Duel exhaust

JSRTUDOR

JSRTUDOR

Senior Member
Hi Barners again! I'm getting ready to drop the 272 into my 56 Mainline 4 door sedan after pulling the tired 223. Where has everyone bought their exhaust systems from? I haven't decided if I want to go pure stock with the exhaust or go custom with a side exiting exhaust with no mufflers! Either way I need head pipes and possibly mufflers and tail pipes. Thanks again! This is a budget build by the way, kinda rat rodish.
 
I went to my local muffler shop. About $500 for duals (2") out the back. I had duals on my '41 exit in front of the rear wheels with mufflers. That got real old in a hurry. Couldn't stand the constant rap. changed to rear dumps behind the wheels.
 
You may be able to find tuned headers for a Y-block, but not from the repro parts suppliers anymore. And if you do find a place that offers them, be sure not to get truck headers. They wont fit in your car.
I have had bad experiences twice with exhaust system kits that come from the repro parts suppliers. Their pipe bends are not always perfect. It's better to take the car to a local muffler shop, but you can select your own cherry-bombs or whatever and hand them over for them to install.
Be aware, some places no longer have provisions to supply exhaust pipe-to-header flanges, so you may need to come up with them yourself also, so you might as well get header-to-exhaust pipe gaskets too.
 
if your looking to save a buck use the 6 cyl exhaust for one side if its still good.all you need is a couple feet of pipe from the manifold which any shop can make for a small amount and your half done.
 
I paid big bucks for the exhaust kit from that family owned company in Michigan. It was a disaster. I will not be using them again! Dave is right, try to find a small shop that will take the car for a week, and take their time. It's cheaper in the long run. My choice was Magna-Flows. Way better than FlowMasters. Sounds like a normal car with a little bit of tone...till you step on it. Then they sound cool. The Y-block has a unique sound in the midrange with the right exhaust combination.
 
In my opinion, Flowmaster mufflers sound like marbles rattling around in a tin can, unless they are on a cat-equipped vehicle.
 
IMO, Flowmaster's have too much of a modern or late model Mustang sound for me .
Not the sound I would want for my 50's or 60's car or truck . - F F
 
Gene F said:
I paid big bucks for the exhaust kit from that family owned company in Michigan. It was a disaster. I will not be using them again! Dave is right, try to find a small shop that will take the car for a week, and take their time. It's cheaper in the long run. My choice was Magna-Flows. Way better than FlowMasters. Sounds like a normal car with a little bit of tone...till you step on it. Then they sound cool. The Y-block has a unique sound in the midrange with the right exhaust combination.
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It's strange that in this computer age a company can't make an exhaust kit that fits! Back in the day every corner gas station had racks of tailpipes and head pipes that fit. In cold climates tailpipes and mufflers rusted out rapidly. So you just went to your favorite gas station, they put your car up on the lift and quickly installed new mufflers and pipes from their stock. No fuss, no muss!
Obviously, quality control mattered back then!
 
I repped for Walker exhaust in the 70s/early 80s. We watched sales dwindling and knew the end was near at that time. What caused the decline? Several factors. One was the growing use of unleaded gas. Leaded gas was a major contributor to exhaust system failure. Systems began lasting longer. The advent of catalytic converters and other emission controls is another factor. Engines run hotter than they did back in the day for emissions purposes. A side benefit is that the exhaust systems also run hotter, evaporating the acidic condensate quickly and pretty much eliminating corrosion. About this time corner service stations began disappearing (notice I said service stations as opposed to gas stations). Why? Despite the awful 70s cars we had, vehicles on the average were becoming more reliable and required less servicing. Also, computer controlled engines began to appear on the scene and many old school mechanics hung up their tools. Then there's the space needed to stock a breadth of exhaust system parts; it's huge. As exhaust sales dropped off that space was repurposed to store faster moving parts and more service area.
 
Waldron exhaust made up the duals for my 55 sedan. I tested all the parts in place, then removed it all and hung it up to clean, prime and paint. It was money well spent. I used their house brand mufflers. Nice and quiet when cruising, nice sound when floored.
 
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