Putting a 68 350 4 speed car together and previous owner bolted on what I call a weed burner exhaust "pipes off the exhaust manifolds into mufflers, and a short turn down after the mufflers" I want to go with a full exhaust system to the rear of the car....BUT

The cheapest an exhaust shop will do a muffler back system is $250...telling me that its all custom bends over the axle...etc
Does that sound a bit much to anyone else???

Debating the flowmaster pre bent tailpipes # FLO815801 for about $160
Flowmaster is pleased to announce the newest addition to their growing line of high quality 409S stainless steel products! These new 2.5” mandrel-bent tailpipes fit all Camaros and Firebirds from 1967 to 1981, and Novas from 1968 to 1974. Designed to utilize offset-inlet / center-outlet mufflers, the new 16 gauge 409S stainless steel tailpipes extend to the rear of the car, following factory routing, and exit straight out under the bumper. As with all Flowmaster stainless products, these pipes are manufactured proudly in the USA and come with their limited lifetime warranty.

Or I can get a full exhaust kit
FACTORY PRE-BENT TO GM SPECIFICATIONS. INCLUDES CLAMPS FLANGES, MUFFLERS, HEAD PIPES, AND TAIL PIPES. NO FLANGES WITH RAM AIR. THESE PARTICULAR VEHICLES USE A TRANSVERSE MUFFLER THAT GOES OVER THE REAR END. RESONATORS ARE UNDER REAR SEATS. THESE SYSTEMS ARE DESIGNED FOR CARS WITH OR WITHOUT CHROME TIPS. YOU WILL HAVE TO CUT TAIL PIPES TO INSTALL CHROME EXTENSIONS.
I can get this for
$299 without RESONATORS
$349 with RESONATORS

Just trying to save a few bucks here...To me $250 for mufflers back seems a bit much when for a few bucks more I can get a full new exhaust system "well, in the box anyway" for $300

Any suggestions??

If you like the way your car sounds now and you only need tailpipes then just buy tailpipes. I bought some from Amazon. I think they were $160 shipped. They're selection is fairly limited but I was able to get a set that worked for me. I had gone to a couple of local shops and they just laughed and shook their heads no.

just for comparison, I had mine 'custom' done by Meineke 8 yrs ago...2 flowmasters 40...an H pipe, 2.5 inch pipes to rear exhausts , welded on chrome ends, no stainless...cost $500...

I had mine 'custom' done by Meineke 8 yrs ago...2 flowmasters 40...an H pipe, 2.5 inch pipes to rear exhausts , weleded on chrome ends, no stainless...cost $500...
your new system 'in a box' needs labor also

Mine were turn downs out of the mufflers. 'wouldn't pass the import inspection as the pipes must continue fifteen inches rear of the "passenger cabin" in Canada. I went to a muffler shop that supplied the Flowmaster muffler back system and installed it. The tail pipes did not follow the body lines behind the axle, seems they fit the Nova better than the Firebird. They cut the pipes before the last bend of the tail pipe and charged me $500. Every time I started and shut down the car it got covered with a cloud of dust blown up from the exhaust. $500 not very well spent. I welded the turndowns to the tail pipes so the exhaust is aimed out the back and not down. I think if I could get a shop to custom bent and install them for $250 I'd go for it.

I know the turned down exhaust kicks up the dust but i hate it when i see classic cars with the exhaust pipes blowing straight out the back,seems out of place.

The staight out the back pipes I have always consider a chevy thing. When I bought my tailpipes I bought the full "camaro", out the back, pipes because I thought I was going to have to section and weld them back and I thought I might need the extra material but I was able to insatll and just cut off the extra at the last bend and the horizontal portion is somewhere in the garage. Besides I think they only offered the "pontiac" version in 2" and the others came in 2.5". That was a deal breaker for me.

Where can you get that full exhaust system with clamps and everything for $349? I may need me one of those!

"muffler back system?" That's just tailpipes, isn't it? I'm not sure what you mean by that...

Anywho...for comparison I just got a whole system custom bent about 6 months ago for my Bird. 68 Convertible 400 clone. I towed my car to the shop with nothing but bare log manifolds installed.

Asked for 2.5" aluminized pipes all the way from my log manifolds to the tail pipe, full duals, H-pipe, run thru the driveshaft opening to save ground clearance, with convertible X-brace in place (very tight fit...not easy), a pair of Thrush mufflers (generic Flowmaster 40 copies) in front of the axle, then tailpipes bent over the axle and out the rear in the stock locations between quarter panels and leaf springs. Shop did crush bent pipes, fully welded system. I even had a drop crossmember in the way for them to work around...no problem...just took a few more bends.

I paid $267.50 including all parts/tax/labor, installed while I watched and waited for a few hours one morning. Complete system front to rear.

I'm very satisfied. Perfect/show quality? No. Solid, functional, good performance, good sound, decent looking, and worth the money I spent? Absolutely. Considering it's hard to PURCHASE an entire front to rear system for much less than $400 to $500, and then I'd have to install it myself...it was a no-brainer decision for me to pay a shop to provide all parts and labor for 1/2 price...

I see you're in Indiana. Me too. This is probably not right by you, but if you want "good and cheap" it might be worth a roadtrip to north side of Indy. You can stop by my place and see what they did to my car in advance, if you want confirmation of exactly what you'll get.

This shop I used is called "Mufflers & More", 2235 Westfield Rd, Noblesville, IN 46060, 317-896-5868. Good peoples. I've been in and out of there for 15 years getting various exhaust repairs and replacements done on many of my vehicles. Always been satisfied and shocked at their low prices. They're an established shop...

One thing to keep in mind...many people shopping exhaust don't realize the incredible price difference between mandrel bends and crush bends. Expect to 2x the price if you go to a shop that mandrel bends. But crush bends were good enough for me...so if you want cheap, crush is what you gotta settle for. Might be why the shop you mention above wanted $250 for tailpipes only...if they're mandrel bending them, that price might be in line...

Let's see, I think I paid $70 fro head pipes, $45 for X-pipe, $140 for mufflers and $140 for tail pipes. So around $300 not including hangers and clamps and I did the install. 2.5" mandrel bent all the way out the back.
Sounds like crazy got a good deal.

Better deal than I got.

Pic of the dumps welded to shoot back

Yeah I need to do something with my tips. They just left them as 2.5" square cut downturns poking out in about the right place, mine are a bit further back toward the bumper than Bluebird's pic shows, but they were cut kinda rough on the muffler shop's chop saw (I cleaned it up some with a file and grinder when I got home). I might cut those back and make just myself a set of splitters one of these days, for a better and more original look.

But I've got other priorities for this car first...what the shop left me with works just fine for now.

When I bought my car it had the straight out the back look. Couldn't stand that look. Had a local custom exhaust shop cut them at the bend and weld on chrome tips. Was about $100 parts and labor. Much cleaner look now in my opinion.

BlueBird428, What color Blue is your car? I love the look of it.

Thanks for all of your comments and suggestions. I think I am going to try the flowmaster 15801 exhaust pipes

Carmutt...The place I found the complete exhaust was thru The Parts place inc in the Chicago area

link to exhaust system

http://www.thepartsplaceinc.com/ocatalog/part.asp?VID=8&YearList=1968&Search_Keyword=

I think some members here had lots of issues with the parts place. Might want to look under buyer beware area.

John,
It's a GM paint "Adriatic Blue". The Oct 2007 issue of High Performance Pontiac featured a 68 built by a person named Doug Baril, he did a fantastic job on a car that most would have stepped away from. I'd been trying to get a paint shop in Sidney BC to match the dark candy blue I have on my 51 Panhead and put it on my Firebirsd. He couldn't do it. When I saw the paint on Barils car I contacted the shop in FL, Huegenics, and got the paint code. It was an almost exact match for the pain on the HD. My painter used that code to get the paint for my Firebird. The pics don't do the paint justice. Barils car is about a million classes above mine and the paint as well. I have the code somewhere but it may be a chore finding it.