I finally decised to replace the 2.5" to Walker Super Turbo muffler into 2" over axles exhaust, and wanted something to flow my 408's gasses away. Uncorking the headers at the strip was worth 3 or 4 tenths (12.7's to 12.3's), so I knew I had plenty of backpressure. Since theirs no kil like overkill, an in spite of several opnions that 2.5" through would work, I went with the 3" Summit system, with welded mufflers. These were made specifically to bolt up to the Hooker comp headers, which I have.
I took it to my local muffler shop, who has installed many performance systems in the past, and went to work. Work, says I, where in truth I was mostly in the way with plenty of silly questions and poor suggestions. Nevertheless, the system was anything but bolt in! The drivers side went in with some trouble, but did require cutting of the rear extension from the collector to the muffler. The pasenger side, though, was another story altogether. The over axle pipe seemed to be bent incorrectly, and did not want to fit. He had to cut the rear collector to muffler extension on both ends, slightly dent the front collector to muffler extension to clear the tranny crossmember. He also had to cut the over axle piece on both ends, and swell one end to allow some play. Finally, the tailpipe extension required 3 additional bends on his non-mandrel machine to fit properly. It too 3.75 hours! But...he only charged me $100, and I was expecting pay more, but business was slow. All said, if I would have tried this at home, I would have failed miserably!
He was kind enough to cut the A-body tips off of my old 2" pipe, and fit them to the 3" pipe. Oddly enough, the tips flared from 2" to meet the pipe into a 3" diameter, which was then shaped to form the rectangle tip we all know and love. Therefore, he was able to cut the tip at the end of the flare, and he slightly enlarged the 3" exhaust pipe for the tip to fit into. After welding, it almost looks like it was supposed to be that way. And, I did not have to buy a $130 set of new tips!
Finally, from the rear of the car, the sound is louder than what I had at idle, and is louder when you rev the engine. But, it is quieter inside the cabin at driving speed. Not sure of the physics behind that one. I am happy with the final result, and seat of the pants seems to indicate that it revs more freely. I hope to test it this weekend with my new 3/8" fuel line. Maybe, just maybe, I can get closer to the 11's, with the exhaust hooked up. That unhooking headers at the strip is a pain!
I took it to my local muffler shop, who has installed many performance systems in the past, and went to work. Work, says I, where in truth I was mostly in the way with plenty of silly questions and poor suggestions. Nevertheless, the system was anything but bolt in! The drivers side went in with some trouble, but did require cutting of the rear extension from the collector to the muffler. The pasenger side, though, was another story altogether. The over axle pipe seemed to be bent incorrectly, and did not want to fit. He had to cut the rear collector to muffler extension on both ends, slightly dent the front collector to muffler extension to clear the tranny crossmember. He also had to cut the over axle piece on both ends, and swell one end to allow some play. Finally, the tailpipe extension required 3 additional bends on his non-mandrel machine to fit properly. It too 3.75 hours! But...he only charged me $100, and I was expecting pay more, but business was slow. All said, if I would have tried this at home, I would have failed miserably!
He was kind enough to cut the A-body tips off of my old 2" pipe, and fit them to the 3" pipe. Oddly enough, the tips flared from 2" to meet the pipe into a 3" diameter, which was then shaped to form the rectangle tip we all know and love. Therefore, he was able to cut the tip at the end of the flare, and he slightly enlarged the 3" exhaust pipe for the tip to fit into. After welding, it almost looks like it was supposed to be that way. And, I did not have to buy a $130 set of new tips!
Finally, from the rear of the car, the sound is louder than what I had at idle, and is louder when you rev the engine. But, it is quieter inside the cabin at driving speed. Not sure of the physics behind that one. I am happy with the final result, and seat of the pants seems to indicate that it revs more freely. I hope to test it this weekend with my new 3/8" fuel line. Maybe, just maybe, I can get closer to the 11's, with the exhaust hooked up. That unhooking headers at the strip is a pain!
