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Need help deciding on exhaust


Ian

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OK I have narrowed it down to these choices. I am going to order one of them tomorrow. I have had flowmaster 2 chamber mufflers on the car for 9 years and they are rotting away on the inside and rattling like crazy and driving me crazy, frown

 

Flowmaster American thunder kit with mufflers Not sure I like the cheaper mufflers that come with it..

 

Flowmaster pipe kit no mufflers I was thinking about getting the 3 chamber Delta flows and these pipes.

 

Pypes Kit with Street flow muffles like Steve's

 

MagnaFlow kit with mufflers I like the clamps and stainless pipes.

 

Thoughts?

 

Thanks,

Ian

 

 

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Ian, I went with the Flowmaster American Thunder Kit. It came with Delta Flow 40s, which are excellent. Great sound under throttle, but absolutely no resonance at all at speeds. Had it up to over 70 on the highway so far and can hold a conversation with anyone in the car no problem. No ear splitting resonance at speeds at all. The kit was 323 bucks and well worth it. Ive heard the Delta Flows are the way to go and I agree now.

Here is a link to my thread earlier on this Muffler thread

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One thing I noticed on all those exhausts is the last part of the pipe that heads to the bumper are all straight, unless I missed something.

 

I see some turn down at the tip but the rest is straight to that point.

 

If that is what you are after then never mind. Have you seen ones that arch up tighter (less visible) then turn down?

 

That is how mine are, they are from Torque Tech. Also I noticed the system you say Steve has is the only one that appears to be one piece from before the axle to the rear bumper. Mine are like that too, one less joint to worry about, although with more joints you will be able to tweak them in nice.

 

Here's a picture of the arch I was talking about on mine...

 

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I put Walker duals on my 71 SB way back in 1979 with a lifetime warranty on the mufflers. Sound is like stock would be. I'm on my third set and the mufflers are shot inside and rattling bad at 1100 RPM. E-mailed Walker and the pipes are no longer available and muffler has changed. These Walker tailpipes have the turn up as mentioned above that looks more like OEM did. Not sure what I will do now.

There is a place if you want high $$$ correct called Gardner

http://www.gardnerexhaust.com/homepage.html

Bruce

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Hey Bill, next time you get your car up in the air, I'd love to see a pic of where those pipes are actually routed. I'd like to extend my exhaust out the back, but I'm afraid it would interfere with where my fuel lines and battery cable now run. Also, those are 3.5" aren't they?

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Thanks for all the suggestions! I still am torn as what to order. frown Here is what it sounds like now. You can hear the rattling at idle that is driving me nuts! frown

 

 

Ian

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Hey Bill, next time you get your car up in the air, I'd love to see a pic of where those pipes are actually routed. I'd like to extend my exhaust out the back, but I'm afraid it would interfere with where my fuel lines and battery cable now run. Also, those are 3.5" aren't they?

 

It doesn't get up in the air much, the last time it has been up on a lift is when the tranny was getting redone...hopefully that won't happen again for a while... wink

 

Yes it is a 3 1/2" system... grin

 

As far as how the pipes are routed, it is just like the factory, granted I have long tube hooker headers so the front part of the exhaust hangs lower than I would like but the rest is factory...it just takes up more space.

 

I did not use my cross over pipe (3" pipe) that came with the kit mainly because my exhaust is oversized and doesn't need it...they say the cross over wouldn't really help with those pipes unless I was making over 600 hp.

 

Also I have a 3 1/2" custom driveshaft that is kinda in the way...the cross over pipe would need a slight bed in it.

 

Bill

 

 

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Thanks for all the suggestions! I still am torn as what to order. frown Here is what it sounds like now. You can hear the rattling at idle that is driving me nuts! frown

 

 

Ian

 

lol

 

I don't mean to laugh but that rattle sounds just like my trucks exhaust except mine is from the convertor falling apart inside...and it is driving me nuts also, gotta get it fixed soon.

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Yup, it soulds like you need to shim up your starter a little. If the rattle you are talking about is noticable at the end of the video, I heard it. At the beginning of the video, I think the exhaust sounds pretty good! Nice noticable lope to the cam. Sounds good.

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Hmm I never really noticed the starter, it start up fine every time smile Yep towards the end you can hear the rattle, and when it is warmed up you can hear it more frown

 

Well I did it went for the Magnaflow system. I hope I like them cool I will take pictures and make a new video when they are in. I should have them by next weekend. I need to pull the tranny to fix a leak so I will do that while it is on the jack stands, and look at the starter then too. As for the cam it is a Edelbrock Performer to match up with the Fuel Infection system.

 

Ian

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As soon as you have the old mufflers off simply shaking them will tell you if they were the guilty party of the rattle... wink

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Actually I can put my hand on the muffler and feel it, it is the deflectors inside rusted away. The other reason for a new system is that the shop that built the system did not have good bender and the tail pipes have kinks in them..

 

Ian

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I went from flowmasters to magnaflows..................... I like the magnaflows better. Its like a progression, you start out with flowmasters because they are what everyone has and then you get tired of the noise and having an exhaust that sounds like millions of others. Then you change it and will be happy and start to think that flowmasters sound annoying. That looks like a nice kit make sure you get some pics/vids of it installed!

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Guest RichMonte

Ian, I installed Magnaflow 2 1/2 inch stainless pipes/mufflers last year. Kit fits perfectly and comes with downturns after rear tire or straight out back. Clamps are also stainless bands that look good and no leaks. Pipes fit together with overlap that is solid and pervents leaks. Also, comes with "Tru-Ex' X pipe. Only issue is I had a custom pipe shop install it. He had to spread header connector pipe to match ball on my Hedman Hedders. And he had to tig weld tail pipe bracket to pipe. Other wise you can do it yourself.Sound is nice and low while cruising but is loud when you get on it.Sound is not as raspy as Flowmasters - much more refined and deep.

I like it. Also, I polished my pipes to match the polished mufflers.I can send you a pic if you email me.

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Well they (the Mangnflows) are out in the garage waiting for me to install them. It is tooo hot already down here in FL, and I have to take my daily drive to have a tire patched. I am hoping to start working on it today. I have to take the tranny out to fix a leak and figured while it was up in the air it would be as good a time as any.

 

Ian

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Well I got the old out and the new in today. It took a little longer than I thought it would, but it is in and sounds good. I have not taken it for a ride yet because it is still on the jack stands. I was going to take the tranny out and fix the leak, but I got talking to a local tranny guy that did my neighbors '54 (700R4) and I may just take the plunge and have them put one in mine.

 

I had to trim 2" off the pipes where they go into the mufflers to get it behind the cross member, if it was a TH350 I think it would have been OK. It sits a little low because of the headers I have and the pipes that the muffler shop had made for me. I may change the headers out for some long tube ones eventually. Word to wise don't grab the pipe by the weld with just mechanics gloves on right after you finish welding to pieces together frown

 

It came with 3 options for the tail pipes. Straight, Turn down, or Chrome tips with a slant cut. I went for the chrome ones.

Here are some before and after shots for those of use that love pictures. lol

 

Ian

 

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For my money Torque Tech makes the best exhaust systems for GM "A" bodied cars. That is all they do. They are not a cookie cutter company. This is their specialty. An "X" pipe exhaust with the right diameter pipes with your choice of mufflers is the way to go. I prefer Super Turbo's due to they keep out a lot of interior resonance, but will still talk to you when you get on the gas on the outside of the car. My Torque Tech 3.5 into 3" exhaust with large tube headers and Super Turbo's allow me to carry on a conversation with passengers, but when I had an American Thunder Series exhaust from Flowmaster the interior noise drove me nuts and you couldn't talk to anyone. Just another option to think about.

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Well I got it on the ground and took it for a ride today. I like the sound. Not quite as loud as the flowmasters, and not too loud in the car. I took another video in about the same place as the first one to compare them, it is a little dark because I spent the day putting new Stainless Brakes on my buddies Corvette smile . It is on YouTube too.

 

Ian

 

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