'72 - mufflers hanging close to fender

[Tony 38901]

I was reinstalling my gas tank the other day and bolted the mufflers back up. All I did was reattach them to the hangers....Anyways, the pass. side muffler looks like it's hanging too close to the fender, less than an inch away. The driver side has a little more room. I didn't pay attention to how close it was before I dropped them, so now I'm left scratching my head...what is the proper spacing? Anybody have any pics to share of how this should look?
Thanks

[Jack H.]

Re: '72 - mufflers hanging close to fender

Mufflers ARE a tight fit and you adjust by rotating the rear inside the junction of the front exhaust pipe at the union forward of the frame center cross member. Factory original pipes were jig welded with 'nubs' to center the rear resonator tips and it was pretty obvious when you had correct alignment as the 'nubs' would wind up being in a vertical plane.

What you're after is rather equal clearance between the outer edge of the muffler and the rear quarter panel AND clearance between the inner edge of the muffler and the spare tire tub. The other clearance issue to check is between the OD of the rear pipe and the hole in the frame cross member (keep it from 'clanking' metal on metal).

Install rear pipes VERY loosely in rear hanger and at crossmember. Play with alignment/rotation, THEN do final tightening of front clamps and rear hanger....