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Recomm for where to buy mandrel bent exhaust pipe.

brans87

brans87

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Looking at possible redoing my exhaust and curious where you guy's order your mandrel bent exhaust pipe from...

87 K5 looking to copy K85 Octane is as much as possible with 3 inch and run it out drivers side behind the wheel.
 
I got the parts for my '72 C10 from Jegs, but last weekend , I had problems with their website and ordered from summit, even though it cost me a couple of dollars extra. Jegs website was crappy!!!!
 
Never welded much exhaust but grabbed a nice section of exhaust from work that is like new that they were tossing out so can practice exhaust welding for free.

Seems most like smaller wire for exhaust welding.
 
Last one I bought was from Columbia river mandrel bends. They have an ultimate builders kit that's 3.00 and it's fairly inexpensive. Good stuff and you can get the tight bends (4.5" radius) if you want
 
I bought a kit through speedway with a bunch of bends and straight pipe for a fraction of what summit and jegs was. However for a couple bends I would order through summit.
 
I can second Columbia River http://www.mandrelbends.com/clearance-b-stock.html

That link is to their "b-stock". You'll have to do some digging, but 20#'s of bends and a stick of straight will get it done, with a ton of bends left over...I doubt I used even half of what was there to do the y-pipe back to the muffler, muffler and beyond I took off my other K5, but there was enough to do that and then some too I'm sure. The b-stock stuff last I checked was dirt cheap comparatively. What I got was really good stuff. There might have been a few ridges or kinks, but all were very small, and in my case it was all aluminized, for a working test of welding up my own exhaust, for the day I end up going stainless all the way back, so looks weren't (aren't lol) overly important to me.

I ended up using a horizontal band saw to make almost all the cuts, and there were quite a few, but if you have one, it makes that part pretty easy. When not able to make your own custom bends, you are pretty well stuck making odd cuts in existing bends to get it tucked up tight, if that is the goal. I can't remember what K85's looked like, IMO the worst part is making any junctions (such as merging the passenger to driver side crossover).

FWIW when ordering parts, consider using band clamps (or similar) in strategic locations or location...being able to leave the fore or aft portions of the exhaust bolted up while removing the other end makes access a lot easier. To be honest I wasn't entirely happy with the seal the band clamp provided, still seem to leak a tiny bit, but so far have held up fine and have come in handy once already. The trick "clamp" would be the interlocking v-band clamps, but they are substantially more money than the standard band clamps.
 
There out of B stock in 2.5 inch stainless bends! 3 inch might be to much till I get to join 2 pipes into a collector and then single 3 inch rest the way.

I have a band saw machine in the garage (going to order a new blade). Yes I want use a couple clamps to make exhaust easier to remove/install.
 
Seems most like smaller wire for exhaust welding.

That where my Miller matic 130 comes in very handy
 
If it is a stock 350, 2.25" pipe is still plenty and I've seen 2.25 collectors with 3" on the back end.
I'm running slightly modified 400sb.
Tried to find that picture of mine, don't seem to have it anymore.
 
Won't say it is stock but not built few mods only. Also know right now it breathes good with 2.5 to 3 it just it route incorrectly ( pass side runs near fuel filter = extra heat) and being ran out pass side no room for big muffler to quite it down.
 
Are you running duel or are trying to go back stock. I run Edlebrock Tess headers, 3" from Y pipe collector to 3" free flow cat, 3" to free flow muffler, 3" to exit on driver side behind the rear tire. I prefer the single 3" over duels. I live in Cali, so the deviations to factory is very limited. I can't have true duel exhaust.
 
single exhaust and want 2.5 to Y pipe then debating free flow cat since last one went bad and walker SS muffler to exit on driver side behind rear wheel.

I hate duals less done right on old trucks like 67 C10 or muscle cars.
 
My Y pipe is 2.5", where they mesh together it is 3" collector.
 
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That would be correct. You run from manifolds to the collector in 2.5 then other end single side will be 3 inch
 
I have short headers, connected by the Y pipe. Then the rest is all 3" is correct.
 
brans87 said:
There out of B stock in 2.5 inch stainless bends! 3 inch might be to much till I get to join 2 pipes into a collector and then single 3 inch rest the way.
Click to expand...

In the past their b-stock changed weekly. Not sure if they update the web site that often. Worth a watch if you aren't in a huge hurry.

Does anyone know what the Y-pipe diameter was/is on the small block R/V trucks that were stock 3" exhaust? There is a lack of fact-based data on this sort of thing, partially because there are so many variables I'm certain. But when GM finally went to 3" tubing, their reason was probably based on research, and whatever they were using for Y-pipe diameter is likely the smallest that should be considered. My point would be that having that information would allow an educated decision on what is practical for pipe size, even for those of us such as myself that can't get past the thought that there is some arbitrary minimum size that is needed. Dual 2.25" pipe (for instance) still flows better than single 3" by a decent margin, and supports well over 300HP...if 2.25" has advantages (availability, clearance, cost) and meets the requirements to boot, there is no reason to go larger. The gains/losses when talking 2.25 vs 2.5 on a y-pipe I would wager to be impossible to tell from the drivers perspective. Just food for thought. I was certain I'd lose a ton of felt power when I went from long tube headers and dual 2.25's to short(er) headers and single 3". Couldn't tell a darn bit of difference, and I tuned for both.
 
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