Dual Exhaust Installation

This 1969 Chevelle Malibu has certainly seen better days. With the 350 cube, 2-bbl. V8, this car originally came with a single exhaust system. Passable (but just barely) wasnt good enough, so we elected to install a full dual exhaust system. This would not only help the engine breath easier, it was give us a nice, mellow muscle car sound. We had Flowmaster ship us their 17119 which includes a full 2-12 tube system built specifically for 1964-72 GM A-Body. Of course, complete systems are available for Late Great Chevys, too! Flowmasters system comes with their Super 40 Series Mufflers too, which creates magic to the ears. Maybe not to your neighbors ears, but definitely to yours. The Super 40 Series is not too loud, and the tone is More on that at the end of this story... But for now, lets start a-cuttin. We took the Chevelle and our new exhaust system to a local muffler specialty shop and let the do their thing. If youre more mechanically inclined, tackle the yourself. Heres how its done. The existing single system has done its tour of duty. Yep, this was the original exhaust, and after nearly 45 years, is finished. The shop owner commences with the Sawzall. Were breathing better already. envira-gallery id"1825"Just as we suspected. Even though our Chevelles exhaust system was not of double wall construction, the had definitely lost their shape. This system was definitely the original- the stamping on the muffler says V-8 DUAL, even though the car came equipped with the single muffler. The new dual exhaust system is layed out and visually inspected. Flowmaster has designed this system to fit throughout the A-Bodys undercarriage. The fuel tank will be replaced as well, but thats another well deal with later. Of course, all the necessary mounting hardware is included with the kit. Here they quickly bolt up some hangers just in front of the axle. Heres a shot of one of the now open exhaust manifolds. Yep, you guessed it, factory original. It was at this stage that we realized that the Flowmaster system was really designed for cars equipped with headers. More on that in a bit... The Super 40 Series mufflers are mocked up into With one of the rear sections attached, the mufflers is fine-tuned. Here the H-pipe section is mocked up. Whether you are doing the install yourself or having a handle the job (our recommendation), its important to loosely fit all the sections before you attempt clamping or welding the system together. Flowmasters system fits to a tee. As we mentioned earlier, this system is better suited to use with exhaust headers, not really the shorty manifolds this stocker came with. The Flowmaster set up does not come with any ahead of the H-pipe section, so the shop had to fabricate tubes that connected the H section to the factory exhaust manifolds. No big deal, just some simple measuring and cutting. envira-gallery id"1834"The fabricated tubing is test fit for length, and then angled using a hydraulic tubing bender. Any muffler shop has one of these benders - so if youre contemplating installing a new exhaust system by yourself - when you get to this have the tubing bent by a Smooth, uninterrupted exhaust flow is critical to overall The homemade tubing gets its final fitting. The ends of the tubing are flared for joining at the manifolds. The fabricated tubing is then fastened to the manifolds. With the entire system in they start welding the joins. Now its starting to look like a real exhaust system! A set of hangers gets welded just behind the mufflers. Flowmaster supplies two variations of tail a set that juts straight out with a beveled cut, or a more stock appearing set that features a downturned cut-off. The stocker approach was favored here, and they were welded into We mentioned earlier in this story about the sound generated by the Super 40 Series mufflers. We think theyre just the ticket for this ride. Log on to: www.flowmastermufflers.com for more info. Check out the actual sounds at: https:www.youtube.comwatch?vJcqJmwaDfYE You can individual exhaust system components or complete systems for your Chevy from Ecklers. Simply go to EcklersAutomotive.com, select your brand of Chevrolet, and enter the search word Flowmaster.