Hooker Maximum Flow Straight-Through Mufflers - Pipe It Up

Turndowns are another insubstantial yet pricey item that can cost $50 each. Buck made them himself by slicing a 3 1/2-inch, 90-degree U-bend right in the middle of the radius, and welding it onto the mufflers. When welding aluminized steel, Buck suggests grinding the protective coating off of the areas of piping that will be joined together, which also removes grease and machine oil.

Before welding the muffler onto the back of the intermediate pipe, Buck prefers tack welding the front of the pipe to the header collector. This affords more flexibility in positioning the intermediate pipe at just the right angle before welding on the collector flange. Note the miniscule distance between the muffler case and subframe connector.

While there was no clearance issue between the piping and crossmember on the passenger side of the car, the floorboard had to be massaged slightly in the rear footwell area. This is the luxury you have when building a dime a dozen, late-model street/strip machine opposed to a mega-buck '69 Camaro show car.

By nature, turndowns bounce exhaust pulses right at the pavement, which can potentially rattle your floorboards. To minimize this effect, Buck positioned them at a 45-degree angle. One of the benefits of installing an exhaust on a two-post lift is that it allows the rearend to rest at full droop. This exaggerates any potential clearance issues, which provides a safety buffer once the car is resting at ride height.

With the completed exhaust system in place, the lowest point on the entire car is the header collectors. We skipped on an H-pipe option for now, since hitting our 9-second e.t. goal is more of a matter of traction than horsepower.

Using a generic $4 exhaust hanger from AutoZone, the mufflers were affixed to the framerail using factory boltholes. To reinforce the hangers, they were bent at a 90-degree angle and then triangulated with a piece of 1/8-inch-thick steel plate.