(f anyone's i) http://www.calvertracing.com/info/info.htm Order them straight from Calvert Racing here: http://www.calvertracing.com/ord/order.htm ($339 +shipping) "....these components changes the pushing point on the car by redirecting the turning action (spring wrap-up) of the rear axle through the Force Transfer Link into the Front Pivot. The Front Pivot Spring Stop Bolt resists this turning motion and also controls the bending of the leaf spring at its thinnest section. The push into the Front Pivot helps the cars weight shift towards the rear of the car because of a new directed angle of force toward the front of the vehicle. (The "Instant Center" moves farther forward). This is where the system emulates a Four link system. The pinion angle is also maintained." The "INFO" link explains in more detail how they work. Depending on how much power you're putting down (and which shocks, springs, tires, etc) the slapper bars might do the job just fine for a lot less - but then you're always going to want to move up - eventually. The slapper bars limit the amount of twisting whereas the CalTracs pre-load the suspension. I'd venture to say that if you put a WTB ad in the classifieds, you could pick up a used set pretty reasonably.
Besides, the $339 (+ shipping) vs the $29 for the slappers, hmmmm...seems like a no-brainer, until I get more HP under the hood.
Frank Those were definitely words of wisdom. Just plain obvious, but without being told outright, I am sure that one day, I would be parked on grass for an easier access to under the car, and I would have started it up and gunned it a couple times to show off. Not just a potentially embarrassing experience, but downright dangerous. I just recently put a fire extinguisher in the car. I will likely put one on each side somewhere, so they can be easily reached from each open window without having to open doors and dig around for them (my winodows are ALWAYS open). Maybe bolt a securing ring to the side of the rear seat or something?
You get what you pay for. How much performance do you think $29 will give you? You can't even buy a tank of gas for $29 anymore. There were some really good suggestions offered here for exhaust routing. It will be plenty loud with headers, the right mufflers, and large diameter pipe. No need to exit in front of the rear wheel, not to mention that if your windows are "always open" like you said, exhaust fumes will be coming right into the interior...
Does anyone other than myself tune their exhaust system?? It sounds unrestricted when properly tuned....
On my to-do list (way down there, but still on it). My engine wasn't running when my exhaust system was fabbed, otherwise it would've received the 'tuning'.
i would agree that less back pressure is always better. with a dual glasspack set up though, if one side blows out faster than the other your engine is getting uneven backpressure. i had this happen to me and its similar to having a leaky header gasket,only not as bad.
Very true, but that's what H-pipes and X-pipes are for. They equalize the pressure between the two pipes...
Okay... it's getting a little deep in here with all the 'ghetto' and 'redneck' parts people are listing. I have run glasspacks, I didn't say anything about all the negatives in the thread. I have run sidepipes, I didn't say a word. Now we are dumping on slapper bars! :16suspect I just gotta speak up now. My Mavs have always had wheel hop issues. Every single one. Slapper bars have always proven the cure. The may be ghetto or redneck to some, but they sure work. Nuff said. Now I might as well get in on the rest of the discussion since I am typing. Glasspacks are okay. They do blow the packing out eventually in most cases. There are some better versions nowadays though. For any fiber packed muffler, you should have it mounted as far downstream as possible in the exhaust. Heat is what destroys packing. To bash packed mufflers is to bash literally half of all performance mufflers today. Thrush, DynoMax, Magnaflow, Edelbrock, Hooker, Borla, and many others all make fiber packed mufflers. They don't look like bullets either! They look conventional. The DynoMax Race Bullets are fiber mufflers, and look very akin to old glasspacks, but they use a ceramic fiber to hold up longer and have no obstructions in the exhaust flow. So they are a tuff muff that flows as open pipe. I use these on my Powerstroke vans and my LS1 Camaro. BTW: The other half of modern mufflers that are not fiber filled are chambered, aka: Warlock, Raven, Flowmaster, etc... My experience with sidepipes is that they are big looking pipes that are actually very small and restrictive. They also use a 2" glasspack for a muffler, that is mounted inside a 3" pipe. They blow out very easily because of the heat factor of sharp bends and small pipe that is kept very close to the headers. To run side exit exhaust with slapper bars, you just need to angle the pipes back at something like 45*, rather than 90* just before the tire. This is a nice, tasteful alternative to sidepipes IMO. I have heard that side pipes and side exit exhaust are illegal in Texas, but never heard of it anywhere else I have lived. Even in NC, with their Kalifornia Gestapo like inspections, they allow side exhaust and turndowns. Especially for pre 75 cars. Others can, but the cats must be unaltered and muffs must be acceptable. Lastly: There are mufflers available that have both inlet and outlet on the same side. Spintechs for one. They offer a system with standard H or X pipe exhaust back to the mufflers, mounted conventionally just before the axle, then the outlet is on that front side and they have a 90 off it that shoots out the side. Spintech is the only company that I have seen offer this exhaust complete in a kit. However several companies make a single sided turbo or chambered muffler, and the H or X with a pair of 90s is not hard to source and make your own kit. On the cut-outs, I thought the best way to go would be to use the angled part for your exhaust, rather than the straight part that most people use. This would allow your pipes to angle together under the tranny and make an X pipe that you would probably use anyway. It also allows your cut-out to run straight and unfettered when open. You could put QTP caps on the end of the straight part and a turndown right off that. Flip a switch and be open at any time going down the road. Dave
I have a healthy 395 small block that is very streetable and it benefits greatly from 2-1/2 inch pipes all the way back. With small block displacement routinely going up to 427 cubic inches, you can't just make a blanket statement like that and hope to be correct in all cases.
Ratio...nothing much is illegal in Texas . I have driven with side pipes exiting in front of the wheel for 2 inspections, no problem. I see many cars with side exiting pipes on the road. The only thing they check for in Texas is a muffler of some sort, brake lights work, wiper and horn. That is literally it (on pre-1978 vehicles). Better not have metal showing on your bald tires, that might slow you down, but not very often. As far as exhaust goes in TX, as long as the tube exits the vehicle (not under the vehicle, except for picup trucks, with a downturn under the truck bed). I guess what they are shooting for is that the pipe extends past the passenger compartment. In my case, it exists past the open windows and doors, and extends an inch or so outside the perimeter of the car. I have owned Glasspaks on many cars. I put over 100,000 miles on a single set on a chevy luv pickup, well over 100,000 miles on a suzuki samurai, well over 150,000 miles on a 280ZX, never had any blow out or worn pipes. I recognize that none of these were V-8s, but the 280 was putting out some nice 6-cyl horsepower through just one pipe. I do want to thank all of you for the suggestions, comments, and discouragements from this thread. I have a really good idea of what the best setup(s) are for these cars, now that I have had this input. I have also decided where I want to make my sacrifices in performance and appearances, and where I want to save a little money, and have a pretty good idea of what my final product will look like come Friday. This is an open forum, so not all advice can be heeded. I am also not very wealthy, so getting the best parts at the current time is not always feasible (ie. slapper bars, glasspaks, etc) especially after recent completion of the head/header/intake swap. Currently, I just need to get this thing street legal with closest fit to what I want. In another year or two, I can always (and usually do) change out to what is felt to be better quality and performing parts. Ask TL, that is how this entire thread got started...
Sure...I could always use another doorstop. Drop them off. I'll tinker with them over the winter. It'll give me something to do while I'm waiting on my friggin' crankshaft.
