The exhaust system I bought from Waldron's is not fitting very well. Here is the message I sent them:

Jon,

I attempted to install the system over the weekend and I am having fitment problems.

Starting from the front, the pipes are lower than the subframe.

(Pic #1)


The right pipe doesn’t follow the transmission crossmember curve to allow it stay tucked up. It looks like if the bend in the lower part of the picture was sharper, it would allow the pipe to go under the crossmember correctly while still leaving clearance for the transmission cooler lines and vacuum hose. You can see how it forces the pipe down. Also, if it was over to left a little more it could tuck a little better while not hitting the floor. Both pipes are about ¼” away from the floor.

(Pics #2 and #3)


At the front of the left muffler, the bend right before it is angled down too much causing the muffler to also angle down, causing the front of it to hit the floor. The only way I can gain more clearance is to bend the muffler hanger inboard to move the muffler more in to the tunnel. Even then there is about ¼” floor clearance.

(Pic #4)


At the axle, both pipes are lower than the bump stops. The axle will contact the pipes first.

(Pic #5)

Continued on next post...

On the tail pipes, the right pipe contacts the frame forward of the axle.

(Pic #6)


The left pipe misses the rear hanger completely.

(Pic #7)


If I attempt to move or rotate either pipe to clear the frame or get closer to the hanger, each pipe moves completely out of its exit position.

Here are two shots showing how different the tail pipes are. At this position, both pipes are exiting the car as they should in between springs and quarter panels.

(Pics #8 and #9)

I’ve tried every possible move I can think of to make this work but have had no luck.

Please advise.

Larry DuBois

So, I am asking you guys, am I asking too much here for a better fit? They said they use original GM patterns, but if a human is bending the pipe, then the fitment quality is at the mercy of their skill.

Larry

Yeah, there's no margin for error. Be glad you aren't dealing with a convertible x-brace. I had to wrestle with mine a bit. Your underside looks nice.

Thanks! We'll see how long it lasts. I'm trying to impress upon the owner to drive something else if bad weather hits. She lives on a dirt road too.

I am hoping Waldron's will make it good.

I'm just worried that if I were to have to return anything, they will want me to pay for shipping. I think that might be common practice at times but it cost me $100 to get the system here!

Almost ends up making sense to get it done locally huh? Sorry I know it doesn't help but maybe it will help somebody else to make up their mind about having it made or buying mail order.

Or just box up the system and take it to your favorite local muffler shop and have them tweak it to fit.

As soon as I opened up my Pypes system I realized I need a professional.

Its those issues thats made me decide to have it done locally when Im ready for the final exhaust setup. I have the added fun of a vert with the x-brace, and when I tried out of curiousity to install my old coupe exhaust within the confines of the vert tunnel area, it was a crappy fit due to that xbrace area.

I suspect custom bending from a local exhaust shop is what will be needed.. (more money, more money...)

a thought...they may be using GMs original pattern , but on a 40+- year old car, those placements may have been altered at some point when mufflers were replaced , as I`m sure they have been at some point, so a muffler shop may have altered the original placing of the hangers on the car??


your local muffler shop can tweak it....I just had that done to my Triumph after installing new stuff that would drag some at the rear, it was a pre made "to fit" Monza system , didnt fit right...it would drag at the end of the mufflers (not the tail pipe) when I backed out from my driveway...he tucked both ends up, charged me $10!

Heres my Firebird installation from 5 yrs ago or so...had it custom done at Meineke , Flowmasters 40 , H pipe , at a cost of $500

more...then we added 'cold galv' to all welded spots.

here is my installation on the TR6...before he made two brackets that he could attach to the rubber parts and pull up these about another inch plus.

I just had an exhaust installed in my 69 350 convertible. Based on previous experience with trying to self-install a 'factory bent' system or having a local muffler shop's 20-30 year olds try and cobble together something for a car they'd never seen up close before, I opted to drive my car some 300 miles from Ottawa ON to East Aurora NY (south of Buffalo) and have Camaro Specialties install a system they obtain from D & R in Illinois. I'm not into performance and it's only a 350 (with Edelbrock 4-barrel carb and intake), so I opted for a 'factory fit' system with just the transverse muffler and no resonators.

Even at a shop which is used to installing such systems, it took no less than 5 1/2 hours to get it right, including a trip out to a local muffler shop for some pipe expanding, plus some final pipe welding to ensure a good connection and seal.

I'm very pleased with the results (proven over the 300 mile drive home at 75 mph) and the installation looks very neat with good fit at all connections. The system cost $349 + a plated hanger kit at about $79 and then labour (the owner gave me a break because of the long wait) at $250 (5 hours at $50/hr).

I guess the message is this: there may be systems out there that truly are 'bolt-on' for the do-it-yourselfer and fit without any problems, but I'm skeptical on this point, because after wrestling for several frustrating days to install such a system on my 65 Corvette, I had to take it to a shop where they needed to re-bend, cut and weld some of the parts.

I think the best decision I made was to take it to someone who was actually familiar with first generation F-bodies (Camaro Specialties sells Firebird parts as well).

Good luck...

grant

I cough up the cash and went with gardner exhaust systems. the fit is great. they have all the oem hard ware to fit it. doing stainless is a pain to get tight and still have some slight leakage from the gaps. other than that, its a done deal on quality. the splitters were a little cheep in quality and they said it was butI think they look good. I had to modify the mouts for the splitter setup they look great though.

I just got the Gardner long branch system without the splitters for the '68 convertible and the dry install is done. It tucks tight, bends perfectly, fits above the convertible brace and I am thrilled to no end with the fit and ease of installation. I just wish the price was a little more gentle.

7 years ago I paid about $550 for a full "like factory" system installed at a local shop that fits nearly as well, but not quite. Considering that prices have gone up, the local system was still cheaper, but the Gardner is concours and can be readily and completely be installed in a car that can't be driven to the shop for installation.

Thanks for all your thoughts on this! I actually wanted to go locally. I talked to the only muffler shop that's worth a darn in town. When I said it was Firebird, he rolled his eyes and started telling me what a pain it is to get the pipes to go over the axles. He said it might take him several tries to get it to work.

I figured if he was going to hate it this much, I didn't want them messing with it.

I almost bought a universal kit. It's the kind that has multiple pieces of different bends and straight pieces. I did this on my slammed 66 Chevy truck and it turned out awesome. It was so tight because of it being lowered that I had to run the pipes inside the frame, not under it. (The muffler shop balked at this job too.) I was able to get every bend, cut and weld exactly the way I wanted it. I was able to take my time and do it right. It is an aluminized system, so I needed to coat the weld joints with a heat resistant paint. I just wasn't so sure I wanted that on the Firebird.

Waldron's emailed me back and said they will work with to get it to fit right. I need to provide some measurements for them. I hope this isn't going to be a drawn out process. I'm more than a month over my time estimate!

But, they are trying to help, that's what counts in my book. I will keep you all posted.

I bought pre-fabbed OEM style exhausts for both my 'birds on line. One's a 400 'vert, and the other a 326 'vert. Went with dual exhaust on both, dual resonators and tuck-under two in-two out muffler, capped with OEM splitters.

Other than a couple of very minor rattle issues (solved easily) they both fit like a glove.

Where did you get them?

Off Ebay. I'll see if I can find a link. Nope, I scrolled through the current listings, and I didn't see him. I'll try to find and email address tomorrow.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1967-68-6...sQ5fAccessories

Here is the seller. He can customize the system with resonators, etc. I was really happy with what I recieved from him.