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DIY Stainless Steel Exhaust - A Sound AlternativeDIY Custom Stainless Steel Exhaust Just Like The Pros From the January, 2012 issue of Custom Classic Trucks By Ryan Manson
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Exhaust work is something that most guys outsource to a local shop due to the fact that most of us either don’t have a lift, don’t weld, don’t want to do it, or a combination thereof. But with universal kits being ready made, not to mention the model specific kits available for many trucks these days, it’s never been easier for the DIYer to put together a great sounding exhaust system. With the SIM tech center at my disposable, I’ve started to tackle some of the tasks that I used to save for the professionals; one of them being exhaust work. I’ve had good results using Flowmaster’s U-Fit kits in the past and when I heard that they were offering them in stainless steel, I figured now was the time to step things up and build a custom exhaust for the C10. I really like the idea of using stainless steel to build an exhaust, as it will outlast aluminized tubing, and in ten years it will look just like the day it went together (minus a bit of road rash). It also gives me the option of TIG welding the entire system together, which means a couple of things. One, I won’t have to endure the rain of MIG berries that is usually the result of an exhaust job. Two, I won’t have to endure the ugly gob of weld produced by a MIG welder. Three, the weld won’t be susceptible to rust as it will be welded with ER308L stainless steel rod as opposed to a standard MIG welded seam. And four, I can tack the system together under the truck and finish welding it on a work table where I can sit and weld comfortably. Those are four big positives for me! But what’s a custom exhaust system if it doesn’t breathe and sound good?! For that, we’ll be using 2½-inch tubing throughout and a pair of Hushpower H-2 mufflers. I’ve run these mufflers before and they have a great low tone without that harsh rasp often associated with muscle car-type mufflers. They also don’t seem to create as much drone as a Turbo-style muffler, which is what usually gives you a migraine after four hours at highway speeds, and their diminutive size allows them to be located far aft of the cab where the noise can be contained away from the passenger compartment. To send the spent exhaust gasses rearward, a pair of stainless steel Tru-Ram ram’s horn-style manifolds from Speedway Motors will be used. I started the exhaust build by laying out the Flowmaster kit and components on the ground to get a rough idea of what I had to work with. Then starting at the header flanges, I began to work my way rearward to the mufflers. I opted to use two pairs of ball flanges in the system so it will be manageable if and when the time comes to disassemble or modify the exhaust system. As I have plans to replace the stock 307 with an LS motor somewhere down the road as well as the possibility of the long bed chassis getting shortened, I wanted to make modifying the exhaust easy without having to redo a large portion of it in the future. I really like Speedway Motors’... I really like Speedway Motors’ Tru-Ram exhaust manifolds as their tight fit makes clearance issues a thing of the past and the fact that they flow the same as a short-tube header makes them a good alternative to headers without that tinny sound associated with most headers. When they announced that they were going to be made available in stainless steel, I knew what I was going to run on the C10. I opted to leave them in their native, as-cast finish to make upkeep simple though they could be easily painted in high-temp paint or Speedway even offers them polished. I spent the first day mocking everything up, cutting tubing, and tack welding the pieces together, and by the end of the second day, I had the entire system welded up and installed. Not a bad weekend project, but without a lift it would be a bit of a bear, admittedly. But the fact that I was able to build the system how I wanted it, to my specs, and to my standards is enough for me to probably never take another truck to an exhaust shop, but instead to do it on my own. This was my third system and I gotta say, I’m getting pretty good at it. So, if the magazine business dies and I’m forced to go get a real job, perhaps I could go into the exhaust business … CCT Flowmaster’s U-Fit kit comes...  Flowmaster’s U-Fit kit comes with an assortment of mandrel bent tubing along with the necessary components for the h-pipe. I opted to keep with the stainless steel motif as it’s easy to weld, won’t rust, and looks cool.  I simple shorty collector...  I simple shorty collector flange at the end of each manifold is where we’ll start the exhaust build.  It takes a bit of trial and...  It takes a bit of trial and error to get the first couple of bends right, especially on the passenger side where the exhaust is forced to snake around the starter.  I started with a pair of bends,...  I started with a pair of bends, cut slightly longer than I thought I’d need and trimmed them each to fit. If you don’t have a bandsaw, a large tubing cutter like this one from Graham Tool works great on all kinds of tubing.  A deburring tool follows to...  A deburring tool follows to finish off the cut edge; your fingers will thank you!  Once I had an idea of how...  Once I had an idea of how to run the first series of bends, I tack welded them together. By making a couple hash marks on each piece, the assembly can be removed and welded on a work table.  Here’s the first run from...  Here’s the first run from the exhaust manifold. I opted to run a ball flange at this point to ease assembly and future motor swaps.  Meanwhile on the driver’s...  Meanwhile on the driver’s side, a single bend and a length of straight tubing was all that was required to reach the first flange.  Continuing on from the first...  Continuing on from the first ball flange, another length of straight tubing was trimmed mid-bend to get the proper orientation before sending the exhaust backward.  This is where it starts getting...  This is where it starts getting a little easier. From here back, it’s gradual bends and straight tubing for the most part.  To keep the exhaust tucked...  To keep the exhaust tucked up nice and high in the frame, once clear of the bellhousing crossmember, I kicked it up and over the transmission crossmember using a 90-degree bend cut in half and rotated 180-degrees, in effect making an "s" bend.  To keep the exhaust tucked...  To keep the exhaust tucked up nice and high in the frame, once clear of the bellhousing crossmember, I kicked it up and over the transmission crossmember using a 90-degree bend cut in half and rotated 180-degrees, in effect making a "s" bend  I added another flange in...  I added another flange in front of the CPP rear crossmember and then repeated the ‘s’ bend trick before the exhaust met up with the Hushpower mufflers, which are stainless items as well.  With the exhaust tacked in...  With the exhaust tacked in place, it was time to add a couple of hangers to support the whole assembly. Placed in a vise, the solid rod is easily bent to fit the contour of the exhaust tubing …  … then tacked into place....  … then tacked into place.  Adding a pair of exhaust tips...  Adding a pair of exhaust tips is the icing on the proverbial cake. I used a piece of wood on two jack stands to ensure that the tips were level and flush before tacking them in place.  I trimmed the straight bit...  I trimmed the straight bit of tubing before placing it between the two fish-mouth ends and mocking it in place. This assembly will be the h-pipe, which is used to balance the exhaust gas pulses. If your truck “raps” when you let off the throttle, chances are you need an h-pipe installed in your exhaust system.  First, I marked the area where...  First, I marked the area where the h-pipe intersects each exhaust, then drilled a one-inch hole in the center.  It’s not necessary to make...  It’s not necessary to make the hole any larger as this little bit is all that’s required to balance the exhaust pulses between the two sides.  Here’s the h-pipe tacked into...  Here’s the h-pipe tacked into place.  Since the entire exhaust is...  Since the entire exhaust is stainless, it isn’t necessary (or desirable!) to MIG weld everything together. Instead, I opted to TIG weld everything on a table where I could do so comfortably and carefully using a Lincoln 175 machine—ER308L stainless steel TIG welding wire is used to keep impurities out of the welded seam and prevent corrosion.  After the better part of an...  After the better part of an afternoon, I had the entire exhaust TIG welded up and ready to rock. The gray you see on the flanges and hangers is high-temp paint, necessary because those components are mild steel and will rust over time, unlike the stainless steel components.  Flowmaster’s ball flange unions...  Flowmaster’s ball flange unions work great for splitting the exhaust system up into manageable sections and allow you to make changes later on down the road (such as engine or muffler swaps or if you plan on shortening the frame).  CPP designed their crossmember...  CPP designed their crossmember to clear 3-inch tubing so our 2 1/2-inch fit with room to spare. It’s worth mentioning though that care be taken throughout the build process to maintain plenty of clearance around the exhaust near brake and fuel lines as well as anything that may potentially come in contact with it.  To reduce drone and overall...  To reduce drone and overall engine noise inside the cab, I ran the Hushpower HP-2 mufflers as far back as I could. Thanks to their dimunitive size (18x5 1/2x4-inches) compared to other mufflers, I was able to mount them above the rear trailing arms and dumped the tip in front of and under the rear axle.  And there you have it, a full-on...  And there you have it, a full-on custom exhaust done in two days using a couple hand tools and a welder.
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The Thinker??? - Haul Monitor
Ryan talks about the friendly badgering that goes on around the shop and overcoming obstacles that seemly pop up out of nowhere during a project....
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