What, with all these exhaust threads goin' on:
 

I wonder if I'm an anomaly or not! I do live in town, so perhaps that's the difference.

But in all these years, I've just taken my hot rods to the local exhaust shop & paid 'em to work the system the best way possible. On my '56 Bel Air, my '70 Nova, etc I had them run 2.5" exhaust, with the crossover pipe 18" behind the collectors which is an old 'norm' or standard for the location.

So when I got the stroker & headers installed in my C3, I just took it to a local shop & had them do a custom-design, mandrel bent 2.5" system. There's a crossover pipe too, but it's behind the crossmember in the frame, since we couldn't go 18" behind the collectors.

So why do folks order Pypes or Mid America systems for their C3? Am I really missing something? Reason I ask is that it's so common to see a thread on them.

Exhaust shop work is really inexpensive and a tremendous value in my opine and experience. :toetap:

I think most of us have limited funds and just prefer to DIY.
If I could afford to just pay someone - I still doubt I would.
:flag:

But the labor at an exhaust shop is cheaper than you pay Mid America or similar, for a kit.

And I live in San Diego, where all auto repair type places pay huge dollars for insurance and the average labor rate is 95.00 per hour. So it's not like I have had this work done in podunk, Kansas.

Just my opinion for the area that I live in, first you need a shop that comes recommended and pays attention to detail.
A woman who just had a system put in the family driver was forced to turn down my street and stop because the mid pipe fell down. I got the thing up into my driveway, jacked it up, got the pipes back together and hit it with the mig welder. She told me that God must of sent me and I told her no, I've been living here for years. :lol:

well alot get kits cuz alot of towns don't have someone that will mandrel bend a exhaust let alone a SS exhaust as all the pypes kits are. also mandrel bend custom exhaust are a lil on the pricey side do to the cost of a mandrel bender and its accesories. like in my case if i wanted a mandrel bend exhaust i would have to go outta state and would cost me twice the price of a pypes SS kit verses the person putting on a mild steel mandrel bend custom job. 90% of exhaust shops do not do mandrel bending as per its not cost effective for them so they do regular exhaust bending there is a huge difference from having kinked or flattened out bends from a reg bender as apposed to a round 2.5 not kinked or flattened mandrel bend.

If you found a person doing a mandrel bend custom exhaustwith AS or Mild steel for under $800 dollars i would say you found a deal thats not including your mufflers.


most reg bend exhaust i found to be $450 and up depending on application thats with plain 16g AS or Mild steel.

so in retro spec buying a kit and putting it on yourself can save alot of money in the custom world sense.


comparision here shop in my area cost $500 for a custom bent exhaust none mandrel plus i gotta buy mufflers flow masters $99 a piece
thats $700 for a none mandrel bent 2.5 custom exhaust

pypes SS kit headers back with their violators ruffly around $900 your install yourself

corvette central $625 with mangaflows you install

all kits are ruffly the same so where would you put your money?

where would you spend your money?

Go to a shop and have it done properly, IMHO.

It cost me $300 to have my dual exhaust set-up with me supplying a used $25 C6 Vette X-pipe section and my original mufflers.

I added used (2 week old :)) like new Magnaflow mufflers (which I HIGHLY recommend) from a C4 Vette and to get them installed, which included custom pipe work from the rear spring to the muffler and a custom mount bracket set-up, only cost $100.

Total cost was $700 ballpark with new mufflers installed. It would have cost less if I did it all in one shot.

Add $16 for paint when all said and done!

They fit properly and I didn't have to break out the swear word dictionary to sort it out in my garage with no welding equipment.
http://i98.photobucket.com/albums/l2...P/IMG_5878.jpg
http://i98.photobucket.com/albums/l2...1/IMG_6242.jpg

The back of that Vette is truly a thing of beauty !!!
:thumbs:

Same here too much $$$ for the work being performed and usually workmanship is not up to my standards.

Before I added the sidepipes, I took mine to a local shop and had 2.5 system with my existing mufflers and long tube headers installed for $200. I thought that was very reasonable and quality was good. If it wasn't for the headers, I may have been interested in one of kits just so I could do myself in my garage.

Brent,,

Don't mean to hijack, but I have three questions for you.

1. What sort of transmission do you run?
2. Who made the trans X-member, and why?
3. Why do you run a late model diff, but use the old heavy steel
spring?

Not criticising, just curious.

Regards from Down Under:cheers:

aussiejohn

1) 4L60E with LS1 motor. Its very nice for metro rush hour stuff. Much improved over the 700R4 and TV cable tuning as well. Does what it is supposed to do always.
2) OEM 1982 crossmember with elongated bolt holes for the 4L60E due to LS1 motor being 1 inch further forward than the CFI motor position. My car is an 82.
3) My car was/is an FE7 optioned model. The gymkhana option in 80-82 used 9 leaf 2 1/2 inch wide steel spring, which is different than the earlier F41 option gymkhana 7 leaf 2 1/4 inch wide spring. Non FE7 cars got the softer composite spring for 80-82. I did not have faith in the composite springs and exhaust heat, with the many stories I have seen of broken composite springs. Odds are I wont have trouble, but the steel is a non issue. This is a new spring from Mid America. Works fine for me. Might consider a composite 360lb someday though for a smoother ride if my rear can't take it anymore, but it rides great for me today.

Thanks.
 

Brent,

Thanks for that. As I have only seen X-members with two holes for exhaust (obviously pre-81 models), I figured that it was a custom built one. It makes sense to have the kick up on the right where the exhaust goes. The original was only a single pipe, right?

I have an '81 diff at home with the plastic spring that I picked up real cheap and had toyed with the idea of putting it in the '74 if its diff or spring ever broke. The way I drive, that's not likely to happen :blueangel:

Regards from Down Under:cheers:

aussiejohn

:iagree:

Bought the exhaust kit from Zip a number of years back when the resto was still in progess, well when I finally got to the point of installing the exhaust, I found some of the ehaust pipes didn't fit quite right. I still had to go to a muffler shop and have the offending pipes re-bent. Total cost including the kit/shop work was just shy of $500, and that doesn't include a crossover either:mad:
Next time I'll locate a quailty shop (there has GOT to be one around here somewhere), work some OT and pay to have it done:smash:

The trick is finding a quality shop that will do the work right.

They're not as common as you'd think. :(

...too much $$$ for the workmanship...I allow the shops to do the rough-in work...no welding is done...then it is taken apart at the house, and and the finish fitting is done...still no welding, as the exhaust system has three different set-ups...side for track... under rear suspension for street/strip..and safety inspection legal. []+....+[] 'sorta!

Most shops, I could not find one in my area, will not install custom exhausts due to Federal law.

I ordered an under car chambered exhaust, from MAD about 6 years ago, for my '76, but no one would hook up the exhaust pipes, as the CAT was removed before I went to the shop.

I had to use some bendable pipe to lay out the configuration so I could have pipes bent without the car being in the shop.

Even then, they asked me "what kind of car" these pipes were going on. My answer was, "a '32 Ford with a 350 small block". That made everything all right

And I live in San Diego, where all auto repair type places pay huge dollars for insurance and the average labor rate is 95.00 per hour. So it's not like I have had this work done in podunk, Kansas.[/QUOTE]

I live in Podunk Kansas and most shops here weld everything together. I like factory style slip joints, clamps and hangers.

I agree with the OP.....I've done the same thing with my cars for years, but Willy, @ Willy's Masterbend, finally closed and retired...:eek:...I'll just call the local Vette shop and see where he subs the stuff out to now, and just go there......Time, money, aggravation....That's what you save by going to a shop, and getting it done....:thumbs:

I live in Podunk Kansas and most shops here weld everything together. I like factory style slip joints, clamps and hangers.[/QUOTE]

Do you have toilets, or do you still use out houses ?