back in ’74 when the 402 was heavily modified but they were completely rust-coated, heated up my starter and made it almost impossible to change the oil filter. I thought seriously about having some shop install the new headers and connect them to my existing exhaust system but the only shop that could/would do both wanted “at least $600, maybe more”. So I decided to do it myself … using ramps in front and jack stands in the rear. I thought I would have to cut the old headers up to get them out but they barely snaked out without cutting. Good thing, too, as my salvage yard buddy wanted them for an “old school” drag racer he was building. By comparison, installing the new mid-length headers was a breeze … no loosening of motor mounts or anything. Of course, the challenge for a novice like myself was to build the intermediate pipes between the mid-length header collectors and the original header-back 2” exhaust system on the car. The passenger side was straight forward, cutting the expanded section of a 6” radius 45 degree 2.5” elbow and welding it to the collector adapter that came with the headers. Then a piece of straight 2” and a connector to the existing 2” pipe. The driver’s side was a different story. For some unknown reason, the collector on the driver’s side sticks down a full 3” lower than the passenger side so the same elbow used on that side hung down too low. Since I could not find a small radius 2.5” elbow anywhere locally, I decided to cut the middle section out a large radius elbow and weld it up. That forced me to learn to weld thin metal with my Eastwood 175 welder. Got ‘er done … came out pretty good. I no sooner got everything hooked up and noticed a split seam on one of my original mufflers. I decided that it was high time I upgraded to a completely new 2.5” dual exhaust system anyway. Should have known that nobody (including Patriot) makes a dual exhaust system that hooks directly to a mid-length header. But since I had already made intermediate pipes for the 2” original system, I just needed to convert them to 2.5” size and order a standard header-back 2.5” exhaust kit for full length headers. Summit offers a complete, no-frills 2.5” dual exhaust kit for $228 including over-sized shipping fee so I gave it a shot. It is basic but uses heavy gauge pipes with mandrel bends with turbo mufflers and includes all clamps and hangers. A lot of reviewers complain about the hangers, but they worked well for me with just minor modifications. There are a ton of cooler and more expensive exhaust systems available, of course, but this one met all of my needs so why spend more to get a big name and/or high-tech design features if I don’t want or need them? Well, after several days on my back on the garage floor and several dozen trips in and out from under the car, it is completely installed … it fits good, looks good and sounds …. loud, much louder than to original mufflers. I may get used to them or I may replace them if the wife or neighbors complain too much. Total project cost including ceramic headers, dual exhaust kit, adapter pipes and exhaust tools was just under $700 and I did all of the work myself including the welding … guess that’s one reason I love my first gen Montes. The following thumbnail photos are proof that it “happened” … 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rock Posted February 16, 2017 Share Posted February 16, 2017 Very nice...looks like you may need some plug heat socks......they look close to the headers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cny first gen 71 Posted February 16, 2017 Share Posted February 16, 2017 Looks good, nice work you did there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob Peters Posted February 16, 2017 Share Posted February 16, 2017 Very nice work. It looks great. rob Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MAQ's72 Posted February 17, 2017 Share Posted February 17, 2017 Great job, some garage fab. work... way to go! That's not a bad price for that Sumit exhaust kit... hum.. food for thought Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mo's70MCs Posted February 17, 2017 Share Posted February 17, 2017 Looks great! Nice and clean, the 600 simoleons saved a definite plus. I'm soon to tackle a similar install, although I must say it's not as easy as it once were. It takes me a couple of days to recover from the aches and pains, as well as the onset of vertigo symptoms I been dealing with. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MAQ's72 Posted February 21, 2017 Share Posted February 21, 2017 By the way Dennis nice welding job, It's been a long while for me since I did some welding but like to buy a new welder ...use to do all stick welding back in the days... a good tool to have in the shop... is that a mig with argon that you used. clean looking beads around those pipes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MCfan Posted February 21, 2017 Author Share Posted February 21, 2017 Yes, Mike, I used an Eastwood 175 MIG with a 75% Argon/25% CO2 mix and .023 wire. I must confess that I am still focusing on getting good penetration without burn-through so the actual welds weren't so pretty ... that's what grinders are for. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sredmyer Posted February 21, 2017 Share Posted February 21, 2017 That looks really nice...great job. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MCfan Posted February 21, 2017 Author Share Posted February 21, 2017 Thanks for the positive feedback, everyone. I often find the projects others share to be inspirational, if not instructional, and wind up doing something similar to my Montes. Steve, you said you heard me enter the parking lot at Muscle Car City last Christmas break but that was with the old exhaust ,,, you could probably hear me coming a couple blocks away now. Those Summit "turbo mufflers" are a bit loud for my taste. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MAQ's72 Posted February 21, 2017 Share Posted February 21, 2017 Thanks Dennis, thinking of going the mig welder rout as my exhaust looks like old rusty pipes... has to be at least 15 years old or more and thinking of a new system.....it's also 2" going with the 2 1/2" upgrade would definitely flow better... that might be a contributing factor on the louder tone, from what I understood with your application you had a 2" also. As you can see from this photo of the left side mine looks like ...well .. crap Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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