Time to purchase an complete exhaust system. It’s a 70 with 454 Ls5. Any recommendations​​​​​​? I need from the headers back.

 

I have heard many many good things about what Corvette Central has.

 

I've had two sets of the corvette central pipes. One stainless and the current one is the aluminized and then swapped in a set of magnaflow mufflers also from them. The fit and clearance was very good and that's saying something with the zillion bends it needs to fit under there.
You'll need someone to make the front pipes fit your headers of course.
M

 

Pypes and Magnaflow make the only hi-flo sytems I know of out of the box......I have not heard good things about how the Pypes system fits....but their Street Flo mufflers are some of the best sounding mufflers I have ever heard.....
The Magnaflow system is nice but pricey and the although the mufflers is 2.5" through the body...the damn outlet is 2" for the stock tips......This can be easily rectified by cutting the 2" part off the outlet and fabbing a new short 2.5" piece and enlarging the tip inlet. A member here (ChrisHewitt I think) did this to his slightly modified L-71 427 car.....worked and sounded great....
Short of that....just about anything else out there will be a restriction.......barely enough for a 400hp car.....if you have a real cam in there it will just kill it.....

Jebby

 

OP, I do not wish to hijack your thread, but one quick question - Your Muncie is damn clean as they get. I've spent hours and hours on mine with various brushes, Orange de-greaser, water, etc and still can't get it looking that good. Looks like you may have painted it - Wheel paint?

 

Purchased exhaust system from Corvette central last year, I highly recommend.

 

Have Corvette Central as well in the same set up. Fit was very good.

 

I have a Pypes system - It is a POS. Nothing fits, pipes that connect to the mufflers are 3" different in the lateral length, etc. YMMV

 

I've never had luck with their stuff on F-Bodies. Never used them on Vettes, because if they can screw up an F-Body system, I'd hate to see a Corvette system.

 

I have the Pypes system for my 69 Bel Air. A rea1 POS system.

I have the Corvette Central exhaust on my 65, 70 and 72. Good fitting systems.

 

I just painted my 4spd and bell housing. I used vht engine and drive train aluminum metal flat finish

 

You look pretty handy, do you weld? If so you can build your own custom exhaust fairly easy. I built this exhaust above using Summit's basic stainless pipe set and FlowX mufflers.
In addition, with custom exhaust, you can build your system without all the factory kinks. Also, using band clamps is really helpful if you need to remove your exhaust system easily. I found that I have been routinely removing mine to gain access to the rear axle for suspension work.

 

On my 77, with headers,.....I first tried Pypes.....absolutely not even close to fitting. Second - I also tried Magnoflow system....DID NOT FIT. Third and final....I tried StainlessWorks out of Cleveland area....I used their headers....roughly $1000 for 1-5/8 diameter, uncoated stainless headers....very nice quality with good features. They also sell a complete exhaust system, 2-1/2 inch mandrel bent exhaust with nice sounding open mufflers. ANOTHER $1000 for toal of over $2000......DID NOT FIT. It took special custom bends between headers and pipes at holes in crossmember.....this is a system designed for a C3 Corvette.....and they DID NOT FIT. And none of these were even close.

For clarification...and possibly the reason...my AFR heads have raised exhaust ports.....but we are talking 1/8 inch raised......I don't believe that is enough to justify how far off these systems were. And I measured and checked my frame with body off....it was straight and square.

All the companies make excuses that 70's Corvettes had huge factory tolerances in manufacturing....and thats why the exhaust doesn't fit. My response...BULLSHIT. No way that the frames are off by the 2-3 inches off these pipe were from properly fitting through the crossmember holes.

Another telltale sign of a badly designed exhaust is related to the fact the engines in C3 Corvettes are offset by an inch to the right......so by design, the pipe bends behind the differential MUST be designed to accomodate that. The left side angle bends and lengths have to be longer on the left side than the right side. StainlessWorks bends are exactly the same on left and right.....so its screwed up from the start.

I fought with them about it, and all they did was tell me they have sold hundreds of these without fit complaints.....again. BULLSHIT.

On my 69 Convertible project,.....I am done with all this "upgrade" nonsense, including headers. I am using factory exhaust manifolds and probably the Corvette Central system so many have said fits well on a stock car. They are NOT mandral bent.....instead factory squish bends. I don't care. Done with the nonsense. All this stuff about headers is fine for a race car. I have headers on my 408 SBC....but it came with the problems and excess cost mentioned above. My VortecPro 468 big block with be using a QUadrajet carb, factory hi-rise intake, and factory cast exhaust manifolds.....and into 2-1/2 full squish bend exhaust. If its "choking" the engine, so be it. Sick of the nonsense.

For the wannabee racer types that proclaim headers are a must.......my response is that the difference in performance is measured at the top end of the RPM scale....where only people driving crazy on the streets will ever experience. The EngineMasters episode with the continously dented headers proved to me that its all nonsense in the RPM ranges we actually, or that I actually, drive on the streets. Its all great marketing that too many, including me, fall for. In a race, on a track...yeah...it matters, Otherwise....one word....NONSENSE.

 

I will say that IF a person could fabricate their own, perfect fitting exhaust, like WolfK above, with mandrel bent pieces and headers.....the cost may be within reason. Its just the idea that I bought three systems that were supposed to designed to fit on a C3....and NONE of them fit, that is my major problem. I spent over $2000 for the StainlessWorks system alone, AND they made me pay for the custom bends I needed on top of that. Total BS. I will never understand why these companies cannot build systems that fit.....it should not be that hard.

 

I recommend custom, if you're worried about the non mandrel bends, go with 3" (they told me it would be around 2 7/8's around the bends) where it should be better than the 2.5" mandrel bent, and FITS.
I read all the threads about the expensive systems not fitting, and guys spending hours on trying to make it fit. The guys dissing the 3" custom systems, and the guys loving them. The 2.5" vs the 3" inch, the 3" not fitting, the 3" fitting great.
I found a guy out in the country here, that alot of the classic car guys use, he's done quite a few C3's, some he said he had to "mash" (not sure if that was the word he used, but makes it 2 7/8's) the section going through the crossmember, some he didn't as the bend right there made it 2 7/8's). But he did 3" from my headers on to new Flowmasters 40's, and 3" tips for under $700, and I didn't have to touch it (I did get underneath while he had it on the lift to check it out, great work). He said having solid motor mounts helps, I should never have a problem.