I have a separate thread regarding my 53 Chevy with airbags in the rear, 350 SBC motor, and exhaust manifolds. I have a leak and need new pipes and I want to put 22" glasspacks in. The pipes are routed awful right now and were scraped up by the previous owner pretty badly. I was planning to get this done on Saturday this week and just called the exhaust shop that briefly looked at my car a week ago and they said they forgot to tell me I may need a custom or modified crossmember, especially if I want to bag the front some day. The rear is on bags right now (I bought the car as is late last year). Does anyone think I can get the exhaust put in with the stock crossmember and be fine? They said it would cost around $900 for a custom crossmember and the exhaust work. I don't have skills to do the crossmember mod myself unfortunately. I have photos below. The driver side has a pinto master cylinder so not sure if 2" pipes can clear that. The passenger side looks like there is enough room to go above the crossmember. If I add bags to the front in the future, it will be to raise the car when I need it while driving, not lower it any more. Thanks.
it all depends on where they mounted your master cylinder. I had 2 1/4" pipes on mine and ran them right next to the master cylinder. you don't need a new cross member. you need a new exhaust shop that isn't trying to screw you over for more money
Thank you. The master cylinder is under the floor (in the first picture) on the driver's side, right under where driver's feet would rest when not stepping on a brake or gas pedal. I will try another shop that says they can route the pipes with the existing crossmember.
does your brake pedal come up through the original hole in the floor? if so your master cylinder is in a spot where exhaust can be routed around it.
As far as I know this is the case. I will take some more photos tonight to confirm that and also to better show what clearance exists between the master cylinder/brake lines and the transmission.
I had to build one for my 47, as the PO had cut it out for some reason. But I patterned it after the original, or from what I could see in pictures. Not hard to do if you decide you need to modify yours, or make a new one. Built it from 1 x 2 1/8 wall tubing, and 1/8 plate (connecting the tubing welded to the top of the frame, and the bottom, like an I beam)
That's a cool shot showing what your modification looks like. I don't have a good setup to do such a thing and would like to use my existing crossmember if it's a reasonable option.
Here are some more pics from the driver's side showing the trans. and the master cylinder. Based on these pictures, I think it's possible for a good exhaust shop to run pipes above the stock crossmember?
This pic is the underside of my '51 Chevy 235". Pic was taken, standing under rear end of car, facing forward. Dual exhaust, Fenton Headers, stock master cylinder, open drive line. Tranny is a 1959 Chevy 3 speed with OVERDRIVE. Routed BOTH pipes to passenger side, to clear master cylinder and governor for overdrive tranny. It can be done by the CORRECT exhaust shop, without the need for a custom crossmember. Mine DOES have a Walton crossmember, due to the 1959 tranny, but the exhaust position tells it can be rerouted.. http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/attachments/bg3-png.2685513/
Street Rod Headquarters sells a tubular crossmember for this car which will give you more options for your exhaust's routing. I believe it mounts a little higher than a stock crossmember which may give you room under for tubing.
It would also help if you changed out the master cyl to send the brake lines off toward the outer frame rail, instead of the towards the trans. Easy and not expensive to do.
It looks to me like you have room to run the pipe under the crossmembers long as They tuck it back up closer to the floorboard for the rest of the run. I can't get you a photo of mine but that is how they ran the exhaust: down next to the fire wall just barely under the crossmember then curving back up to the floorboard and tucked up nice and tight the rest of the way. Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!
Before you drive your car to the muffler shop or anywhere else for that matter, be sure to latch the clip that holds the top of your master cylinder lid down or you will have bigger problems than you already have.
Thanks that latch clip was on before I drove it last but I'll put it back on and recheck. I appreciate you pointing that out and helping me avoid another disaster.
Thanks for the advice. I found another exhaust shop that says they can route the 2" pipes based on the photos I sent. I will take it middle of next week if they can wait after hours for me to drop it off.
I just got a phone call from the exhaust shop this morning. I left the 53 Chevy on Saturday. The shop says it would be possible to run the exhaust above the transmission crossmember but I might have issues with heat near the master cylinder and floor and possibly clearing some lines etc. I asked about modifying the crossmember and they said around $350 to $400 to do that work. They said they could run under the crossmember and put a bend to make it higher rear of it. Most of the scraping on the old pipes seems to have happened rear of the cross member. I guess I could always have them tucked up later if it's an issue and I need to redo brake lines, etc?
it would be a fuck of a lot cheaper to build a little heat shield than to spend 150.00 to "modify the crossmember" for a problem that does not exist. I can't imagine what they plan to do to the crossmember that would make more room by the master cylinder.
I spoke with the shop owner a second time and he looked at it on the lift with me on the phone. He said he could run under the crossmember and then bend upwards so they sit higher rear of the crossmember. He said sometimes there is no issue running pipes close to a master cylinder and sometimes there are. He said a heat shield is an option but it might be hard to clear some of the transmission related stuff (I can't remember what he referred to regarding the transmission) I called him back and asked him to them bend just rear of the crossmember and run them higher as if they were passing above the crossmember. If I have an issue and need to run above, it's less pipe to cut off and redo. In my photos, it seems the scraping was rear of the crossmember and the very tail ends (probably from sloped driveways). All of this was from the previous owner and I plan to bag the front so I can ride higher. The only thing that worries me is the pipes before were 1 3/4 most of the way and I'm going with 2". I've had the car 10 months or less and none of the scraping looks recent so it's possible that I've more or less been careful enough.
Just wrap the pipe with the crap they sell for headers, about 6 inches before and after the area of the master cylinder, if you can't fab up a heat shield.
I already told them to just run under the crossmember but make a bend right after. I guess if I have an issue they can run above without too much rework. I feel bad calling back again. I already called 3 times this morning telling them to do different things (first was just run above, second was modify the crossmember, and third was run under but bend immediately after). I think the issue with running above is some of the transmission related stuff is in the way? I do know he mentioned something about the transmission.
I had 2 1/4" pipe above the crossmember and out the back over the rear end on my old 49 sedan. my car also had Sanderson headers which make routing exhaust even more difficult. never made any heat shield for the master cylinder and never had any brake problems. your exhaust guy is just lazy or incompetent.
Oh ok i'm going to call them then, i must sound like a retard calling and asking to change plan this many times.
I just called and spoke again with the owner. He will fish it through above the crossmember. He told me the header wrap would crystallize the pipe and it would have to be replaced in a year if I drove the car a lot.
Slow yourself down and develop a plan of action before diving in head first. . .it'll pay off in the long run
So in the end, did the pipes go over or under the crossmember? I'll be doing the same soon. Looking at the stock crossmember when I put in the new master on my '51, it looks awful tight in there. I'm using a t5 so the shift linkage won't be an issue.
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