Hows it going everyone. Over the winter I'll be lowering my '54 just about 6" with a static drop (stepped a-arms, dropped uprights, cut 1/2 coil, remove a few leaves and 2" blocks). My concern is hitting the tailpipes going over speed bumps and such. How are you guys that are low routing your exhaust so the tips dont get destroyed?
Run them just inside the edge of the bumper using rubber-type hangers. This way they'll ride up and not get squished between the bumper and the road. The bottom will get scratched but they'll stay round.
I was thinking of doing functional lakes pipes but how does it sound? I'm afraid it'll sound like a moped with only three cylinders on each side.
You could run turndowns just behind the bumper so the bottom off the bumper is even with the bottom of the turndown. I like the look of small duals out the back tho. Just buy a couple extra chrome tips in case you really flatten them.
[QUOTE="pat59, post: 10742348, member: 1983swivel casters on the frame. There is a thread on here someplace.[/QUOTE] What do you mean...so the tips have wheels attached?
YOU MOUNT STATIONARY CASTER TO THE FRAME, SO WHEN U HIT A BUMP IT HITS THE CASTERS BEFORE IT HITS YOUR TIPS...
Haha I think I'd rather scrape a tip than jam a castor into the ground and change the direction of the rear end and my teeth
The casters are an old trick and they are actually for driveways but I guess that they will also work on speed bumps. When I still lived in Mexico they had speed bumps that you needed a 4WD to get over and there is a trick that I learned, cross them diagonally.
Geeze oh Pete!!! You wanna look cool running too damn low, yeah if shits dragging it's too low. Then you gotta step up your game and figure out that you'll have to do stupid shit in order to do stupid shit. Make sense? I'll break it down a bit then you run with it, Running too low is the "first stupid shit" that's going to perpetuate the other stupid shit you're going to be doing. Apparently you see Running casters is a secondary " stupid shit" to facilitate the primary " stupid shit". Routing exhaust in a alternate way may compromise and cause some other "stupid shit" like you trying to look cool while sounding like a moped. Apparently you also see that secondary "stupid shit" but can't recognize the primary " stupid shit" causing it. You could replace your scraped and smashed tips a couple times a year but that also sounds like " stupid shit" but remember its secondary. Personally, I'd rather smash my exhaust that tear off a bumper, that would make me kick my self in the ass for doing "stupid shit". Now did you notice that kicking yourself is also " stupid shit" however it's secondary to the primary " stupid shit" of running too damn low. See how that works ?
Yessssss that was great!!! I've actually decided I'm only dropping it around 4" (maaaaybe 5 if I can do it with only a Gambino notch and resulting trunk floor replacement as well as a 2-piece s-10 driveshaft) so I should be ok with the pipes. That'll leave me about 3-4" of ground clearance under my lowest point so I should only have to avoid the most mountainous of spped bumps
55 Studebakers(probably other year C/K cars) had a small vertical skid plates attached to the bumper brackets. Here is a link to a set for sale. not mine, just for reference. could work for you, or would be easy to duplicate. http://www.ebay.com/itm/STUDEBAKER-...D-PLATES-PAIR-56-57-58-59-60-61-/121511478493
These are 6" Stainless Echo Cans I've only scraped them a few times. I did notch my rear pan to elevate them a couple of inches. That really helps. My car is not slamed like most on Hamb. I kind of like a slight "Rake".
No matter what you think no man is going to look sexy in high heels. Tasteful high heels are indeed very sexy, providing the woman can move gracefully in them. Nothing worse than a woman who can't walk in her shoes, so take a guess on what or how I might opine on a lowered car you can't drive.
I'm still wondering how functional lakes pipes sound? Are they super loud exiting directly under the rear window and to they sound horrible splitting the exhaust on opposite sides? Nothing like sounding like a vw beetle in your '54
what he said^^^^^ had that setup on my old 49 Chevy sedan. turn downs behind the bumper. you could not really even see the tips from behind the car unless you got down low.
Let me ask you guys a question...why is a split 235 louder than an open single 235? I have an opened exhaust (all the way to the rear) on the '54 and it doesn't seem very loud but it sounds good and pretty deep. Will the duals be that much louder cause, I want them to be
The volume will depend on your mufflers. V8s with side pipes have a very distinctive, grunty sound; they don't sound like a 4-banger but it's very different than pipes out the back. I don't think I've ever heard a Chevy 6 with a split manifold running pipes out both sides, but it'll sure be different.
I ran functional lakes on my 50 mercury with a small block chevy. No mufflers or other exhaust. It sounded cool , on the loud side but cool. Not sure what a six would sound like? Maybe you should cross that bridge?
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