Ok so some guys around home talk about remembering "scavenger pipes" or strait pipes a bigger diameter than the rest of the exhaust no muffler and turned out in front of the rear wheels or stopped at the rearend housing was wondering cause wanna run them on my coupe but don't want an exhaust style from the seventies on a early sixties style coupe.I have seen these on some older novas and such and like the look and open headered sound so let me know.
These type of pipes did run mufflers but they came back and under the rearend and stoped before they came past the rearend. 4 pipes were usuly used, so as to look like doublebarrell shot guns on each side. They came in late 1958 and early 1959 I know as I was the first in our town to run them. I saw a car in San Jose and loved them and put them on.--TV PS very small mufflers.
Ran a set behind the flattie in my '41 Merc back in '64. As I recall the pipes were 2" from the headers back through 18" gl***packs and stopped just short of the axle tubes on the Columbia. Damn sure wish I still had that Merc.
late 59 or early 60 had a little flair on the end and stopped at the rearend housing. It's when we started to go nose down so 59 or 60 is pretty close. Dad
I ran them behind a stovebolt six in a '50 Chev about '61 Mine went under the rear axle and stopped about 12" past the rear
I used scavengers on my '57 Chevy Convertible in college......1962-63.......definitely early '60's..... Brucie
HAD to have a rake on the car in order to see them from the back...looked "dangerous" with four flared chromed pipes stopping at the rear axle...or just past it...saw some in Omaha, NE about 1962/'63/'64...never got around to putting them on my car, tho. R-
We mostly remember them on this type of car, like a severly raked 57 ford. Not as common, but I think they could work on a rod if done right.
They were around in the sixties, and the funny thing is that it seemed like everybody sold them, straight, belled, or baloney sliced. Even places like K-mart had them, hell I even used them as stacks on my Harley back then, since they sold for about $1.98.
I ran them on my '34 pickup in 1962. Stopped just aft and below the rear axle. 4 ft chrome with the flare. If I remember right they were 2 inch dia. Sounded wicked.
I have an original set of scavengers with short mufflers all in chrome in my rafters and I cherrish them. Don't tell Franco he is looking for some.....SSSSHHHHHHHHHHHH.
I had them on my 51 Ford Convert in 1958. They will double for a chrome steering colum with little work.............OLDBEET
First time I saw them was on a '56 Chevy convertible and it was nearly new, black with a white top and jacked up some in the rear so the pipes would show. Oh yeah, the rear housing was painted red and the chrome bells ended just past it. I was about 10 so it woulda been 1958.
Yeah I found them in a '62 car craft I have so now I just gotta find some tube to bell out or find some to buy was thinking either 2 or 4 hangin out back and yes my car is raked so it will show.
I ran a '53 Chevy pickup, 235 with headers, each headpipe into a "Y" under the seat, then into 4 Chevy torque tubes ending flush with the rear end. They were instrumental in my 2nd DWI ...
Had these on my 49 olds club coupe, Big time rake, ended about at rear axle, looked VERY cool, this was about 1961-62. The rake on cars was considered the deal, some guys were raising the rear end which I didn't care for. I had cut coils and stock height rear end with 820-15-710-15 tire combo which helped the look. Had a great rumble to them, I had Smitty mufflers from Speedway for a nice sound. From the back the flaired tips looked awesome, and of course the pipes were chrome which also looked hip.-Sololobo
I think they'd look ok, but for the true scavenger look you'll need to have the mufflers forward - if you can find the room. Then you have floorboard heat from the muffs, but you can overcome that with either an under the floorboards heat shield or adequate insulation inside or both. Scavengers - as others have noted - were 4' long and were installed so the ends were just past the rear axle. In Shoebox sized cars, scavengers with short gl***packs would set up a pretty good drone at highway speeds. No muffs on these would make the car almost unusable imo. If you run the muffs to the rear - as I have on my 32 - you'll need to make an "S" bend curve to get the pipes under the rear axle housing. Surprisingly the pipes in the pics didn't resonate when using straight gl***packs, Walker's straight turbo-muffs, gl*** packed turbo muffs or two chamber FlowMasters. A little louder with the megaphone tips though. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ In my SoCal beach town - Ventura, California - scavengers started showing up mid 58 and got real popular by the summer of 59. When the pipes were turned to the side and exited in front of the rear tires they were called "Side Pipes." Easily done by cutting a U-bend in half at the curve which would give you a 90 degree turn, a little welding and the Side Pipes stuck straight out the side. Cutting the U-bend at a 45 or so gave you a gentler turn and imo a better look. Commonly done at home by guys who owned gas welding rigs and a quick and easy job by your favorite muffler shop. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ As mentioned, a single scavenger made a nice chrome plated steering column jacket. Had one in my 50 Shoebox coupe that was hung on a bored out Moon aluminum column drop.
well the four footers are $65 a little pricey for me and tubing would cost that much so I'm gonna cheat and use 9"flared end tips I found for $8 ea. my exhaust hangs low enough they would work with out any bends so I'm gona baffle some ppe up front and run some 2 1/4 back to the 9" tips all painted black except the tips. I found 7" shorty scavengers for sale in a 1962 carcraft ad so I'm using this style for mine.
Yup Popular from '58-'62 4' long 2" dia. Needs mufflers to avoid a BIG TIME drone. Made a *****en steering column covering. The flare mated to the bottom of a Cal Custom wheel pretty well. Car needs to be raked. Should extend a foot or so past the rear end. As I remember it, they were real easy to get crooked. Changing a rear tire or hitting road debris would knock them off level. Pat Gahnal's green '50 Chevy 2 door is a PERFECT example.
As was said before,it started around 58-59.They were 4' long and usually 2" diameter.Originally they were paired(usually with a Y-pipe),the inside ones being slightly longer and ending just BEFORE the rear axle.It was almost a given that the car had to be raked.However a lot of states(M***achusetts included)required that the exhaust exit BEHIND the rear axle or you would be ticketed. Another reason you want to have them exit behind is that the angle they point down creates a resonant frequency between the groiund and the floor of the car(usually about 60 mph)and the vibration will drive you right out of the car. My 57 Safari came with a set of them(a bit rusty but still serviceable)and both a set of original Thrush mufflers and a set of 64-65 GTO resonators.
You may be able to find some "belled" extensions at a muffler shop that are fairly long compared to what you find at the blister pack stores. Seems like the extensions stocked in my friends muffler shop in Sunny California were 12" or so. Nice chrome too. Muffler shops - back in the day and today - had the best chrome on their extensions. Tommy may drop in to this post and could tell us what's available from muffler shops both scavenger and extension-wise.
I Have an original set of scavenger pipes, after looking long and hard for some. So a friend of mine had them repo'duced and they are excact!! you can get them at koolrides.com. Now everyone will have them and Mine won't be kool anymore.
Actually those are the ones I had ordered was the 9" tips so yeah waiting for the order to got through Thanks for getting him to do that he is the only place I could find them at period so tell him thanks as well.
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