$50 for the solution to this problem. I

brian.? I'm now reading thru this thread, I don,t know what got you upset,
but Im reasonably sure no one on this site intended to get you upset,
belittle your skills or in any way indicate your anything but a skilled mechanic with a great deal of experience.
obviously in any group theres going to be a wide variation of experiences, thus view points, that in no way means your views are inferior or better than the other members views until you can point out the advantages or faults in thier input on any subject with facts , just as they can,t prove they may have a better idea with out facts!
 
Grumpy said:
brian.? I'm now reading thru this thread, I don,t know what got you upset,
but Im reasonably sure no one on this site intended to get you upset,
belittle your skills or in any way indicate your anything but a skilled mechanic with a great deal of experience.
obviously in any group theres going to be a wide variation of experiences, thus view points, that in no way means your views are inferior or better than the other members views until you can point out the advantages or faults in thier input on any subject with facts , just as they can,t prove they may have a better idea with out facts!
Click to expand...
Digital Corvette Forum Grumpy.
Just Yourself and Junkman I trust.
Need I say more ?
 
They don't need or want me there on DC.
They can read your links Grumpy.
Done being thier quick reply answer man.
Ungrateful bunch overall .
Call me A Hellcat Lover when All know I am a Poncho Pontiac Guy.
Ashamed to be A Corvette Owner .
 
Tell Junk I will get back to him Grumpy.
Feels Good not looking at DC For one night and Not being Slandered laughed at.

So Mad.....I will Race all Corvettes with my 1970-1/2 RAM AIR 4 TRANS AM.
BLOW THIER DOORS OFF STREET RACING TO 190 MPH.
 
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Pontiac-Catalina-2-2-Bonne-421HO-and-428HO-exhaust-manifolds-/121717968744
catex.JPG


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while I think the prices is a bit high these look nice for that catalina
 
These manifolds look great and the sellers sounds even better. The one remaining question, how much under water do I want to wind up? It's like Christmas here, 9 large boxes from Summit came today. Mostly different exhaust tubes from Pypes, Flowmaster and Magnaflow, all are 2.5" Mandrel bent 409 SS. If I get these manifolds the seller says no returns, I have no idea how long it will take me sell these or at what price some Poncho guy will pay for them if they don't fit.
I know the driver's side has the collector branch-off in the center of the manifold and the passenger side is at the rear of the manifold. I hate like hell to have any part of this system bent in the typical muffler shop manor just to get this done.

I just don't understand how there can be 27 shops in Southern Cal. that have Mandrel bending machines and yet none, zip, zero anywhere else!
I take that back, Pypes has it's world headquarters right down the road from me and only uses their Mandrel bender for research and development of new products. Their shop manager is even a Pontiac guy and he won't do anything for me, even for good cash!
One guy that I know of is in MI that has the original factory specs for most all cars and light trucks from the late '40s and ships the world over but is a regular muffler shop. The Mandrel bender costs about the same as a portable Chassie Dyno and nobody can make it pay? If I had a connection to a busy performance shop, you would see me making a deal for sure!
I'll bet to someone this is a walk in the park - it just shouldn't be this difficult, just done right.
 
I did just write a question to this eBay seller explaining the details. If he's really the expert he puts himself out there to be, he just might have the right answer. Thank you Grumpy.
 
Well time to soak the rusty nuts and bolts and get things ready. I had a '72 Corvette last year that looked worse but came apart very easy. I hope this is the same.
 
There Are Mandrel Tubing benders here in Illinois .
The Chicago Drag race shops have them.

Would need to bring the 1968 Catalina here.
Will have $1500-$2,000 into the project.
 
I'm capping this exhaust job at $1200. If I figure the final figure will be higher I'll just send back what I can and live with what's there. The longer I have this car on the lift the more I'm finding. My 12 yr old daughter was hanging out with me in the garage tonight and looked up and pointed to a coolant drip off the bottom of the radiator . . . . .just ad it to the list.
 
If the exhaust pipe runs too close to the starter will there be a problem with it absorbing heat?
 
I have a set of down pipes or "exhaust" pipes as Summit calls them, coming off the manifolds. If they work it's going to put the pipe barely if not actually touching the pitman arm and the starter. I don't know why the manufacture states they made these pipes for this car if they fit like this. I'm not sure, but will my only option be to flatten the pipe where contact will be if I need to keep that size pipe?

The rest I plan like this:

The down pipes will end just at the end of the transmission pan. The X pipe begins there and is 51" long to where the mufflers will mount. I have a set of over the axle pipes that if they work and don't hit anything will be about 8 to 10" short of making it to the rear bumper, but that's not including the exhaust tips that I have yet to purchase. I may have to get a couple short (perhaps 10 or 12") sections to attach either to the end of the X pipe or right after the mufflers.
I'm using SS band clamps that I can turn up to hide and make it clean looking. I want to be able to take this system a part until I can hear there's no drone or problems out on the road for testing and while I still have miscellaneous repairs that might be in the way. Later I plan to do a few, not all, welds so I can take some not all of the exhaust off if needed. Make any sense?
 
RAM AIR RESTORATION MAKES THE CORRECT LONG BRANCH EXHAUST MANIFOLD DOWN PIPES.
NO H OR X PIPE OPTION.

To build what you want Richard will require a Pro exhaust system builder.
Race shops get $100-200 per hour labor time.
 
Wow! But not bad if I had your car to work on, bad if have a car that's worth very little even if it was a #1 condition.
 
That is Exactly the Reason why I chose my 1970 Pontiac Trans Am again.
It all comes down to Big Tube Drag Race Headers that are available to fit and affordavle to buy. True Drag Race Exhaust system.
Big Block Cubes.
Solid Axle Rear that won't fail.

My Target is Hellcats.
 
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