58 Chevy Truck Exhaust 1
My '58 Chevy Truck was put into service in 1998 with Hooker Super Comp headers,
Dynomax UltraFlo 3" mufflers, cutouts for the track, and it has held up very well these last 17 years.
But the headers were not coated, just hi temp flat black paint, and they are now on
their last legs. The Dynomax's were replaced once, as the center seam down the middle
of the body had split open on one, so replaced them some time ago.
They have now gotten quite a bit noisier, and I need to quiet them down around here,
as I often load up the truck with surfboards or my outrigger canoe and head out early
in the morning to hit the water.
My neighbors are not pleased when I wake them up at 6 am !!!
Decided to stay with the Hooker Super Comp's, they've worked well for me so far...
They just arrived, so now I have to go to work on this project....
So I bought a pair of the new Dynomax VT mufflers, let's see how well they perform
Also picked up a pair of 3" Race Ready electric cutouts...
Ran into a problem, the Hooker Super Comp #4 cylinder tube (right side header, second tube)
hits the rear mount knuckle for the lower a-arms. Hooker stated that these headers would fit a 1970
big block Chevelle, which is what my front frame clip came out of, but they built these headers
with side by side tubes, cylinder #2 next to the starter, and cylinder #4 hitting the a-arm rear knuckle,
there's just no way these are going to fit....
Here you can see the old headers, swept way back to clear that rear a-arm knuckle,
while the Hookers drop down right into that knuckle, not a good design, and NO,
they do not fit....
Took a look at these Hedman headers, the right side header, fore and aft setup for cylinder tubes #2 and #4,
one tube wide, looks like they should fit....
But just like Hooker, they claim they will fit a '70 BB Chevelle....
We shall see....
Started the install on the right side, looked pretty good at first....
A closer look showed it was hitting on the lower rear A-Arm knuckle, like the Hookers....
But unlike the Hookers, it was not hitting the starter, plenty of room there....
A couple of closeup views looking down....
And one looking up...
Cut the A-Arm knuckle and fit the headers three times, a little more each time, until I got about1/4" clearance...
Looking down....
Looking up....
Removed the header, cleaned up the cuts on the A-Arm knuckle, and painted it black,
reinstalled the header, now to do the left side....
Got the left side header in, went in pretty easily, had to pull out the steering shaft and the spark plugs
to get the header in, and then put the shaft and spark plugs back in, not a big problem at all...
Looks good underneath....
That plate just above the end of the collector is a heat shield for the brake MC, which is mounted
in the stock truck position under the floor....
Now to connect the collectors to the rest of the exhaust system.
More Later
