building exhaust

[76bonanza]

I am wanting to do up my own exhaust. And don't start about going to a shop or do it yourself. I want to do it myself because that is why I got the truck to do it myself.

Anyway do those chain pipe cutters from like jeggs cut ok?

And I am wondering if I should get like a universal kit or try to get the bends I think I need seperatly?

Anyone who has done this chime in.

[streetstar]

Are you a decent welder? Do you have an exhaust tubing bender? No offense, i dont know your mechanical background, but these are just some of the skills you need to make an exhaust system you will be happy with. Even the kits that are tailor made for these trucks have to be welded.

I think Classic Trucks magazine did an install within the past few months using a kit made for these trucks that would not need you to do a lot of custom bending and would give you a better result than a universal kit-- hopefully someone knows who makes these because i forgot the manufacturer

I did my own 4 years ago on a '75. 5 hours into the project i said "never again" and i was happy to hand over $300 to a local shop the next time i needed some duals and an H-pipe for a project, but i hope you have a better time of it than i did


A cut off wheel on a Dotco works as good as the chain thingies

[glock35ipsc]

I bought a handful of straight pipe, j-bends, and u-bends from Summit Racing. I also got a pipe cutter (kind of like a tubing cutter, but bigger) from Harbor Freight. It was fairly easy, just very time consuming. The most time spent is on figuring out how to cut the bends, sometimes it takes two or three pieces to make one turn, but I think the results are well worth the time spent! Since I ran mine through the trailing arm crossmember, you can't see any signs of the exhaust when looking underneath.

I am going to redo mine a little, as I should have put the mufflers behind the crossmember instead of in front. Click the build progress link in my sig line for some more pics.

[AlienYouth]

bob, thats HOT, wish i had a welder...

[Alex Hayley]

Bob, what size is that pipe? How would you rate your welding skill level?

[ChevyDude]

His welding skill level is VERY high...no doubt about that!!!

[glock35ipsc]

He-he, thanks Alex!!! (ChevyDude Alex, that is!)

Alex Hayley - The pipe is 2.5", and I design/weld pressure vessels, parts for coal pulverizers, and pulverized fuel piping (pfp) for coal fired power plants for a living.

BUT, to do this, you don't need a bunch of skill. The pieces are cut and fit, then tacked together (3 or 4 tacks per joint). Then pull them out and weld them up. I welded about 1" at a time on each joint, then alternate 90* and run another 1" stitch. Repeat until sealed.

[CST*TEN in Katy]

I did it myself. I bought 2.5" pipe, mufflers, tips, and a bunch of 90's 45's and 180's from JC Whitney. I bought a H-pipe kit from Summit. I used an abrasive disc in my Sears radial arm saw. Welded it all old school with my gas rig.
It took over a month, I spent way too much, but it's all mine.

[Scott68-93-97]

I agree w/ doit yourself buy some bends and get to work

[76bonanza]

I have a buddy that welds for a boat factory and has a welder for personal use. I do not plan on bending anything myself but buying the bends and cutting them. One question is I was looking at this kit.
http://www.jegs.com/webapp/wcs/store...60019_-1_10253
looks like mostly all the bends I would need?
Or should I try and buy what I need seperate?
I am hoping to lay it and cut it and stuff then spend a day welding it with my buddy.

Also only a simple system I want headers out tip in front of rear tires.

[BCOWANWHEELS]

you can cut the pipe with a sawzall, cut off grinder, chop saw or even a hand hack saw. use a coat hanger to form up a template to get your system going. its easy to bend and make pipe match hanger..... also you can weld pipe with a torch, mig it, or tig it.

[snipescastle2]

Bob,
Nice work! So, do you work at a power plant or a contractor repairing coal mills? I'm a Journeyman Mechanic working for Kansas City Power and Light, I do a lot of work on Coal Mills too. Babcock and Wilcox G89 units mostly....
Did you use Mig welding or Tig welding for your joints? (Purge welding?) just curious.
Have a good one!
Ben

[glock35ipsc]

Hi Ben. Wow, this is an old thread!

We manufacture replacement parts for the mills, mostly performance upgrades. We kind of "hot-rod" the mills. Since you work for KCL&P, we make the rotating throat assemblies for the MPS-89 mills at Iatan and Hawthorn. All of our stuff is fabricated from either A36 or AR400/500 depending on the application.

On this exhaust system, it was my little Hobart MIG I mostly used.

[Tx Firefighter]

I'm also in the do-it-myself camp. Usually I get my parts from Summit due to their free shipping policy on orders over 99 bucks.

To answer the question in the first post, yes, the chain type cutters work very well. Quick and they cut square, which is something a sawzall or hacksaw seldom do. I used to fix mail trucks for a living and we put a lot of tailpipes on in the field when a carrier would back into something and kink them. The chain cutters would cut one off in about 10 seconds.