Exhaust system tip

I had the exhaust built on the 57 Plymouth yesterday, and thought I'd pass on a tip I've been using for a while in case someone else would like to use it.

Working as a mechanic over the years I had several cars come in where the exhaust has had to be removed or at least loosened to order to do things like starter or transmission removal. This is something that can add a lot of time and aggravation to a job especially on systems that have had all the pipe joints welded as is pretty much common practice on most custom exhaust systems.

I had spent a pretty good amount of time under the car figuring how I wanted the pipes routed and what would have to be done when it does come time to change a starter of clutch. Rather than just drop the car off and tell them to put the exhaust on I had some pretty specific instructions on some of the things I wanted (which they did a good job on).

For this project, I had a couple of ball and socket type joints added to the headpipe in front of the crossmember. Removing the head pipes will allow the access needed to remove the transmission and bellhousing and in the case of the drivers side allow for removal starter. Yeah down the road getting the manifold bolts off will still be a bit of a pain the bolts on the joints are easy to get to and removal of this section of pipe will make the rest of the job a lot less aggravating.

Mike: Great idea. Are these parts readily available at most muffler shops?

Don

Actually as I found out yesterday, most exhaust shops have the dies to make the joints (they normally come with the pipe benders). All that is needed is a pair of correct sized flanges which most shops should also have.

Many of the stock 70's exhaust systems also had them built in to the pipe (I had a spare pair I had set aside to take with in case the muffler shop couldn't make them. I usually save them when I come across them in case I'm building my own system or want to put a set in when I have to cut a pipe to access something.

Good planning Mike.
The ball and socket idea is also good for the header connection. Many times the flat flange at the end of the collector is a point of leakage, but replacing it with the ball/socket (before coating of course) will eliminate that issue.