I'll second ChopOlds. NJ prices are kinda crazy, and good work isn't cheap. I got a $300 exhaust job on my '57 Ford, and the quality of work leaves something to be desired. Could be worse, but it could be a whole lot better. 2.5" pipes with the bends crushed down to 2"...lame 6 years ago I had a full dual exhaust put on my 57 Bel Air. I took it to a local Midas. I knew the owner had a 10 second Monte Carlo and would know how to do performance exhaust. We talked about it, I brought him mufflers, headers and tips, told him where I wanted them to exit and he took care of it. SUPERB quality, and it cost me about 500 bones
Sometimes I think prices are crazy, but then when I think about labor rates, they seem more reasonable. If it takes, let's say, five hours to build a full custom exhaust from scratch, the labor alone might add up to $300 @ $60/hr (typical shop rate). Add in a pair of flowmasters, tubing, clamps, hangers, tax, etc. and you could be adding another $200 to the equation. Our cars may be from the 30's, 40's, and 50's, but the labor to have someone work on them is all 21st century!
Wow dude that sounds pricey..got mine done headder duals before i converted to v8 and it was like 200..
looks like mustang six and pork have the right idea..labor+parts. guys. got to make a living. lift,bender insurance etc. all has to be paid out of his hourly..60.00 average shop fee..
Yeah, sound´s familiar. I paid the same if I supply the Flowmasters AND the tubing! But such work is always way more expensive over here. Most workshops are unable to do anything but changing out stock parts. Having an dual split exhaust system fabricated was a nightmare. The first guy messed it up, the second guy (there goes 500 more euros) did a better job, but everything fall appart after 2 weeks. Finaly I found a person who knows how to build that kind a things and can handle a TIG welder. Frank
all the exhaust shops have upped there prices here in nj. i remember it used to cost 200 for duals with cheaper turbo mufflers at most private shops. then it progressively went up. i personally wont ever take any car i own to an exhaust shop. i have built enough exhausts for my cars and others out of mandrel bends. if you have a welder its cake. where in nj are you located? i did 3" right to the bumper on my dart. no muffle rshope i talked to at that time would consider it. they told me it would never fit over the axle. when i asked about 2 1/2, most guys told me sure but theyll have to step it down over the axle. thats when it all started... i guess high rent and labor rates in nj are a big part of it, the lovely state probably throws some big fees at them too for working on cars.
Buy A Kit From Summit Or Jegs And Do It Yourself Man,you Will Be Alot Happier Yeah Youll Have To Modify The Kit To Work But Hell Thats Half The Fun Anyway Right?as Long As You Have Access To A Wire Feed You Should Be Golden!!!
Headders back including flowmasters and stainless steel piping only cost me $500 at my friendly Midas Shop on 82nd in Portland
I asked a Monro Muffler for a ballpark for a '31 A pickup to run a V8 and fairly simple duals and the guy who would actually do it thought around $300. But my buddy picked up a '50 Chevy frame with a fairly new exhaust still hung on it which I think will dissapear when the time comes to put something on mine. Right now it has an exhaust, but it ends at the old glasspack under the car. Which isn't much different than my daily beater, actually.
On our Anglia we bought a Summit kit for a Malibu (IIRC) as it was significantly longer than the Anglia. It was a bit of a pain, but it all fit, it's not mandrel bent but I believe we paid about $150.00 for the kit (2.25"). Only thing extra we had to buy was the pencil tips. We were able to scab the manifold flanges from the donor vehichle though, so that's something you would ahve to come up with. May not be the best, but it IS cheap.
maybe they do a nice job. it may be worth it. doesn't sound like 2 straight pipes with 'tails to me. try to get them to throw in the mufflers. good luck
If anything hes the one whose gone starkraving mad, 550 bucks is freaking ridiculous! Hes just trynna milk ya for money, id say find someone else.
I'll go with the guys who say do it yourself. It isn't rocket science to build an exhaust system, and it can be a fun exercise if you take your time and plan it out. Buy a box of random bends from someone like Speedway, get a couple pieces of straight pipe from the local auto parts and go for it. Get used to cuting a piece of exhaust tubing or u-bend perpendicular to the centerline by clamping it in a vice. and just go from one piece to the next until you get to where your going. Cut a piece and tack weld it really strong and go on to the next. When you get to the muffler take the headpipe out and finish weld it. Hang the finished pipe with hangers, attach the muffler and procede to the rear. Repeat for the other side with duals and your home. after you've done your first set you'll wonder why it took you so long to try it. A mig welder is fine (especially for tacking the individual pieces, no need for gas or tig) and you can use it for the whole job. Frank
Im with Fab 32. Most of the work I have seen get done around here is SHIT QUALITY for the money you pay. As in REALLY SHIT QUALITY....... Which is why I made my own headers with a mandrel bent system. Guess what, NO rattles, no leaks, no rust, and sounds awesoem plus the satisfaction of hearing that noise everytime I step on the load pedal and knowing I did it myself. Think ahead three steps and you'll be fine. Dont eld anything at forst, measure, tack re check etc etc.... I bought the bends and mufflers and had a go. You'd be surprised what you can do if you have a go and plan it out. Good luck Rat
As a comparison I just paid a bit over 70 to have an "econo" muffler put on an 88 Cad Deville. Two cuts with a sawzall, stick it in place, and two welds with a mig. With that in mind hanging duals on a Chev 6 with a split manifold for 500 may not be that far out of line.
2) a pair of "knock off" flowmaster mufflers from the exhaust shop(carry out) $100.00(200 installed at the sme shop) 1)an hour at the parts store digging through the exhaust adapter scrap pille with a tape measure and a list 3) laying on your back saturday morning for a couple hours 4)firing up the car with no exhaust leaks and a bitchin new rumble for the first time,knowing how much money you saved PRICLESS
You can get a complete "Stainless Steel Exhaust system, complete for use with Fenton Headers", includes head pipes, tail pipes, bolt in installation for bout $600 from Patrick's Antique Auto. 520-836-1117
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