Project 59 exhaust system

[John Mcgraw]

I finished up on the exhaust system on the 59 this weekend. I am real pleased with the finished product, but I am sure glad it's done. There in no one with a mandrel bender in town, so I had to fabricate this system from cut 304 stainless pipes and bends which I TIG welded together and then ground and polished the finished pipes. The ammount of hours in this system is way more than I ever anticipated investing in it, but at least it is done!
Regards, John McGraw

http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2003-8/339303/P0000968.JPG

 

[67HEAVEN]

You know the rule......... pics?

 

[John Mcgraw]

Hvn',

There you go. I have been having a problem with posting the link to my photo hosting site, on this board sometimes. I will get a wysiwyg error and the entire post is wiped clean. The only solution is to post the text and then come back and add the link. This one still has me scratching my head!
Regards, John McGraw

 

[John Mcgraw]

I finally figured what I had to do it get the link to work. I had to put at least one space in the line in front of the link, and it started to work. STRANGE!
Regards, John McGraw

 

[Fuelie]

John,

You do fantastic work........that is very impressive:cool

Keep those pics of the progress coming........I am living vicariously through your project

Very cool

 

[80vette_ca]

All I've got to say is wow, that looks great, I wish I could show off my exhaust system with pride like that, great job.

 

[Loren Smith]

Outstanding work. Thanks for the pics.

Question - with that SRIII frame, will the engine sit a little lower than stock, to get a little more hood clearance? And since the X-frame is not in the way, is the tranny mounted a little lower for a better driveshaft angle (and lower center of gravity)?

 

[John Mcgraw]

The engine may set a lttle lower in the chassis, but from where the accessories line up on the inner fenderwells, it is not much. The rear of the trans is at almost exactly the same height, and the U-joint angle is almost perfectly straight. By using a C4 rearend, the center section is mounted pretty high in the chassis to keep the angle low, and of course, the angle does not change as the suspension goes up and down like the original rear end.
Regards, John McGraw

 

[67HEAVEN]

John,

Don't you dare drop a body on that beautiful chassis. :eek

 

[BarryK]

Hi John

what an awesome job on that exhaust system!

BTW, that rolling chassis and motor look a little bit different than other '59's i've seen......just a few MINOR modifications??



Barry

 

[Loren Smith]

That explains it. Thanks, John.

 

[wapaugh]

John,

I've been flip-flopping back and forth on which way to go with my '59. Modify...restore...modify...restore... Having trouble deciding, but I think you've just inadvertently made up my mind for me. What an awesome job you've done on your car!.

Have you had to make any adjustments or modifications to your SRIII chassis, or did it arrive ready to bolt on suspension components? I've also been flip-flopping on the SRIII vs. Newman's mods. Guess I should pick a direction and get started putting the thing back together.

Keep the pics coming, as they are an inspiration.

Wes

 

[studiog]

Incredible work John! I see you even found room for a crossover pipe. Very nice.

 

[John Mcgraw]

Wes,

About the only thing that I had to do to the chassis was add the bumper brackets and the battery tray supports. Mike does not put bumper brackets on the frame since different years used different mounting. I looked at all the frames out there before deciding on the SRIII chassis, and I think it fit the bill best for what I wanted to do. Newman does a nice job, but you have to have a nice chassis to begin with, then you have to pay freight both ways, and then you have to wait many,many weeks. With SRIII, I sold my original chassis and only paid freight one way. With a $5,500 price on the chassis, my price delta was close to $2500 less expensive with SRIII, and I got a frame that will get your attention!
Billy Dawson down in Sequin Tx also makes a nice rectangular tubing chassis that is all new and is very attractively priced.
Regards, John McGraw

 

[John Mcgraw]

Studiodog,

I really wanted a crossover, but there were times in the mock-up of this exhaust that I was ready to give up on it. My first thought was that a straight pipe could be put between the head pipes, but it was clear after laying it out that the system would sit too low to crossover through the frame without some work.
I had to angle the nipples up slightly on each head pipe and then do some angle cutting and welding on the crossover to make it line up perfectly. I tacked all the joints in place on the chassis and then pulled it all off for the final TIG welding. I think that all the effort will be worth the better sound afforded by the crossover.
Regards, John McGraw

 

[Ron Miller]

Studiodog,

I really wanted a crossover, but there were times in the mock-up of this exhaust that I was ready to give up on it. My first thought was that a straight pipe could be put between the head pipes, but it was clear after laying it out that the system would sit too low to crossover through the frame without some work.
I had to angle the nipples up slightly on each head pipe and then do some angle cutting and welding on the crossover to make it line up perfectly. I tacked all the joints in place on the chassis and then pulled it all off for the final TIG welding. I think that all the effort will be worth the better sound afforded by the crossover.
Regards, John McGraw

What beautiful work!!

 

[Tom Bryant]

A work of art John. Like Bob said, it will be a shame to cover it up with a body.

Tom

 

[wapaugh]

Thanks for the info, John and you're certainly right about having a frame that gets your attention. It sure grabbed mine. I would be interested in seeing Billy's tube frames. Does he have a website where I can view his work? I'm within driving distance to Sequin and could save the freight charges.

Regards,

Wes

 

[richscorvettes]

Wes,

I believe that Billy Dawson's company is Corvette Correction. Here is their web site address: http://www.corvettecorrection.com/html/chasis.html

Rich Lagasse

 

[wapaugh]

Thanks Rich,

Good to hear from you. Hope the 63 project is going well.

Wes