LOL! Not really, but I am tired. What I'm really talking about is my truck is at least one BIG step closer to having a better exhaust.

Spent a few hours today fitting and fabbing a new Y-pipe. The down tubes are 2 1/4" mandrel bent pieces cut from the crossover pipe that came with the complete ATS Turbo 3" system I picked up for 60 bucks a little while back.

I used a couple of 2 1/2" elbows (a 90 degree and a 45 degree) I picked up at Napa to bring the two down pipes together. I also picked up a 4" ID to 3" ID reducer and flattened it to use as a collector. It was really great to be able to use my second engine (which came complete with a stock Y-pipe) to "mock up" & test fit the pieces, and then hold them in place while I tack-welded it all together.

Turned out really good. I worked it out to where the collector opening is high enough for the pipe to clear the crossmember without the up-and-then-back "S-bend" that the stock pipe has. I did the work over at my buddy's house, because that is where my spare engine is right now. Unfortunately, I forgot to take my camera along. By the time I got it done and drove home it was too late & too dark to take any pictures. I'll snap and upload a couple tomorrow though.

Next weekend I'll be pulling the old exhaust off and test fitting the new Y-pipe. Once I'm sure it doesn't need any more adjusting to fit right, I'll finish welding it up and permanently install it and the rest of the system. I'm pretty jazzed about getting rid of the restrictive stock POS system.....

 

Sounds like fun, ok where's the pics?

 

Patience, grasshopper!

I kept hoping it would quit raining, but NOOOO. Dunno about Monroe, but its pouring down south.

Anyway, I uploaded some picts into my gallery. Here is a good sampling.....














Since I was already wet I crawled under my truck and took a look. I'm 99% sure it will fit as is with no adjustments required. Might have to put an inch or two of "dogleg" into the pipe that I attach to the collector to move it inboard a little an up a little higher to clear the crossmember. Guess we'll see come Friday....

 

Stupid as it sounds, I don't have a truck and am probably not even that close to getting one, and yet I've been tossing around ideas in my head on how to do an exhaust. The fact that rockauto has that 4" mandrel bent tailpipe for $48 really got me to thinking...but of course I'm sure building a 4" exhaust like that is probably not as easy as it might first seem...guess I'll have to wait til I get a truck and find out

 

THAT LOOKS KICK ***!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

nice work!!!!!!

 

Thanks man. I'm pretty happy with it. I think it should flow pretty well. Haven't quite figured out why the companies selling exhaust systems are still following the same basic design as the stock unit - which obviously isn't what you'd call "optimized" for flow.

One other thing I like about this design is that you can see how easy it would be to graft a piece of 4" onto the y-pipe if I ever to decided I need to go bigger.....

 

You did exactly what I did many years ago when I went to 3" pipe before I had a turbo. That system lasted for years and I was very happy with it.

I never could describe it acurately and digital cameras did not exist at that time.
Good job, I think you will be happy.

 

Been there, done that, loved it! Now THAT is the kind of endorsement I like - from an experienced IDI owner!

 

You can figure out what it's doing in Monroe pretty easily, if it's raining down there, it's raining harder or longer up here.

If it's dry down there, it's probably still raining up here.

 

That pipe looks fine. I don't know if I'd run to the patent office though. That's the way most of the old performance pipes were done.

 

Yeah, I've got no plans of going into production with it

That sounds good too. I like the sound of it - "Old performance pipes". As in OLD SCHOOL!

Any idea why the NEW ones aren't like that too? Is there some problem with this setup?

 

Which new ones? I thought the N/A kits for the IDIs were long gone.

 

I can't remember whether it was Dynamax, MagnaFlow, or Borla, but I saw a system on somebody's website. I'm thinking it was Dynamax or MagnaFlow. They still listed a Y-pipe for the NA IDIs. Seems like someone posted that they actually bought & installed one recently too.

The picture/diagram looked pretty just like the stock one though, except for being mandrel bent and dumping into a 3" pipe instead of a 2.5". That's why I decided to build my own. Getting the good quality elbows and reducer from Napa cost nearly $65 - basically doubling my total investment into the system. Buying one would probably have been close to the same price, but I didn't even consider it since it looked like the same poor-flowing design.

The rest of the system was 3" back to the muffler and then 4" from there on back IIRC....

 

That'd probably be me. It'd be Dynomax. I must tell you your Y pipe looks sweet. If I had the time and tools I probably would have done that something similar. Be sure to keep us posted. Ed

 

THERE ya' go, Malcom. See, my memory is getting a little sketchy sometimes, but it isn't completely gone....

Soon as I saw your name I remembered it was you, tuke. Thanks for the compliment, too.

BTW, wasn't it also you who posted that totally righteous-sounding audio clip you recorded of what yours sounds like from inside the cab?

I wanna' do the same when mine's all done.....