What universal 3" mandrel kit??

[kevin_l]

Looking at the stainless works kit


but I am not sure if I would be better buying individual pieces, what's everyone doing for custom exhaust?

There isn't any off the shelf options for my car with the 4 link.

[randy]

what 4 link are you running? my exhaust was pretty easy to make it work with my quadralink. My buddy got the 3" version and did the same as me. Just some reclocking on the tail pipes.

dynotech exhaust.

[kevin_l]

I have a 66 nova with quadralink.

[wiedemab]

I bought all of my 3" round from here. If I remember correctly, there pricing was pretty good.

http://www.mandrel-bends.com/catalog/

It was nice stuff. It's just all cleaned up and bagged like something from Vibrant etc.. I just scrubbed the oil off of it with soapy water before using any of it.

I used oval tubing from Vibrant to make my exhaust from the headers back to the mufflers for additional ground clearance and just because I don't like to see any of the exhaust below the rocker pinch weld..... I will say the oval stuff is spendy though.......

You can click around through this blog to see which kit this guy used. I find myself referring to his pictures fairly often during my build. I think he may have used a Stainless Works kit, but I can't remember - - Regardless - it's a really good blog.

http://67novaproject.blogspot.com/

Good Luck!

[kevin_l]

Originally Posted by wiedemab

I bought all of my 3" round from here. If I remember correctly, there pricing was pretty good.

http://www.mandrel-bends.com/catalog/

It was nice stuff. It's just all cleaned up and bagged like something from Vibrant etc.. I just scrubbed the oil off of it with soapy water before using any of it.

I used oval tubing from Vibrant to make my exhaust from the headers back to the mufflers for additional ground clearance and just because I don't like to see any of the exhaust below the rocker pinch weld..... I will say the oval stuff is spendy though.......

You can click around through this blog to see which kit this guy used. I find myself referring to his pictures fairly often during my build. I think he may have used a Stainless Works kit, but I can't remember - - Regardless - it's a really good blog.

http://67novaproject.blogspot.com/

Good Luck!

Thanks Brandon. That blog is Terry's car. He went an expensive route and started with a stainless works kit for ls chevy ii. But they only fit autos and do not work with the quadralink. He also had to source a bunch of bends and really didnt use much of the original kit. I like the idea of oval too, but it's not in my budget. I even had to buy a tig welder to do the stainless, all I had was a mig. I'll check out your link. I just really don't know what I'll need to buy individually I have zero experience building exhaust.

[rustomatic]

Draw yourself a plan, and avoid using tubing that is too large at all costs; half an inch in diameter can add a huge expense (3" vs 3.5", as an example). A big single, which I'm a fan of, not only saves weight and materials, but it can be just as power-efficient as the old-skool duals. What I've done is make the plan, then buy doubles of things like 45s, 90s, and straight sections from Summit. The mig will weld stainless just fine, if that's what you're after . . .

Universal = Universally necessary to cut, weld, and re-fit just as many times as you would with a completely random selection of tubing (or anything else universally assembled).

[DEIGuy38]

Where are you located? If you are not going to weld it yourself find a shop that has a bender and have them do it. I used M&M Muffler in Auburn, CA. He has a mandrel bender that can do 3", he also builds custom fit headers and is reasonably priced when you compare buying headers and a kit then have someone do the work. Better to have them do the whole job and you will get great fitting headers and/or a complete system. I had DSE quadralink and 2.5" stainless ran all the way to the back of the 1/4s and it turned out great.

Just my .02 and i overanalyze everything including cost.

[kevin_l]

Thanks guys, I am welding it myself. And I already have headers in the car. This kit I posted seems like a better deal that just buying individual bends and straights. I have not built full exhaust so I am not really sure what I need or what to expect, I am really looking to see what others have done when off the shelf exhaust kits are not available.

[gray86hatch]

I used the flowmaster kit on the last 3 cars and it worked great.

Tim

[kevin_l]

Originally Posted by gray86hatch

I used the flowmaster kit on the last 3 cars and it worked great.

Tim

Do you happen to know what grade flowmaster is using for their stainless? I seem to remeber it wasn't 304 or 308.

How is the finish holding up?