Ask my wife, she'll tell you, I'm never happy.:laugh: As a follow up to my previous thread,( http://www.v8buick.com/showthread.php?s=&postid=356775#post356775 ) I have since returned the defective parts and they made me 2 new front pipes and 2 new resonators. These were of much better quality but are still not perfect. Anyway, I had to do something or else we would have had to miss the ROA meet in Lancaster PA next week. I polished the custom made mufflers and resonators myself (something I feel should have been done by them)......... they just looked too crappy to put on the car as they were. The pipes were bent PERFECTLY, something I did not expect, except I had to cut 3" off the left front pipe and 2" off the right one. Since my muffler hanger was swiss cheese, I had to fabricate them from flat stock. Also, the resonators did not have hanger studs welded in them as original, so I had to weld some in myself (bolts and nuts behind the bumper are a PITA to tighten-ask any Riv guy!) One other thing that bothered me is out of 6 flanges, only 2 were actually stainless.......the other4 were steel. According to Kepich, when I complained that I paid for a COMPLETE stainless exhaust SYSTEM, he told me the flanges are all steel. When I told him 2 were non-magnetic he told me they are made of a special "alloy" steel. I have never heard of non-magnetic steel, but 304 stainless is non-magnetic. One more thing is that clamps were not included, but as a "courtesy" to me, he was going to send me some chromed steel clamps........I have not recieved them yet after my second call, so I just bought my own. Next thing that pees me off is that the original rear flanges hed nuts welded in the upper halves of the ball flare. These replacements did not, again I had to weld in my own.ou: Now that all is said and done, I don't like how it sounds. The low toned deep and mellow sound is gone and it sounds tinny and raspy, (you can hear the cam)......... but what really bothers me is the distinct howling sound the mufflers make from under the car.........sounds like a rear end howl even when idling in the driveway. I guess I'll just have to live with it or else give up my car for for a few weeks and argue like hell.:af: It's truly sad they are the only place that makes '66 - '70 Riv exhaust. On the lighter side, since the new exhaust pipe is routed away from the oil filter, my lifters run quieter when hot. I guess I gave up one noise for a new one.:spank: I'm going to post some pictures so you Riv guys can see a sample of what I have had been dealing with. Here's a photo of one end of the new resonators they sent me.........keep in mind these are custom made, note the better welds:
They told me their parts are reproduced "exactly" like the factory parts..........not so, I had to weld nuts into 2 of the flanges that are not exactly as the originals were.........and they are not even stainless:
Last but not least, the "just like factory" resonators needed studs welded in the brackets on them, for what it's worth, here's a pix of that: (Notice how shiny I got the tips :Brow: )
The part that really sucks is that my old muffler was so bad it sounded like it was backfiring each time I started the car. I had to do something...........the choice was to let some half a$$ed muffler shop butcher my beloved Riv or else be at the mercy of the only place who had a system for my car.(the t/a system is not stainless and does not include the '66 front pipes I needed.) I would have had to skip the ROA meet in PA next month if I did not get it done by this weekend. I had no choice but to try this system..........I wonder what they will do when I tell them it sounds like $h!t and I want better mufflers? o No:
Nobody else makes a stainless system? ouch! I really don't know that much about Rivs. Other than thier good looks. I wish I knew a place that would/could help.
Exhaust Sounds BTW, love you car!!! I went threw the same "BS" on my Corvette and found the Stainless systems sound "tinny" and lack that low tone sound like a well tuned GS and the pipes get hotter and also grow when temps rise and is hard tseal with standard clamps because of how hard of a metal it is. I went with the aluminumized system like the system on the GS and has good heat transfer, great sound, OEM appearance, and a no "BS" installation. AL
I also dislike the way my car sounds and hope it is just the generiac mufflers on it. But i like the way it dosent have the resonators or the cross flow muffler but has very small width mufflers installed parallel to the quarter panel behind the rear wheels, the only mufflers i have found to replace them that are the equalivent size is from Spintech and i have never heard the way they sound. i have seen the T/A system installed on the '65 Riv and the ground clearance is so very minimal. plus from reading Ted's thread and talking with him it wasnt a straight install but involved some cutting. They did sound very good though. Joe thanks for relating all you have been thru with this as it helps the rest of us, i would have been upset by the non-mandrel bent pipes as well as the other problems you have had to deal with and in no way would i have been able to do the required mods to make it work, especially after beleiving it was ready to install. Doing exhaust work yourself on jack stands is tough enough when everything is exactly correct.
Stainless Exhaust System Joe - Thanks for the feedback on your replacement exhaust system from Kepich. Sounds like we need a better source. Have a good time @ Lancaster ! :TU:
hey Greg the web page for spintech is www.spintechmufflers.com click on traditional and click on sounds i personally like the 2 camaros clip the feature sportsman series mufflers those are the ones i;m going to purchase Rich Martel 70 GS 455 BPG #1599
