If I remember right Drew is a long way from any of the parts houses or suppliers the rest of us take for granted and as he mentioned on the first page there isn't any competition in the local to him muffler shop business to get prices within a competitive nature. As much satisfaction as some guy on here seem to get from fabbing up their own exhaust you would really have to have a simple system or get a bargain on the bends and tubing you bought to do the job to come out ahead of what most decent muffler shops charge at least in my experience. Years ago when I worked in a parts house where I could buy my parts at warehouse price (the price the parts house's warehouse paid) I found that I couldn't buy the pipes at my discount and install them any cheaper than having the local muffler shop build the whole system. I'm lucky in that there are a number of muffler shops that do custom work within 70 miles of me to pick from though.
Butt welded many exhausts and never had a leak or break. Just need to find someone who knows how to weld!
butt welded is better than slip joint and welded, the slip joints always get water inside the joint eventually, then you have a mess, a welded joint rusting out from inside.
I was going to use slip joints on my RPU but changed my mind and made flanges instead, three pair per side. This makes it easy to remove for what ever reason. Also, its a good idea to not make section of the exhaust too big, mine are front pipe, under car to muffler and tail pipe. A trick I used for the bend is to trace the whole bend on some cardboard, cut it out and use it to check where the bend is to fit and cut it to suit and transfer it to the exhaust bend and cut....it saves a lot of waste. JW
I've made a few exhaust systems and reckon the only way is to but weld them together. Just have to make sure the ends are pretty square and flat. Not too hard using a grinder and a flat plate as a guide. I also used 180 degree sections and cut to the desired angle. A 180 degree section (U) gives you more angle for other directional changes because an exhaust will never use exactly 90 or 45 degree angles, it varies on the layout of the car.
I think you might find them at summit racing in the exhaust section - supposed to be good for making headers and they come in a couple different sizes. http://www.summitracing.com/int/parts/hok-12104hkr/overview/ These don't look exactly like the ones I got but same idea.
Yeah, I saw those. Summit's were made by Hooker as well. "Not Available", and the one rating they did get was 5 stars. Go figure. I guess it doesn't make sense to sell something cheap that will allow your customer to avoid buying your expensive stuff.
Today to make a slight bend, I cut a angled slice out 3/4 Across the pipe and bent it together and welded. Anyone ever do that?
Nope When space is scarce And when looks don't matter much and when un disturbed exhaust flow isn't a major concern - Because you can get a pretty tight corner doing that, it's not really pretty, and the hard miter bothers the flow. Sometimes none of it matters and other times it does.
I have used this style expander with good luck.... not the fastest as you have to expand... turn tool and rexpand to keep it round but it does work. Lisle 34400 Exhaust/Tailpipe Stretcher, stainless steel
Ottoman that's neat. Thanks. Maybe I'll grab one next time I do this. 31Vicky it was very small bend. There are, however some spots where two pipes didn't line up perfectly for the butt weld. Hope That won't be an issue. I think it has to be way better, being mandrel bent elbows, than the pipe bender style where corners are crushed. That and it's a mild motor. Maybe 300-320 hp. True dual 2" with high flow mufflers and minimal bends
I have found that VHT types of manifold paint is overkill for most of your exhaust plumbing. Tubing must be clean - free of weld scale and oil residues prior to painting. VHT on the first 12 to 15" then John Deere exhaust paint on the remainder. That is only if you want it in black! As the New Zealander pointed out, flanged connections work great at major junctions and make for easy assembly and/or disassembly. It takes time to fab the flanges. I prefer to make mine as 3 bolt or 4 bolt for more consistent gasket pressure between flanges. 1/8" thick soft aluminum or copper sheet makes for a durable seal. Have not tried the copper "O" ring seal yet. I figure if I lathe cut an annular groove in the flange to receive the copper wire it would provide the desired seal. (it works on cylinder block to head gasket sealing in a high temp and pressure environment)
That does sound cool! The flange thing I mean. I opted against painting my exhaust. I just don't care if it gets surface rust. It won't preserve the life as far as I am concerned cause the condensation from the inside is what kills fair weather car exhaust systems
this is the one I use I bought the whole kit , , I think 31 VIcky also has one , you have to rotate the tool as you expand it otherwise you get a octagon pipe from the shoes . but it works very good otherwise ( must keep it's threads greased to work easy )
The Jalopy Journal
