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With our easy projects now out of the way it was time to roll up our sleeves and
tackle the big ones. A stainless steel exhaust system was our next goal but not all
stainless was created equal. We wanted to use the better 304 grade of stainless
for our system vs inferior grades like 409 that would tend to corrode more over
time. We found the perfect foundation for our system with a 2.5" Hot Rod weld up
kit and a pair of 4" round mufflers from Magnaflow Performance Exhaust.
These kits are designed with enough tubing & different bends to do a full size
muscle car. We started our project at the headers using 90 degree bends that we
fitted to our flanges. We proceeded to run our tubing back to the first of our
hangers which we mounted on the transmission cross member. We had plenty of
tubing to play with so we decided to take the advice of the guys at Magnaflow
and incorporate a crossover tube in our system to balance out the two exhaust
banks. Once our crossover tube was fitted we worked back to our next cross
member where we hung the mufflers. We decided to spend a few extra bucks on
some stainless three bolt flanges we got from Vibrant Performance. This let us
cut our system into more manageable sections for future assembly or
disassembly. We also liked the look better than band clamps or muffler clamps.
With the muffler hangers and flanges tacked in place, we fitted different degree
bends from the kit to climb over the axle and out under the rear frame section.
This close routing to our frame gave us a spot to mount our last set of hangers.
We drilled our frame section to accept a pair of 3/8" threaded inserts that we
welded in place to anchor the last two hangers. We found the hangers at
Welder Series, a Canadian company that specializes in do-it-yourself automotive
welding projects. These really gave our system the clean look we were after. Now
all we had left to do was finish our welds and polish before final assembly.
tackle the big ones. A stainless steel exhaust system was our next goal but not all
stainless was created equal. We wanted to use the better 304 grade of stainless
for our system vs inferior grades like 409 that would tend to corrode more over
time. We found the perfect foundation for our system with a 2.5" Hot Rod weld up
kit and a pair of 4" round mufflers from Magnaflow Performance Exhaust.
These kits are designed with enough tubing & different bends to do a full size
muscle car. We started our project at the headers using 90 degree bends that we
fitted to our flanges. We proceeded to run our tubing back to the first of our
hangers which we mounted on the transmission cross member. We had plenty of
tubing to play with so we decided to take the advice of the guys at Magnaflow
and incorporate a crossover tube in our system to balance out the two exhaust
banks. Once our crossover tube was fitted we worked back to our next cross
member where we hung the mufflers. We decided to spend a few extra bucks on
some stainless three bolt flanges we got from Vibrant Performance. This let us
cut our system into more manageable sections for future assembly or
disassembly. We also liked the look better than band clamps or muffler clamps.
With the muffler hangers and flanges tacked in place, we fitted different degree
bends from the kit to climb over the axle and out under the rear frame section.
This close routing to our frame gave us a spot to mount our last set of hangers.
We drilled our frame section to accept a pair of 3/8" threaded inserts that we
welded in place to anchor the last two hangers. We found the hangers at
Welder Series, a Canadian company that specializes in do-it-yourself automotive
welding projects. These really gave our system the clean look we were after. Now
all we had left to do was finish our welds and polish before final assembly.
The last project to complete was our fuel system. We went with a complete system
from Aeromotive. With roots that stem from the Aerospace industry they know
how to deliver rock steady fuel pressure with minimal amperage draw. We opted
for one of their in-line style electric pumps that would support up to 500 blown HP.
We placed a 100 micron in-line filter before our pump and a 10 micron filter after
the pump to keep our system clean. To complete the system a good adjustable
bypass regulator was added to manage the fuel pressure in relation to our boost.
We started by building a plate to mount our regulator on giving us good access to
the carburetor ports for future plumbing. Then we modified a set of polished
brackets from Street & Performance to accept our fuel pump & filter assembly.
We mounted this whole assembly along the passenger side inner frame rail. Our
plan was to run 1/2" stainless tubing along the chassis to feed and return our fuel,
and then use flexible hose to connect to the fuel tank and regulator. This required
bending our tubing to form its way down the chassis rails. To do this we needed a
good bender that could make accurate bends. Our research brought us to
Aeroquip Performance Products for one of their new hand benders. These
benders feature roller bearings, a nice cushioned grip, and an
adjustable lever that makes bending tubing up to 180 degrees a
breeze. We also liked the easy to read degree wheel. We had
several complex bends in our layout so the old motto measure
twice and bend once became paramount. We started with
our easy bends first to get used to the tool and then worked our way to the harder
runs which had multiple bends across a 5' length. To anchor our lines we made a
call to Totally Stainless for a selection of their stainless line clamps. After
choosing our positions we drilled and tapped the chassis to accept our clamps.
All that was left to do now was add our tube nuts, flare our ends, & then polish
everything before final assembly.
from Aeromotive. With roots that stem from the Aerospace industry they know
how to deliver rock steady fuel pressure with minimal amperage draw. We opted
for one of their in-line style electric pumps that would support up to 500 blown HP.
We placed a 100 micron in-line filter before our pump and a 10 micron filter after
the pump to keep our system clean. To complete the system a good adjustable
bypass regulator was added to manage the fuel pressure in relation to our boost.
We started by building a plate to mount our regulator on giving us good access to
the carburetor ports for future plumbing. Then we modified a set of polished
brackets from Street & Performance to accept our fuel pump & filter assembly.
We mounted this whole assembly along the passenger side inner frame rail. Our
plan was to run 1/2" stainless tubing along the chassis to feed and return our fuel,
and then use flexible hose to connect to the fuel tank and regulator. This required
bending our tubing to form its way down the chassis rails. To do this we needed a
good bender that could make accurate bends. Our research brought us to
Aeroquip Performance Products for one of their new hand benders. These
benders feature roller bearings, a nice cushioned grip, and an
adjustable lever that makes bending tubing up to 180 degrees a
breeze. We also liked the easy to read degree wheel. We had
several complex bends in our layout so the old motto measure
twice and bend once became paramount. We started with
our easy bends first to get used to the tool and then worked our way to the harder
runs which had multiple bends across a 5' length. To anchor our lines we made a
call to Totally Stainless for a selection of their stainless line clamps. After
choosing our positions we drilled and tapped the chassis to accept our clamps.
All that was left to do now was add our tube nuts, flare our ends, & then polish
everything before final assembly.
| Passin' Gas |
