| Ummgawa |
08-09-2013 08:58 PM |
Twenty five or so years ago I was fortunate to get to tag along with an older car dude friend who knew Lamar Walden, 409 guru extraordinaire, at Walden's shop outside of Atlanta. One of the questions asked (I sat with my mouth shut, my mind open and absorbed every thing he said) was where a cross over on an exhaust system should be placed. He said he would put the finished car up on a lift with the exhaust installed without the crossover. He let the car get good and warmed up, at idle, and he would take a crayon or wax pencil and make a mark from the collector back. When the crayon stopped melting, that's where the crossover was installed. Sounds old school and simple, but the guy is a legend. That's the way I've done it too.
He also was asked if he preferred an "X" pipe or an "H" pipe. He said he preferred an "X" on a small block, "H" on a big. No LS engines then, so, no idea. I'm not sure why that part of the visit stood out. I was as happy to be sitting with Lamar Walden as I could be, he was a quiet, knowledgeable car dude, and a legend around ATL even then.
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