Friday, January 15, 2010

Exhaust

The muffler shop did me right on the exhaust system. It came out 40 bucks higher than initially quoted, but I have been using this guy for 17 years, so I expected that from past jobs.

It's 2 inch dual exhaust, aluminized pipe, Brockman Mellowtone steel packed mufflers through 2 inch pencil tips.

For you non car people, the engine's idle is supposed to be irregular like that. It's the camshaft that causes it.

10 comments:

  1. Not sure why no one comments here., so I'll give it a go. The word for it Escapes me, but I've been drawn to this blog ever since I found it one day looking for some Blueprints for a 77chev pickup. The work you've done to this truck is everything I've ever wanted to do myself and more. By no means could I ever say I am like you in experience nor knowledge, considering the fact that I'm only 25, and have turned wrench on only about 10 engines in my life. but I could see myself doing this if I had the resources. This is Inspiring to me, and gives me hope that one day I can put the time energy and emotion into something that will truly express my vision. Never stop doing what you love!

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  2. headers? exhaust manifolds? wtf? sounds purrrfectly sweet... hook me up!!

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  3. Factory 2 inch ramshorn exhaust manifolds through 2 inch aluminized pipe, Brockman mufflers and pencil tips. No crossover or h pipe. True duals.

    Mysteriphys, I was lucky to spend a week with my father right before he died. I sat next to his bed and we talked at length as we both knew the end was near. He told me to always use every day for 100 percent. This is no practice life. Once your time is up, it's all gone. If there is something you want to do, do it, and don't waste a second or let any obstacle stand in your way. He told me that looking back, the only things about his life he was sorry for were the things he wanted to do but didn't.

    As an unrelated note in that vein, three weeks after he passed away, I enrolled in school to become a fireman, my dream job. I had to quit a damn good government job to do that, so it took a lot of guts on my part. It all worked out and I have had a good career as a fireman. I'm so glad I took that step and took the chance making the change. It was the best move I have ever done in my life. I would have regretted it to my dying day if I hadn't taken the chance.

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  4. sounds perfect... both the truck and the story. Thanks for the info, my gut feeling was the stock manifolds, and now my gut is saying I'd better get moving on those things I want to do. Thanks for the reminder, I'll be back to read more on your build when I have more time (building my 72 K10).
    Regards

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  5. It's funny that you meantion your dream job. Right now I'm struggling with a hard decision, I have a baby on the way, and the opening where I work now to get a promotion. But, I have the opportunity of a life time, to get my "Dream Job". It's strange how things happen, the timing, and the emotional effect a few passed words from one person to another can have. You may have just helped me make a decision that will save me quite a bit of heartache and regret in the future. And to boot, my father lives 3000 miles away, and doesn't even venture to give me a call once in a while, so, I'll take your passed down words as fatherly advice, and hope that gives you something to smile about.
    Thank you, I'll be watching :)... The blog that is :-P

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  6. Doing what you love is freedom but loving what you do is happiness....

    Thank you Kevin.. I needed that reminder, daddy would be proud of you.

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  7. Brian M from Didsbury ABJanuary 24, 2010 at 8:51 AM

    Nice, nice work Kevin. I have been following along your build and only wish I had more time to do the same. I have a '40 Chev 1/2 ton that I really enjoy working on and driving but 2 miles down the road there is a mid 60's shortbox Chev that I have my eye on that is just begging for the 406 that I have in the shop and a 5 speed.
    I am 54 years old but I still have a little bit of teenager in me which screems..."I need a tire peeler before I am to old or die".
    Keep up the great work and ideas like the change over to a more modern front suspension. I would have never known.
    I will be watching for more updates and thank-you for sharing your skills.

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  8. Brian M from Didsbury AlbertaJanuary 24, 2010 at 8:58 AM

    I forgot to ask you...What size are your wheels and tires? They look perfect.

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  9. Brian, I'm very glad you enjoyed the build up so far. I have the next one lined up already. I'm building an early model truck with a late model dually chassis.

    When looking at your mid 60s truck, just make sure it's 63 or newer. As long as it is, you can use any suspension from 73-87 trucks in it. The crossmember will bolt straight to your existing frame holes from the old crossmember you removed. There are 14 holes and 10 of them will line up exactly. Two you will need to oblong slightly, then the last two you will need to drill. The beauty is that since 10 of the bolts are already drop in, you get it all bolted in snug and it's completely worry free as to where you drill the two and oblong the other two. You just pass a drill bit through the holes in the crossmember. It's a built in template. This gives you the big disc brakes and more modern suspension bushings.

    The wheels are 15x8 on all 4 corners with 4 inch backspace. Front tires are 235/60/15 and rear tires are 275/60/15.

    If you have questions about anything at all, ask away. I will do my best to answer and supply pictures to clarify anything.

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  10. my dream would be just to have a shop like yours kevin.
    I'd love to be able to weld (plan on learning) and do build ups, but i started late (30s) working on cars and now i'm 46 and partly disabled. Your advice has inspired me to keep tinkering and turning wrenches.
    i've got the 71 longhorn that keeps me busy.

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