changing exhaust.....

[chev74]

Currently on my 74 stepside i have the Patriot chrome sidepipes (basically three foot long glasspacks with a chrome covering) coming straight off my headers. I loved the sound when i first got them on, but that was probably because i hadnt driven the truck in a couple of years. Now i am wanting to go with a muffler system, and am debating which flowmasters/borla/etc i should get. any suggestions?

I have been watching videos on Youtube, and the super 44s sound pretty mean...

all suggestions welcome

[swb85]

I've got 3" super 44's on my truck, they sound wicked. If ya like it REALLY loud, try the flowmaster 1 chamber race mufflers (10 series). I've got them on my camaro and it knocks stuff off my garage wall when I start it.

[N2TRUX]

What do you want from your exhaust? Do you want it loud, quiet or somewhere in between?

[Texasdeere]

Originally Posted by N2TRUX

What do you want from your exhaust? Do you want it loud, quiet or somewhere in between?

Let us know what kind of sound and volume you want.


The 2 chamber flows do sound wicked but they have a lot of drone, even with a full system. I think the 50 series sound very similar but without the drone.

[chev74]

I am thinking I want Loud, but mostly that commanding tone that only Flowmasters can deliver. They will be dumped under the bed, so reverberation will be a factor as well.

[chev74]

is there a way i could still keep the chrome sidepipes (since they look very unique and add a nice flair to the black paint?

[Ivan D.]

Originally Posted by chev74

is there a way i could still keep the chrome sidepipes (since they look very unique and add a nice flair to the black paint?

Yes, there is a way, you need electric cutouts, with them the normal flow of the exhaust will be out back through the mufflers and such, and when you open the flappers much of the exhaust will go through the sidepipes. Can we see some pictures of yer sidepipes tho? I was debating on doing those on my truck, but since I'm ususally broke I went with a pair of Super Turbo mufflers and dumps at the end of the cab under the bed - it ain't really loud, from inside the cab engine itself is much louder than the exhaust, but it has a nice deep tone to it and apparently the sound waves while not annoying enough to wake up the neighbor's new-born in the morning are still plenty powerful to set off car alarms when I cruise by at low rpms Also, a bit offtopic, do you have a 2wd or a 4x4, and how do you plan on routing the exhaust around the tranny crossmember ?

[chev74]

ttt

[77GMCTruck]

You might want to look into the Flowmaster 50 SUV Mufflers. They have that flowmaster sound that your looking for but are made to be quieter in the cab of the truck. Just something to think about... I'm planning on using a pair of those to run dual exhaust straight out the back of my truck.

[chev74]

ill get ya good pic of the sidepipes later today, this is the best i have for the moment. They really look sleek on a little bit of a lift with the black paint

[chev74]

well i talked to a couple muffler guys yesterday and they pretty much told me that i could replace the glass pack inside the sidepipes with a length of pipe, route the exhaust off of my shorty headers, back with a muffler, then do about a 190 degree turn to head back up to the front and then another 190 degree turn back into the sidepipes. sounds a little worthless to me...

if anyone has some better ideas, they are very welcome- but im almost to the point of scrapping the sidepipes.

Ivan D.- if youre interested in buying them, they may be up for sale shortly!

[swb85]

That's really your only choice if you want to run a case style muffler and keep your sidepipes. You could always replace the glass pack inside the sidepipes with a chambered muffler like sweet thunders or stainless works..... maybe something like a moroso spiral flow. Then you'd get the sound you're after & retain the look you have.

[Ivan D.]

Originally Posted by chev74

Ivan D.- if youre interested in buying them, they may be up for sale shortly!

My headers don't clear the frame rails, they are full-length but they are for a Chevelle or something - they tuck high up along the frame rails, I got tons of ground clearance, but any side exhaust is ruled out as an option. If I had regular truck headers they hang lower than teh frame and I'd be running either sidepipes like you do, or a setup like this:

[bigtruck81]

Originally Posted by chev74

but im almost to the point of scrapping the sidepipes.

its ok to do so, the 70s have been over for almost 28 years now.

[chev74]

so you wanted to see my sidepipes... heres a few pics i just took

[Ivan D.]

Originally Posted by chev74

so you wanted to see my sidepipes... heres a few pics i just took

Well, look at my exhaust here:







Now imagine that instead of the short extension pipes I have after the mufflers, imagine you have U-turns that route the exhaust back towards the engine, then under the floorpans you instal 90* bends and hook the pipes coming from the back to the sidepipes you got now - kinda take the diagram in my previous post and extend the piping back so that the U-turns go behind the mufflers where I have them now - that's how tis gonna look like if you do what you're suggested by the exhaust folks you talked to. Alternatively you can switch the sidepipes left to right so the exits end up right behind the front tires, then you will only need simple 90* bends behind the mufflers to hook them up to an exhaust like mine.

Hope that helps a bit at least.


Oh, that's a sweet truck by the way, what kind of lift you have on it and what size are those tires?

[chev74]

do you have a lift on that truck Ivan? how did you do yours? i originally replaced my stock 1/2 ton springs with 1 tons and it lifted it substantially, but gave me a helluva ride! so i recently went back to 1/2 ton springs with spacers. in the back i just have blocks under my leaf springs.

[Ivan D.]

No lift man, that's the weird thing about it - originally truck had an I6 engine and a manual tranny, which at some point were replaced with the much heavier 350 SBC and TH350 combo, however judging by all the rust and dirt the front end has never been disassembled so I bet it still gots the stock soft front coils. Yet, it still rides higher than any other 2wd half-ton I've seen! Here are some decent pics, second one is the most current:





How much of lift do you have? The way I look at my truck right now I can put about 1" spacers (or longer coils of course), which should theoretically give me 2" lift at the front, but I'd be pretty much riding on my upper bump-stops, which souldn't really be that big of a deal considering my grandpa-style driving, lol

[chev74]

roughly 3" in the front and 2" in the back. i wanted it to sit more level because its looks more aggressive. with 32" tires i have never had any space clearance issues. before my lift i had gotten my tires put on and they just filled up the fender well too much.

what kind of grille guard/ bumper guard do you have on there? i have wanted to put one on mine for a while now- either that or a winch

[Ivan D.]

32" tires is what I got in the front too, 33" in the rear, like them a lot - when I throw it in neutral truck coasts forever

The bumper thing - tis actually a front hitch, you know for putting boats in water, maneuvering trailers, and such. I got it from a friend who has had it since early '80s, but I've seen them on many trucks in their full brush guard form, so I bet they can still be found aftermarket.

[chev74]

Ivan, do you know of anywhere to find that bug guard you have on there? I had an 82 custom deluxe with a clear one and my fried jumped upon my hood and smash the hell out of it. It worked so good but i could never seem to find another

[Ivan D.]

LMC truck has them but they're expensive, the one I have I pulled off an F250 in my local junkyard, only cost me $6 or so. Thing is tho, '80s hoods are different in shape than ours, and a shield made for one of them won't work right on a '70s hood. I'm talking about those shields that follow the shape of the hood by the way, mine ain't one of them as it sits about an inch ahead of the hood so it don't really care what hood you got behind it. My bug shield is made by some company from Iowa called Deflecta-Shield Corp.

[chev74]

i was wanting one like yours- sticks straight up and flat. i dont even like the way that the contoured ones look. i cant find the style you have in LMC

[Ivan D.]

well I'd guess tis a pretty ancient piece, after all it was an '80s Ford I took it off - I looked at Summit and Jegs and they ain't got nothing similar, dunno where else to look for one... maybe a big truck stop would have something of that sort?

[chev74]

i am thinking that a junk yard will be my best bet.