Very nice work! Did you make the lower collar for the firewall too?
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Very nice work! Did you make the lower collar for the firewall too?
Yes I made it twice ! First time I had the the shaft out of alignment which showed up after I mounted the upper bracket to the dash. Had to move it to the left which required a complete new piece. OK I GIVE UP, the picture keeps coming out ROTATED no matter what I do and how I save them etc. *%$@&$^@)^)$$&
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Todays project was the exhaust system and Brake Pedal. I bought a X pipe kit from Summit and I'm very glad I did. Just the initial mock up with the pipes shows how easy its going to be to complete.( I was obviously dreaming) The Brake Pedal is the other half of my Machine gun handle left over from the gas pedal build.
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Very nice work! It looks like your new to you x member is working quite well. I hope mine turns out just as nice.
Looking good. Do you plan to run the exhaust thru the x-member and under it, as shown in the pics?
What if you pulled the mufflers off of the X, could you slide the X forward and kick up the back end to pass through the lateral members that form the driveshaft loop and then slide it back in position and put the mufflers back on the ends? Seems like that would get everything tucked up closer to the floor, and give you more clearance, too.
Gotta say I agree with Roger. When you finish the truck you'll probably wish you had and there will never be a time when it's easier than now while you have the body off the frame.....:3dSMILE:
FWIW... Getting the "X" under (or just ahead of) the front u-joint will aid in amount of travel without interference.. something to think about.
Thanks for the input guys I appreciate your time . I spent some time today looking and moving pipes around and it just didn't work for me.
The pictures are deceiving somewhat, there really isn't enough room to bring the pipes up through the frame work without bending every pipe one way or another. If one end goes up that means the other is facing downward more, and it would need bending to align again. Moving the X pipe forward will result in having the pipes lower than they are now, pipe bottom is even with the tranny's pan bottom. All pipes are higher than the front cross member. The pipes coming from the X are on an upward angle that puts the mufflers inside the the frame work. Yes it could be done better with a custom bent system from the muffler shop but I'm already WAY over budget and have to work with what I have. Not that I want to.
So here's the next Question about the exhaust.
Tail Pipe's running under the gas tank ? Any real concerns ? I'm thinking as long as I stay 3-4 inches off them all would be fine. Note gas line fitting on passenger side. What say you ?
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That X crossover would work better a little further forward if you can get it in.
Lotsa guys run the pipes under the axle ( I did ) and under the tank, ( I didn't ) it works but just watch the spacing.
If it were mine, I'd try to use a pickup point at the sending unit and plug the side fitting and I'd use a plug with the hex inside so it would be flush.
Navy, I still think you need to take another look at the X-pipe running up through the center frame X-member. You don't have to have a bender to affect the changes you need. You can either get a couple of mandrel bends and cut pieces to insert to give you the ups & downs you need; or you could cut out little wedges (partial cuts, not all the way through, leaving a "hinge" at the top) with an angle grinder & thin cutoff wheel, bend them to fit and weld up the cuts. Both ways can be done for very little money, with the wedges being cheaper but the mandrel bends maybe looking a bit better. That pretty X from Summit doesn't have to remain totally unmolested to function, IMO. I'd do some trimming, shift it forward a bit like Steve says, and put the bends you need in place with some selective cuts. You can use mandrel bends to create the over the axle bends, too. Just my $0.02.
Just read this entire thread. Really nice build. Love it!
This is getting too stressful, right now I wish I never heard of a #am X-pipe.
the X pipe ain't your problem---walk around the truck 10 times (5 in each direction, switching directions every couple circles----------
Look at the exhausrt system from the back forward instead of front to back-------
the most fab problems for exhaust systems are at the rear---look at any current vehicle
Its a truck, how about side exit forward of rear wheel ?
How about round muffler with angle to the inlet/outlet?( gets rid of problems with large flat ovals and straight I/o)
How about moving the cross piece for the shock mounts forward of the rear end (like they used to be before coil overs)
Once again I'll mention that the exhaust systems from the pre 2005 mustang will go up over the axle and then out rearward under the frame rail member---take a look under the mustang (not Cobra with irs)
You can get oval mufflers with inlet/outlet both on same end which is nice to do a side exit in front of rear tire
But in any case, change where your standing looking at the vehicle and reverse your thinking-----you know what you got for the exhaust manifold, now decide what you want for an exit tip---round? oval? polished?
Damn its cold here and on the way down
Maybe have a friend check it out and get their imput. In the end whatever works is fine. But sometimes everyone chimes in when it will work for the better in the end to do a few mods we don't want to hassle with. I find in these cases that I tend to stew over it for a while, and then take the advice when I'm in a better mind set, and less of a hurry!
Just remember the only person you need to satisfy is you. All of the free advice you get here is just for consideration as you stew over how you want to do it. For me, I've never liked side exhaust in front of the wheel so much, other than one or two that I saw where they punched holes in the frame of a highboy. I like them coming straight out the back, equally spaced off the center, but lots of other things work, too. Please yourself.
for anyone wanting to do a rear exit wide system that won't be under the fuel tank ( pipes work out to be below the frame rails) check out these two Magnaflow kits---#15673 for 2 1/2 tube and if its big block maybe #16394 for 3 inch tube
Jerry, Stovens & Roger Thanks for the input. I did take a long look at it today and here's where I'm at .
Ok Here's today's New Look at the pipe problem. Note that the pipe is just hanging on wires at this point so it's not centered perfectly, also the wood spacer between the pipe and frame is 3/4 inch. In order to move the X pipe forward I have to rebuild the tranny cross member into a gull wing shape and move the frame mount to the top of the rail, thous gaining clearance for the front pipe coming out of the X pipe joint. A few trips to the muffler shop will get the bends done if I don't screw it up. Moving the X pipe forward doesn't give me any more ground clearance but will allow the pipe's to bend up through the drive shaft loop. Thanks again for the inputs. http://i990.photobucket.com/albums/a...ps4ae2ca4e.jpghttp://i990.photobucket.com/albums/a...ps5de9e04d.jpg
Make the new trans mount, you won't regret the extra effort.
Another thing to consider is what's required to drop the tranny. It may be that you have to drop the exhaust in order to have enough clearance - hard to tell from photos. I'm not saying anything is wrong with what you're doing, just pointing out that at some point down the road you might have a need to drop it, and having to chop the exhaust into pieces and then weld it back together would be one of those added frustrations that make the problem grow. Better to think about it while it's going together.
Also, from the earlier pictures I assumed that your X pipe was all one piece, not a short X with extensions. Messing with the extensions one at a time makes it a lot easier, IMO. You can set the X where you want it, and form individual pipes to fit.
Just a couple thoughts... I had said earlier to see if you could get the X under the u-joint as it will allow clearance if you have to remove the trans.. I was also about to say (after reading your frustrations) that it's easy at this point to compromise and do an "H" in front of the trans.. but it looks like your down the path and need to continue.
No matter what tho'... stand back and continue to tell yourself that we all think this is fun! :3dSMILE::LOL::3dSMILE:
Always fun donating blood to the hotrod gods!
heck some of you guys know how to make us smile at any issues we may find..... now where did I lay that hammer down....
Take your time on the exhaust as the extra thought can make any up coming jobs that may need work a lot easier when a section of pipe can be unbolted and removed quickly and painlessly .
I didn't see headers on the engine, thats the one 'fixed' point in the whole system and that is where you need to start from. The 'x' pipe will have to be modified and that is why the in/out tubing is generous but you can't do anything until headers on are the engine and you've cut the 'x' pipe to mate to the headers. Once those are bolted together you are off to the races, get a couple mandril bends to weld into the pipes going over the axle and it'll be 'magazine' ready.
Today I built a new trans cross member. It still has to be cleaned up and maybe a gusset added. The old mounts on the frame need to be cut off and the area cleaned up. I only gained about 3/4 - 1 inch in height but was able to move the x pipe forward 6+ inches. Tranny will still come out without dropping the pipes. See any problems with this mount ?
Thanks for the in puts.
gordy
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Couple'a well placed gussets should make that a real stout piece!
lookin good Navy!
ojh: You don't see headers because I'm not using headers. I'm using stock exhaust manifolds. Go back and look at pages 14 & 15 where this all started to see the pic's. Thanks for your interest.
Just a few pic's of the exhaust, making hangers and need a little bend in the tail pipe's and the exhaust should be done. http://i990.photobucket.com/albums/a...ps935975ee.jpg
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Looks very nice! Good Job.
Nice job, Navy!
That turned out great, very clean. You going to cut up a couple mandril bends to get up & over the rear as another suggested?
I'm terrible at communicating so please don't mistake my comments as being critical or negative.
Wow, that exhaust system has turned out fantastic and you succeeded in getting the mufflers up into the frame where you wanted them to be, well done and it looks very professional. I hope you can mange to work the tail pipes out to the rear too without to much trouble. You just put those walking shoes on again and start walking around and around that vehicle studying it like somebody mentioned and it will jump out at you, the solution of how to do it.;);)
Great work!