1969 side exhaust installation question

[John M.]

I'm assuming the exhaust covers need to be installed prior to the muffler?

I did a search but didn't see any questions on it. I have a feeling the covers were installed first and would rather not find out the hard way.

Thanks.

[James G.]

Re: 1969 side exhaust installation question

John:
I have a "69 side pipe car, assemble date 2/11/69. I have two sets of side pipes and covers. One set is the original which I purchased from the second owner who I bought the car from in 1977. The price was $110.00, but that is another story. The second set was purchased new from a Chevrolet dealer in 1983. The price then was $616.87.
To get to your question, I have changed from one set of these to the other more times that I care to remember. I use the originals for judging and the others the rest of the time. I have always installed the side pipe first, and then the cover.
Installing the pipe is fairly straight forward. I place blocking under the front of the pipe to hold it up in some proximity to the final location. Then, after placing the rear bolt, rubber and metal washers in the pipe bracket at the rear, slip the bolt in the slotted hole in the frame and slide the pipe forward. Continue with final bolt up.
The cover is rather awkward to hold in place while trying to get the four small screws lined up and into the body. I place four studs in the body. rotate the front bracket of the cover between the pipe and frame, and slip the cover over the studs. Make sure that the cover is against the body before releasing it since the small studs could easily bend and break. Remove the studs one by one as you install the screws. When all four are in place, it is time to install the front two screws. Place these in the cover and the body fiberglass. Now comes the real problem. The back side of these screws is up behind the gap between the pipe and cover in a place my fingers cannot reach. To facilitate the nut installation, I hold a speed nut with a pair of forceps and slip the nut over the screw threads.
Complete the installation by placing the two self tapping screws through the cover bracket and into the frame. You are now ready to tighten all of the fasteners.
Good Luck.

[John M.]

Re: 1969 side exhaust installation question

Well, I kind of learned this the hard way.

I installed the muffler. Then realized the cover would not fit over the muffler and it had to be installed 1st.

So I removed the muffler, and installed the cover.

Then I realized i couldn't install the rear bracket on the cover with the muffler installed.

Again remove the muller, attach the bracket on the cover, and reinstall the muffler.

So if your reading this in the future, I'd recommend.

1. attach rear bracket to cover.
2. Install Cover
3. Install Muffler
4. Attach Cover Bracket to frame.