Making Parts

The last two weeks have been a lot of work. Trying to keep up progress on my Studebaker while making certain customer jobs can flow through the shop has been a real challenge. I completed the exhaust on the Studebaker, from header to tail pipe. I decided to make it a single exhaust since it fit the stock floor pan much better. So what I did was make a head pipe that is 2 1/2" and collects into a 3" single exhaust. I used a Flowmaster 2 chamber muffler and also V band clamps to secure the two sections together. So when the car gets a turbo'd LS1 the down pipe will have an easy connection...

I bought a cheap set of mild steel block huggers but the drivers side was hitting all over the place. So I cut the two inner tubes out and replaced them with tubes that are much tighter fitting. A whole bunch less work than maing a set from scratch.

The head pipe section is made out of 2.5" mild steel and meets in a 3" merge collector. Here is the finished piece on the welding table with it's V band clamp in place.

Here is the head pipe installed in the car.

I made the mid section out of a combination of 3" round pipe and 3" oval. I made the transition pieces by heating some 3" round pipe and beating it into an oval. The oval pipe is used in Winston Cup cars for ground clearance and that's why I used it here.

This is the tail pipe section on the welding bench. also with it's V band flange and also hangers in place. The hangers are made from 3/16 cold rolled mild steel, probably overkill but what the hell.

The tail pipe tucks nicely into the stock spot, despite being much larger than stock.

Subtle.