Aftermarket or custom exhaust system? - The 1947 - Present Chevrolet & GMC Truck Message Board Network

desert-rat · 09-03-2024, 03:03 PM

For the entire piping. I don't remember the estimated cost for my 72 C10 but looking at aftermarket ones are way cheaper. Are aftermarkets any good? Which ones would you recommend if you went aftermarket? Or just drop the doh on a custom?

**dmjlambert** · 09-03-2024, 09:09 PM

Around here going to a muffler shop and getting it done custom with aluminized steel is about $500 to $600.

**1970cstblazer** · 09-04-2024, 08:05 AM

I used the full 2.25" dual turbo muffler system from LMC on my 1970 K/5 Blazer with 350. I installed it with the body off the frame, but experienced no fitment issues. i bought it in 2021 for around $300.

**MikeB** · 09-04-2024, 05:15 PM

Back around 2016, I bought a HeartThrob mandrel-bent, aluminized, 2-1/4" system for a square body. Very reasonable price (a little over $200, I think) from one of their distributors, but I forget the name. I even spoke to a guy named Mike, who was the one who would bend my pipes. I did have to fabricate the head pipes to connect to my 97 Vortec exhaust manifolds, but the rest fit very well. This is their list of manifold duals, but they also have header duals. Go down a ways to see GM/Chevy.

http://www.heartthrobexhaust.com/manifolddualkits.htm

They also make their own mufflers, but I wouldn't recommend them.

**truckster** · 09-04-2024, 08:02 PM

I didn't like anything I saw available, so I bought 2.5 inch stainless pre-bent sections and Magnaflow 14x6 round mufflers and built my own. I don't think I'd ever do it any other way again.

**70STOVEBOLT** · 09-05-2024, 04:59 PM

I used a 2 1/2 stainless kit from Pypes and then customized it to tuck between the frame rails and I put in electric cutouts. I used Thrush oval turbo mufflers.

GASoline71 · 09-05-2024, 06:04 PM

I bought a 3" mandrel bent 180 from Summit Racing, and a 10 foot stick of 3" tubing from my local exhaust shop and fabricated my own with Flowmaster 40's.

Gary

**MikeB** · 09-05-2024, 06:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GASoline71

I bought a 3" mandrel bent 180 from Summit Racing, and a 10 foot stick of 3" tubing from my local exhaust shop and fabricated my own with Flowmaster 40's.

Gary

That's not very loud, right?

GASoline71 · 09-06-2024, 04:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MikeB

That's not very loud, right?

Maybe... depends on your definition of "loud".

Gary

**Ol Blue K20** · 09-05-2024, 06:51 PM

I have an exhaust shop I have used for years. Always comes out nice. It costs a little more but he fights getting around the transfer case. I just drink beer from his fridge...lol

**MikeB** · 09-05-2024, 09:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ol Blue K20

I have an exhaust shop I have used for years. Always comes out nice. It costs a little more but he fights getting around the transfer case. I just drink beer from his fridge...lol

That's a good shop! Back in the day I had a customer I liked to call on just before quitting time. At 5pm he always opened up the Coke machine that had a bottom full of beer bottles!

Joyridin · 09-06-2024, 08:42 AM

Normally, an exhaust that is purchased off-the-shelf will be mandrel bent, not not 100% of the time. An exhaust from a local shop will generally always be bent with a standard pipe bender, but not all the time.

Most people like mandrel bent because it is cleaner looking and has better flow. I found a local shop that had a mandrel bender, but when he told me the price, I bought all the 3" tubing, a cheap tig welder, the tank, and all the other items needed to built it myself for just a bit over 1/2 the price he quoted me.

**MikeB** · 09-06-2024, 09:19 AM

I don't even know of any shops in the Dallas/Fort Worth area with mandrel bending tools. One shop claims to do mandrel bending, but what they do is buy the bends and then weld together the systems.

I had few bends left over from my HeartThrob kit and also bought a few more somewhere on line. But just recently, the guys on Engine Masters did a dyno test and said there was virtually no difference between mandrel bends and muffler shop crush bends. Then again, that could have been a 3" system when 2.5" would have made the same power with that specific engine. So, I'm not buying that for crush bends of all sizes for all engines. That, and mandrel bends sure look nicer!

KQQL IT · 09-07-2024, 09:53 AM

Part kit and a ton of pie cuts.
Magna flows the 18in variety
450hp ls and sounds like a exotic car now.

Was 1500-

09-03-2024, 03:03 PM	#1
desert-rat Registered User Join Date: Jan 2013 Location: 3,018 feet above the SoCal/Mojave Desert region. Posts: 371	Aftermarket or custom exhaust system? For the entire piping. I don't remember the estimated cost for my 72 C10 but looking at aftermarket ones are way cheaper. Are aftermarkets any good? Which ones would you recommend if you went aftermarket? Or just drop the doh on a custom?

09-03-2024, 09:09 PM	#2
dmjlambert Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2016 Location: Cypress, TX Posts: 3,814	Re: Aftermarket or custom exhaust system? Around here going to a muffler shop and getting it done custom with aluminized steel is about $500 to $600.

09-04-2024, 08:05 AM	#3
1970cstblazer All stock and staying that way Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Elkland, PA Posts: 1,686	Re: Aftermarket or custom exhaust system? I used the full 2.25" dual turbo muffler system from LMC on my 1970 K/5 Blazer with 350. I installed it with the body off the frame, but experienced no fitment issues. i bought it in 2021 for around $300. __________________ 1970 K/5 Blazer CST 4WD, Medium Bronze, 93k ACT. miles, 350, 4 speed, rear positraction, 16.5" x 8.25" HD wheel option, tilt, tach, vacuum, AM/FM, manual throttle...Dad ordered and purchased new 4/70. Currently frame off restoration finally getting close to completion.. 1972 Cheyenne Super 20 2WD, DK Blue/White, 90K ACT. miles, 402, TH400, 4.10 open, tilt, tach, vacuum, A/C, AM/FM, manual throttle.. A mostly original paint never rusted Texas survivor... 2017 Sierra 1500 SLT 4WD, Black, 45k miles, 5.3, 6L80E, 3.42 LS, 20" polished wheels, everything but moonroof and 6.2... 2019 Canyon SLT 4WD, White, 62k miles, 3.6, 8L45, 3.23 LS, 18" wheels

09-04-2024, 05:15 PM	#4
MikeB Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2000 Location: North Texas Posts: 3,570	Re: Aftermarket or custom exhaust system? Back around 2016, I bought a HeartThrob mandrel-bent, aluminized, 2-1/4" system for a square body. Very reasonable price (a little over $200, I think) from one of their distributors, but I forget the name. I even spoke to a guy named Mike, who was the one who would bend my pipes. I did have to fabricate the head pipes to connect to my 97 Vortec exhaust manifolds, but the rest fit very well. This is their list of manifold duals, but they also have header duals. Go down a ways to see GM/Chevy. http://www.heartthrobexhaust.com/manifolddualkits.htm They also make their own mufflers, but I wouldn't recommend them. __________________ Mike 1969 C10 LWB -- owned for 35 years. 350/TH350, 3.08 posi, 1st Gen Vintage Air, AAW wiring harness, 5-lug conversion, 1985 spindles and brakes. 1982 C10 SWB -- sold 1981 C10 Silverado LWB -- sold, but wish I still had it! 1969 C10 (not the current one) that I bought in the early 1980s. Paid $1200; sold for $1500 a few years later. Just a hint at the appreciation that was coming. Retired as a factory automation products salesman. Worked part-time over the years for an engine builder and a classic car repair shop. Member here for 24 years! This is the very first car/truck Internet forum I joined. I still used a dial-up modem back then!

09-04-2024, 08:02 PM	#5
truckster Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: Orem, Utah Posts: 7,954	Re: Aftermarket or custom exhaust system? I didn't like anything I saw available, so I bought 2.5 inch stainless pre-bent sections and Magnaflow 14x6 round mufflers and built my own. I don't think I'd ever do it any other way again. __________________ I have sworn upon the altar of God, eternal hostility against every form of tyranny over the mind of man. - Thomas Jefferson

09-05-2024, 04:59 PM	#6
70STOVEBOLT Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Winona Lake, IN Posts: 6,359	Re: Aftermarket or custom exhaust system? I used a 2 1/2 stainless kit from Pypes and then customized it to tuck between the frame rails and I put in electric cutouts. I used Thrush oval turbo mufflers. __________________ 70 C/10 SWB 402/TH400/3.73 "The Needy Beast" 200,000 Mile Club Disc Brake Club Owner installed options: Front Sway Bar Power Steering Power Brakes Cigar Lighter Courtesy Lights Deluxe Side Markers Wiper Delay Sliding Rear Window Power Windows Power Locks Sniper EFI 2015 Silverado 1500 LS 4.3/6L80/3.23 lowered 2" front & rear

09-05-2024, 06:51 PM	#10
Ol Blue K20 Proprietor of Dale's Corner Join Date: Nov 2012 Location: Vacaville , CA Posts: 16,243	Re: Aftermarket or custom exhaust system? I have an exhaust shop I have used for years. Always comes out nice. It costs a little more but he fights getting around the transfer case. I just drink beer from his fridge...lol __________________ "Some Days Chickens And Some Days Feathers" Dale XNGH ECV Sam Brannan 1004 R.I.P. 67ChevyRedneck R.I.P. Grumpy Old Man R.I.P. FleetsidePaul

09-06-2024, 08:42 AM	#12
Joyridin Registered User Join Date: Sep 2020 Location: Cleveland, Ohio Posts: 544	Re: Aftermarket or custom exhaust system? Normally, an exhaust that is purchased off-the-shelf will be mandrel bent, not not 100% of the time. An exhaust from a local shop will generally always be bent with a standard pipe bender, but not all the time. Most people like mandrel bent because it is cleaner looking and has better flow. I found a local shop that had a mandrel bender, but when he told me the price, I bought all the 3" tubing, a cheap tig welder, the tank, and all the other items needed to built it myself for just a bit over 1/2 the price he quoted me.

09-06-2024, 09:19 AM	#13
MikeB Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2000 Location: North Texas Posts: 3,570	Re: Aftermarket or custom exhaust system? I don't even know of any shops in the Dallas/Fort Worth area with mandrel bending tools. One shop claims to do mandrel bending, but what they do is buy the bends and then weld together the systems. I had few bends left over from my HeartThrob kit and also bought a few more somewhere on line. But just recently, the guys on Engine Masters did a dyno test and said there was virtually no difference between mandrel bends and muffler shop crush bends. Then again, that could have been a 3" system when 2.5" would have made the same power with that specific engine. So, I'm not buying that for crush bends of all sizes for all engines. That, and mandrel bends sure look nicer! __________________ Mike 1969 C10 LWB -- owned for 35 years. 350/TH350, 3.08 posi, 1st Gen Vintage Air, AAW wiring harness, 5-lug conversion, 1985 spindles and brakes. 1982 C10 SWB -- sold 1981 C10 Silverado LWB -- sold, but wish I still had it! 1969 C10 (not the current one) that I bought in the early 1980s. Paid $1200; sold for $1500 a few years later. Just a hint at the appreciation that was coming. Retired as a factory automation products salesman. Worked part-time over the years for an engine builder and a classic car repair shop. Member here for 24 years! This is the very first car/truck Internet forum I joined. I still used a dial-up modem back then!

09-07-2024, 09:53 AM	#14
KQQL IT At the body shop. Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Land of fruits and nuts. Posts: 5,237	Re: Aftermarket or custom exhaust system? Part kit and a ton of pie cuts. Magna flows the 18in variety 450hp ls and sounds like a exotic car now. Was 1500- Attached Images __________________ " That didnt make it any newer " " Dont antique the equipment " Last edited by KQQL IT; 09-07-2024 at 10:39 AM.



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