Technical Bad to run straight pipes?

Mr48chev>>>I know that a lot of guys think they have to make their own exhaust system for one reason or another >>>

Yep. That would be me. I think the OP should consider an unmufflered DIY job in cast iron black pipe from Lowes or Home Depot lovingly-plumbed front to back with an assortment of elbows, unions, tees and never-seez. It'd last longer, sound better and cheaper than anything a muffler shop could do.

Jack E/NJ

 

- but, ya gotta join the Plumbers Union

 

Use yer credit card and get er done....
Ya sure don't wanna be drivin it around leakin exhaust where you and others are breathin it!
A rumble is definitely a plus, do whatever it takes....
Then it's runnin, and safe, you can drive it whenever you want, while yer payin off the credit card.
Way better than just having it sit there cause yer afraid to drive it that way...
I just had to redo the exhaust on my 58 pickup, it will take awhile to pay it off, but I'm driving it every day in the meantime!

 

Well I never been a union plumber but I got some 3" copper in the garage.

 

Or lift their wallet!

 

PnB>>>Well I never been a union plumber but I got some 3" copper in the garage. >>>

Wow. You must be rich!

Jack E/NJ

 

Now I don't care who you are, that was funny.

 

I have thought about selling it. I pulled it from the old KC Star building when we were changing out the cooling water system. My boss said take it home so I did.

Copper and brass make good old time exhaust pipes although 3" is a little big. It crackles when it heats up.

 

Those Chris Craft's just sound like a SBC with short pipes, baffles and water injected into them.

 

I think the straight pipes would eventually give you a headache also. Go with some cheap short glasspacks to take the edge off.

And, I hear ya about the old timer's giving you the business. Happens to me too. They've forgotten that when they were young they got crap from their elders. My dad would say to me after I told him an idea: "What the hell would you want to do that for?" Talk about pouring water on my Hot Rod fire

Do what you want with it, it's a 50 Cad after all, not a Duesenberg.

 

Talking about the sweet sounds of dual exhaust.
Back in 1981 or 1982, when K.K.O.A. and Jerry Titus were just getting off the ground, we drove a chopped 1950 Merc, 327/350, with straight pipes, from Cleveland, Ohio to DesMoines, Iowa, about 750 miles one way.
The straight pipe were great, for the first 50 miles.
After that 50 mile mark, we did everything to feather the gas pedal to keep that S.O.B. with the super hot, running all day, exhaust somewhat quiet.
Before coming back to Cleveland, we stopped at a local hardware store, in Iowa.
Bought steel wool and window screening material.
We took the chrome "turn down" tailpipe extensions off, put some steel wool into the tailpipes, used the screening to keep the steel wool in the pipes, and to cover the opening of the tailpipes, then reinstalled the chrome extensions to hold the screening in place.
The ride home was much more bearable, but my ears remember that trip, very well.

 

I ain't skeered. Matter of fact, I get some dihydrogen monoxide on me almost every day!

 

I believe each one of us has had or still has money issues, as we stay involved in this addicted hobby.
Your partial quote here ..... "Me being the cheap bastard I am," probably falls in line with many of us, as we go through the never ending "fixing or updating" of our projects.
They're never done, you know, not ever.
Fender, you have several things going on here.
You're lucky enough to be young, you're cheap (like many of us) and you own Cadillacs.
Your age is what it is, being frugal is your choice, having Cadillacs is your choice, as well.
Do you see the financial game breaker here ?
It's the Cadillacs.
Compared to Chevys, Cadillac parts are not as easy to come by, and when you do find the Cadillac part, you'll pay more.
We all have big bucks in our cars, you have listed out all the parts and associated money that have gone into your Caddy, thus far. A big investment, by any standards, right ?
If my Chevy tranny falls out of my '51. I'll find one here or on Craigslist for $50 to $100 bucks, and I'm good to go, after a couple of hours of labor.
If your Caddy auto tranny goes bad, where do you find another or who is knowledgeable enough to rebuild yours ?
Will the car then just sit, with all the previously installed new parts on it ?
The choice to bring back Cadillacs is not inexpensive, thereby putting a squeeze on your wallet, even quicker.
As you have read, many say to you, FROM THEIR EXPERIENCE OVER THE YEARS, "fix it right", no matter what you do, or how little you do.
"Fixing it right" saves you time and money, in the long run ... it keeps you from doing the job a second time, at even more additional costs.
Consider this as friendly advice from those who have been down the road, in this "car hobby".
Good luck.

 

My Mom bought Mr. Langendorf's '48 Cad in '54. (the bread mogul)
Low mileage, his wife's car. Brand new U.S. Royal Masters, car was a pale yellow.
First thing Mom did was take it to Babe's Muffler Service, (a 'hot rod' shop, famous in its own rite)
I knew Babe, hung around there, he went to the drags weekly, used his full custom F1 as a push truck. Sometimes I went with him, was always around the pits to assist.

Babe told Mom she'd be happiest with a pair of 30 inch 'Mellotones', which were glass-paks.
He built a set of duals that ran all the way back, oval tips just below the rear bumper. That made a sound that was hard to emulate...Mom's Caddy was a '48, last of the flathead eights in the Cad line. They had a sound all their own.
Total cost including labor (Babe did the job himself) $67 and change.
Mom loved it, but the "$67" kept getting mentioned for weeks!
She had J&J Customs drop the front, (cut 2 coils, $20) and my bud and I installed 3" blocks in rear.
It all cost money, even then...I think the lowering block kit was around $4, from American Auto.
They had Mor-Drop axles on the wall, $10.95 exchange.

 

and something of a renaissance man...

 

Shit, that last part pretty much describes how I feel most mornings!!

 

"I feel sorry for people that don't drink, 'cause when they wake up is as good as they're gonna feel all day..." -Frank Sinatra

 

Yeah, unfortunately I got bit hard by the cadillac bug. Theyre easily my favorite car of the 40's and 50's.....

Ive told myself several times Id just get a 50's chevy to build as a daily beater - sbc, and parts are cheaper and plentiful, but I realized they all take the same time investment to make right....might as well just focus on what I love.

 

That he is, lots of respect for the gent.

 

I'm almost ready to do the exhaust on my Ford... that thing is loud. I have a local shop that does custom exhaust, he did some work for me years ago on a stock system. I got Flow Tech Red Hots for mufflers, it should be loud enough.

 

A headache from exhaust fumes??

Yep! Straight exhausts are the normal cure for a headache. You take your car for a long trip until the headache disappears


Caddy's are supposed to be quiet [listen to the others]

 

Eh.

 

I think the problem with CO is it binds to red blood cells better than oxygen and so builds up in your blood and prevents oxygen from being delivered by the blood. It takes breathing pretty intensive oxygen and time to get all the CO out of your blood.

Some friends and we came real close to dying sleeping in a drafty (but not drafty enough) cottage with a propane refrigerator.
One of these -
http://www.cpsc.gov/en/Recalls/1998...Gas-Refrigerators-Still-In-Use-Can-Be-Deadly/

If their whiny son hadn't carried on loudly about his headache we never would have woken up. As it was, several of our party and the dog had to be picked up and carried out of the cabin.

 

It doesnt have to be expensive if you can weld. I have gotten free pipe out of heat exchangers and made complete exhaust systems for the cost of the oxygen/acetylene.
The pipes in the heat exchangers are U-bends so I had all the curves I needed

 

for a good example search here for current thread by Nailhead Jason: Bringing My 39 Back To Life

 

Back in HS one of my football buddies had a sharp '57 Merc.
Him and his date didn't come home one night.
Found them the next morning, Merc still idling.
Exhaust leak put them both permanently to sleep.

 

I hope you realise I'm joking.

You complain about a bitching headache , yet you're considering a straight exhaust
If you don' realize this, the carbon monoxide has probably gotten to your functioning abilities