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3" Mandrel bent. Hooked up to Lingenfelter headers.
I am going to be getting some "extensions" for the rear for cosmetics. Right now they come in right in the center of the exhaust openings, right inline with the hanger.
Cut it all myself, not as easy as they make it look!. I cheated in one area, the drivers side, I did it at an angle instead of using curves, but it was so much easier to do it that way :)
So far, the system has cost me about $700. $120 in pipe, $50 on cutter, $500 on a MIG welder. Same price I was going to pay to have it done... and I got toys out of it.
The center will easily fit some Bullets in, otherwise I think I can fit them on the ends, where mufflers normally go. Will depend how loud the car is for where/if I put mufflers.
What do you guys think? This is my first go at anything like this.
Matt
Looks great!!!!Wish I could weld. Maybe one day. Big exhaust. Looks like it is going to flow so well it is going to move your power curve up a bit. Bullets alone will probably be pretty loud. Keep up the good work!! :thumbs:
Vette9d1: No mufflers, not sure if it will be too loud, if so I might do Dynomax bullets in the middle (if loud inside). If too loud outside, then try bullets at the end, if too loud still, I will shop around for a canister style (not flowmaster).
Black87c4: Since its not welded yet you cant see where the curves are, the last S's are duct taped together for fitting purposes, and will point up once I figure out the angle. We got a Miller matic 135 I think. Not the best, but should be suitable for our needs..
Thanks for the compliments so far. makes me feel alot better :D
Cool, you can't go wrong with the miller, good stuff. Are you using gas or flux core? If flux core go gas instead, much much better looking welds with gas. I went through 1 bottle of co2/argon and I've welded a ton including a custom trailer for my dad, I basically have the 220 volt version from miller. Where did you get the pipe? Nobody here does mandrel bend pipes so I'm stuck with getting prebent pipe from places like jc witney.
Its an entry level welder. Using Fluxcore right now. I need to learn to weld with it. Only done Oxy/Ace before, ALOT different. We are going to get an auto darkening mask to see if that helps. I cant see what I am doing when I hit the trigger, I end up welding 1/4" off from the seperation.
I have about 5 foot left over, I will cut and weld that to practice. otherwise i have a guy that can weld it up for me ina few weeks. I could have borrowed a 220 welder from a friend, but this nor my brothers house have 220 wired anymore, so easier to buy one since we wanted to anyways.
I got the pipe at local race shop. 180 mandrel bends for $20/peice. I picked up 4, used 3. Straight pipe was $3/foot, 10 foot sections (got a precut one @6 foot first). Have about 5 extra. Might have to use the stuff to fix/replace/etc in the future :P.
Check out http://www.re-racing.com thats the shop I got it from. Not sure that they could/would ship the straight, but the 180's are small enough.. Not sure how the prices compare to others, but worse case I could pick some up and ship them to ya..
Get a co2/argon bottle for it, mine already came with a regulator, think you'll be very happy with the quality of the weld even if you just started. I couldn't believe the quality difference between the two and don't have to clean the flux off.
Hrmm... I will have to see what finances are like, going to try and get a loan today... might be able to get a bottle if I get a loan.. Otherwise gonna be hitting the coin jar for $ :P
We already got the adapter kit, so just need a bottle I guess.
Is pipe alot harder to work with then flat stock? I am wondering if that may be part of my problem. That and the shield (I already have not the best hand/eye coordination, not seeing makes it worse ;))
Pipe welding is always harder, Just keep your heat low till you get the hang of if. And that's a great idea to pratice on a piece in the open.
Did you take off your cats? If so will it pass your state test? Will they put it on the dyno?
I'm intrested in put straight pipes on my 85, but and a litte worried about the smog test here in Massachusetts.
Very nice looking job; man is that gonna roar! :cool:
I assume you have the LPE 1 3/4" LTs.
If you add mufflers be sure to select them by flow rating or install a pressure gauge to determine back pressure if any. You realy don't need any back pressure besides the LTs. If you want to reduce reversion, leave a step on the lower edge of the exhaust port where it meets the header flange.
65Z01. Actually 1-5/8 LPE headers. The upper end of my motor is still stock. But I have LPE D-Ports and a SR sitting in the closet for install at some point. Probably see about upgrading to 1-3/4 and the lpe219 cam (running 211/219 now) at the same time.
I will post pictures and video once its fully done. :D