Exhaust system question

OK, another month, another chance to work on the little monster, so that means ...more questions for you gurus. My '69 has the V6, and the exhaust system is pretty well shot from manifolds on back. No shop in my area would even consider replacing the whole thing for under $450, and I'm too poor and too darn cheap to cough that up. Found a set of inexpensive headers (I think Pacesetter), but I don't want to go the dual glasspack route. I understand I'd likely lose some torque, as well as gain some noise -- I don't need any more of the last, and I'd miss the first. In some of the posts I've read here, you can go to a single exhaust from the headers, and I'd like to try that route. I have the stock Walker muffler for this engine, but had a few questions:
Do the pipes on both sides have to be equal length? I expect it's best to mount the y-pipe as far forward as I can? And any little pearls of wisdom from you folks that have taken this trip (besides "don't buy Pacesetters").
Thanks
Dave

 

I just took my Y pipes off. I cut it out. They are still in tact if you need a picture.

 

Just went thru the same thing , they wanted @ $500 to run single 2" like stock. I'm going with headers with quite Walkers and side turn outs. Running single off the headers would be tough , when you see how far they come out and back you'll see. I'm posting pics of the headers in the Project Rust Bucket thread in the intros section. Check them out...

 

The headers exit outside the frame rails so running them into a single muffler would indeed be a job and likely get very expensive. I understand some have run duals out the back from the headers instead of having them turn out of the muffler and terminate in front of the rear tires. Haven't seen it myself, don't know how much denaro is involved in this option.

 

J C Whitney has a dual exhaust for the CJ5 with the 225 V-6. It uses the stock manifolds. It runs from inside the frame to the outside with bullet mufflers and turn outs in front of the rear tires.. I bought one for my CJ2A. Very heavy duty and not that loud. They don't show it on their web site but it's in their catalog. I think its in the $250.00 range

 

Nice topic, Dave. I'm in a similar fix (I bet there are many of us). I bought mine with headers and glasspacs...gotta lose those before deer season! I'm thinking of dual mufflers in place of the loud glasspacs. Have you thought of that instead of making a single muffler exhaust? I have much to learn and am in no way pretending to have the best answer. I just figured I would go cheap until I can find manifolds and pipes suitable to drop in this rig. I'll follow your post! Thanks for bringing it up (though I'm sure it's been done before, eh?)

Eric

 

I looking to change my exhaust set-up too (not to that point yet) currently its headers with dual mufflers coming out the side, but my problem is there under 1/4 an inch away from my 33's and rubs on the pass side from time to time. Also the pass muffler is cracked where the incoming pipe meets muffler, making a annoying raddling sound. I was hoping to just run the pipes under and out the back at a downturn 45*... there's no rear gas tank, so it shouldn't be too much a problem.
just my plans though

 

Ran to FLAPS after work , just stuck everything together to see if it all fit, before welding.... It's as cheap as I could get...under $200 for headers to turn-outs. Gonna be louder than stock but I can't see $500 for single 2" exhaust....

 

Hi. Looks GREAT! Could you post some pics of the drivers side? What headers are those?

Thanks AJ

 

You'd better get that battery off that concrete floor, or you'll be buying another one of those too.

 

Whys that ?? never heard anything about that... here's a pic of the driverside slipped together , the headers are Hedmans from 4WD Hardware

 

Batteries set on concrete floors or dirt will discharge through the case to ground, and may short out the plates too. Learned about that in my Vo-Tech Aircraft Mechanics class back in high school. Supposedly not as much of a problem with newer style batteries, but why take a chance? Stick a board under it for cheap insurance.

 

ya know I may be wrong here, but I learned that the whole battery discharging through to the concrete floor thing was overcome back when plastic overtook rubber as a battery case material. I started working at a garage in 1977 and was told that the newer batteries didn't suffer from sitting on a concrete floor. hard to believe that any rubber cased batteries still exist. $.02

 

Could be, but it's not much effort to put a piece of wood under one. Cheap insurance. What can I say? I'm old and curmudgeonly, and set in my ways. Don't like learnin' new tricks either.

 

i never heard of the newer style batteries not being effected by concrete. hmm..
anyway, back to the muffle delima, what kind of mufflers are those? what size do you think 220hp should use for dual?
i have a set of thrush turbos (bought way back) that are 2 1/2 in/out and i think they are alittle much. should they be around 2" each side? would 2" reducers on the out side help alittle or should i buy new ones?

 

Wow, I was hoping for some responses and these are not only helpful but made me re-think what I want to do. Guess I wanted to go to the single muffler because of the back-pressure thing, but I'm not wed to it. Now that I can actually see the headers in action (thanks Evans!) I can see there's no easy way to route them to a central point - unless I want to forgo ground clearance. (What's the point of that?) I checked around for a skinny bullet type baffled muffler, but only found glaspacks in Summit and Jegs inventory, at least in my pricerange. I think I'm going the dual Walker route too.
Thanks much for all the input and support, wish there had been the 'net when I was racing bikes. Had to learn all that stuff the hard way!
Dave

 

Old man told me that once. When I ask him why he explained,"Hell boy that's ground all the 'lectric 'll go to ground". I slip a 1x4 under them still if I set them on the floor.

 

Mufflers are just some generic turbo mufflers $13 each , 220 hp should probably only have 2 - 2 1/4" duals to retain some back pressure for torque. Reducers will help , I wouldn't throw away good mufflers , try them....

 

How about a part #?:v6:

 

I will look it up and snap some pic of mine.