Exhaust pipes.....maybe this is common knowlege,..

[Terry F.]

Well, I have been looking at exhaust pipes lately because I would like to find some for my 68 bb car. I always thought that original and service replacement had the wrinkle bends in them.......I find this is not true. Recently I have found NOS pipes that have smooth bends. Maybe this is common knowlege. I am assuming that for 60's erra they are probably service replacement parts. Feedback is welcome. Terry

Merry Christmas everyone!

[Warren F.]

Re: Exhaust pipes.....maybe this is common knowleg

Terry,

That's news to me. I've had a couple of sets of GM new old stock exhaust pipes, those and all the others I've seen at Bloomington Gold and Corvettes @ Carlisle swap meets were all the carbon steel double wall pipes with the wrinkled bends.

[Terry F.]

Re: Exhaust pipes.....maybe this is common knowleg

Well, I have been seeing NOS one's advertised on ebay off and on with the smooth bends. They have GM part number stickers on them. I sort of avoided them. I didn't know what to think. Today, I saw a very nice exhaust pipe for my 68 that has the smooth bends and is defintely a GM part. So, it inspired me to look at a set of smooth pipes that I purchased that were questionable NOS. Low and behold, down by the end of the pipe was the part number stamped in the steel. I was going to just unload them. I think I will put them on my car. I still need to find a set of front pipes for my 68 but I have a few leads on things. Something should give. Terry

[Mark #28455]

NOS vs. NOS

This is where the terminology used gets deceptive. Just how old does a part have to be to qualify as "new old stock"? Even a part from the 1990's is legally a "NOS" part. I spent a LOT of time in the junkyards in the late 70's and early 80's and almost every exhaust in the pile had wrinkle bends. This was because the high volume pipe bending equipment had shoes that intentionally made those wrinkles. From a mass production standpoint, you can't make a lot of profit if you have to take 20 to 30 minutes to bend up each set of pipes on the equipment you see at the local custom muffler shop. I would be very suspicious of claims that a smooth type pipe was from the 1960's vintage.

Mark

[Alan Drake]

Smooth Bends

Have a set of service replacement N11 (off road) mufflers/pipes purchased in "71" and have seen an original set still on a 64 car. In general these are the same relative to bends.
All the bends are smooth - you do see some radial marks at turns and at pipe transitions such as from round to square. The bends by the muffler are very smooth and do not show any hint of marks. Now these are C2 vintage.

[Mike M.]

Re: Exhaust pipes.....maybe this is common knowleg

we owned a 67 sbc coupe that fot its 5 star bowtie in the mid 90's. its original exhaust system is wrinkle-free. mike

[Terry F.]

Re: NOS vs. NOS

If it is an original GM service replacement part that was sold over the counter, it should be recognized as an exceptable full point part on the judging field. Period! Even myself who pushes the "Anal Meter" at a factor 9.9 on a 1-10 scale will draw the line somewhere. Ultimately, I would love to find a full set of single piece pipes for my car but I personally think it is sort of over the top on a car that has so many original miles on it. I simply want to have the pride in knowing the car has all GM parts on it whether they be original production or over the counter service replacements. I think it is something many of us strive for.

Saying these pipes are incorrect because they were produced later vs. ealier. I appreciate your opinion but totally disagree and I can live with that. But, it is the sort of stuff that makes me puke chunks. Who cares when the part was made? When someone starts making the pipes with the wrinkle bends (I have found a company using such equipment) and starts repopping them and stamping part numbers on them and starts calling them GM licenced reproduction, what will we say then. The pipes I am running into are long discontinued and MADE by GM for a particular application, enough said. Have a great New Year! Best regards, Terry

[Terry F.]

Re: Smooth Bends

Your observations are greatly appreciated. I have seen so many original smooth bend GM pipes over the recent years it isn't funny. I always avoided them because they didn't have the supposed correct bends in them. I have even found two styles of wrinkle bends. Thanks, Terry

[Terry F.]

Re: Exhaust pipes.....maybe this is common knowleg

Enough said....Wrrrrrrrinkle is not the only bend out there! Smooth bends should be exceptable then folks! Terry

[Terry F.]

Re: Exhaust pipes.....maybe this is common knowleg

I think people search out and install on there cars what is believed to be conventional knowledge. They are looking to garnish the most points and seperated the look of the part from the typical stuff that is being produced today. Even Allens has a bunch of NOS pipes it shows in there add and they have the smooth bends.

My feeling is that the reproduction pipes should be more exceptable then because they match service replacement and possibly original configuration from the factory.

Terry

[Mark #28455]

you have missed the point

Sorry to offend you, you may puke your chunks whenever you choose, but the NCRS judging standard is "as it left the factory" not "using all service replacement parts". Personally, I agree that there are some who are far too anal in this hobby, but not all "NOS" parts are even remotely close to the original. About 10 years ago I bought the last original ball joints that were in the parts pipeline. After that, the GM service replacement parts did not have the original configuration even though still sold in GM boxes. You can choose to buy them if you want, but you will likely loose just as many points as if you bought MOOG or TRW parts at Auto Zone.

Mark

[Terry F.]

Re: you have missed the point

No, I understand what you are saying. I have not taken any offense. I just disagree with you. Basicly, the cars were original only once, the day they left the factory. Take care, Terry