About 7 or 8 months ago there was a thread here on the discussion board which got into the configuration of the 1969-72 Corvette 2" rear exhaust pipes. I mentioned that my recollection was that my original 2" rear pipes were "flattened". Others disagreed. By the time the discussion was over with, I was seriously doubting my recollection that the rear pipes were flattened.
At the recent 2009 NCRS National Convention I had a chance to carefully inspect a Bow-Tie candidate, 1969 L-88 while it was up on one of the lifts (much to the disconcert, I might add, of a few of the "judging staff"). I am 99% certain that the exhaust system on this car is original to the car
In any event, my faith in my recollection of the configuration of the 2" rear pipes has been re-established. The rear pipes of this car were obviously flattened in certain areas. In the area beneath the spring, the pipes are significantly flattened. This is shown in the photos below. In other areas, the pipes are more subtly flattened. Unfortunately, it is subtle enough that it did not show up at all well in the photos, so I'm not including them. (I would have been able to show it if I could have cut the pipes and photographed the cross section but I don't think the owner would have approved and I didn't have the tools with me anyway).
By the way, some folks are under the impression that 1969 L-88's, if not other 1969 big blocks, were equipped with 2-1/2" exhaust. As I have mentioned many times before, ALL 1969 Corvettes were equipped with 2" exhaust. This car pretty much proves that point, too, as far as L-88's are concerned. All big blocks of ALL other years (i.e. 65-68 and 70-74) were equipped with 2-1/2" exhaust, but 1969 was not.
At the recent 2009 NCRS National Convention I had a chance to carefully inspect a Bow-Tie candidate, 1969 L-88 while it was up on one of the lifts (much to the disconcert, I might add, of a few of the "judging staff"). I am 99% certain that the exhaust system on this car is original to the car
In any event, my faith in my recollection of the configuration of the 2" rear pipes has been re-established. The rear pipes of this car were obviously flattened in certain areas. In the area beneath the spring, the pipes are significantly flattened. This is shown in the photos below. In other areas, the pipes are more subtly flattened. Unfortunately, it is subtle enough that it did not show up at all well in the photos, so I'm not including them. (I would have been able to show it if I could have cut the pipes and photographed the cross section but I don't think the owner would have approved and I didn't have the tools with me anyway).
By the way, some folks are under the impression that 1969 L-88's, if not other 1969 big blocks, were equipped with 2-1/2" exhaust. As I have mentioned many times before, ALL 1969 Corvettes were equipped with 2" exhaust. This car pretty much proves that point, too, as far as L-88's are concerned. All big blocks of ALL other years (i.e. 65-68 and 70-74) were equipped with 2-1/2" exhaust, but 1969 was not.
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