Magnaflow exhaust system on the way...

[CudamanTom]

 
Hopefully in by the end of the week.
Item number MAG15851 going on my 71 Cuda with headers. Is there anything  to be aware of? Any helpful tips? Any surprises?

Thanks in advance,
Tom

[brads70]

I have the 2 1/2" maganflow system on my car . Love it! You will love the sound!  It assembles OK, you will need to "cut and paste/weld" to get it hooked up to the headers though. I had to fab up a couple pipes to get the correct bends. I bought a couplestainless mandrel bent 90's to make it all work out.

[CudamanTom]

Thanks for the heads up Brad.
And from what I've read on here, the sound is VERY nice. Can't wait either

Tom

[dodj]

I agree with Brad. I have the same system and they sound great! From the X-pipe to the headers is a little tricky/time consuming to get it fit just right but definitely do-able. I didn't buy any extra parts as Brad did. I cut and welded the supplied pipe to fit. I bought stainless wire for my mig.
A sound byte from a member (500stroker) of how the system sounds 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PnWr6Xo4RL8&feature=channel

[72rtchallenger]

although I do most of my welding and stuff,I took mine to a muffler shop that I trust and have done business with many times and they put mine on very quickly and wasn't very expensive because I had all the materials,and no headaches for me,and I love the sound,I used the 3" pipe and love it

[CudamanTom]

Scott,
Thanks for the input and video. Very nice sound indeed.
I have a 440 stroker and can't wait to fire her up.

72rtchallenger,
I might do that as well. I'm not a welder (well a very good one anyway). The Cuda isn't driveable till I replace the complete fuel and brake system. I might see if I can find someone to do a house call. I just want to fire the thing up and hear it growl in the garage.

Tom

[shadango]

I have the 2 1/2" maganflow system on my car . Love it! You will love the sound!  It assembles OK, you will need to "cut and paste/weld" to get it hooked up to the headers though. I had to fab up a couple pipes to get the correct bends. I bought a couplestainless mandrel bent 90's to make it all work out.

 

I decided to have a shop do mine after I got the kit and pre-fit it under the car on my back......definately not just  bolt in scnario with headers....I was afraid to screw something up so...

I had a exhaust shop do it.

Then I had a second shop redo the install after the first shop screwed it up (had to get new header pipes and collectors.   

Very happy with the exhaust, though a different sound with the X pipe than a traditional dual exhaust.

My wife thought it would be louder.  For me, in most cases, just enough sound and rumble.

Thinking about cutouts though so I can piss off my neighbor.   

[CudamanTom]

Then I had a second shop redo the install after the first shop screwed it up (had to get new header pipes and collectors.   

Thinking about cutouts though so I can piss off my neighbor.   

Shadango,
What did the first shop do wrong?
And cutouts? neighbors? Hummmmmm 

Thanks,
Tom

[shadango]

Shadango,
What did the first shop do wrong?
And cutouts? neighbors? Hummmmmm 

Thanks,
Tom

Well, he hung the system so that it was off center from the car.....the right pipe was right below the driveshaft if that makes sense and the left was waaaaay to the left, hitting the floor boards......He cut the header pipes and the tailpipes to match that mess.

Sent pictures to Magnaflow and they said it looked to them like he flipped the two (different apparantly) header pipes.

Magnaflow said that if the header pipes are cut correctly no bending would be needed.  When I lay under there looking at it all before taking it to the shop it looked to me like stuff would need bent....... so I figured I was missing something and decided to let the shop handle it......and thats what I got...a mess.

The second shop took it all apart and used new header pipes and collectors.

They still had to do a lot of bending on the header pipes and the tailpipes to make it fit right.  But it fits nice now.   

[dodj]

Magnaflow said that if the header pipes are cut correctly no bending would be needed. 

That would be true if you didn't also have to pass under the trans cross member in the right spot. Exiting the x-pipe, you can make the header pipe pass under the trans cross member in the right place OR make them line up with the header collector....not both...without cutting and welding.

[CudamanTom]

That would be true if you didn't also have to pass under the trans cross member in the right spot. Exiting the x-pipe, you can make the header pipe pass under the trans cross member in the right place OR make them line up with the header collector....not both...without cutting and welding.

Scott, you lost me here 

Tom

[brads70]

I just had to cut and weld the one side.

[dodj]

Scott, you lost me here 

Tom

On either side of the trans bolt-in cross member, there is a place for the exhaust pipes to pass. The cross member narrows down so the exhaust pipes can pass and still be relatively tight to the floor. The header pipes (to span the space between the x-pipe and the header) are basically a couple feet long with a 45* bend in them. On my car at least, I could get the pipes to pass under the cross member in the right place - but not mate up with the header properly, or I could get the pipe to mate up with the header properly, but not be in the best place to pass under the cross member.
I know clear as mud.    I'll try and take a pic tomorrow evening to try and clear up what I have trouble putting into words....

[CudamanTom]

Hey Scott,
I think you explained it well. But I would like to see some pics too, if you don't mind to better understand.
Thanks for your inputs.

Tom

[Barracudadan]

I did this for my system recently just double check your measurments  you may need more or less of an offset than I did. From the X-pipe I centered my exhaust pipe with the center point  of the crossmember where the pipes should pass through this is also the center point of the exhaust pipe, then measure to the center of the collectors using the lip under the fender as a straight line to measure from. The difference in your measurments is the amount of offset you need. Hope I explained it well enough. On my system coming out of the X pipe were 2 short pipes with a bend in them I had to cut those back a bit to line up with the center of the crossmember.I took this drawing to a muffler shop and had them bend it up for me. I had them make it longer than it needed to be and just cut it to length when I got it home.

My only mistake was I may have got the exhaust a little too close to the floor. My E-brake cable rests on the exhaust pipe a bit and has a tendancy to chatter when I am stopping. Not a big deal I`m sure I can do something to get the cable off the pipe just havent tried yet.