Jason Exhaust System Project - Already Running into Problems!

[Jason Edge]

 As you saw from the pictures and video I've removed the custom dual exhaust to go back with the stock single exhaust supplied by Classic Exhaust out of Ohio, and went to install the Y pipe late yesterday. (As I've indicated elsewhere I love the deep, throaty, hot rod sound of the dual flow masters but for this car I want it to look and sound stock).

For the last few weeks I've been driving around with a trunk full of new exhaust parts as you see below:

I had also set a very nice heat riser aside and had the local machine shop remove the butterfly and clean it up.  Remember I use the Edelbrock with the blocked exhaust intake ports so I needed to make the heatriser a straight pass through.  You can see pictures of the heatriser ready to install below:

 

 

Late yesterday I decided to jump under the car and start with the heat riser and the Y Pipe.

Well, the Y pipe was a perfect fit to the manifolds, but had to extract the short studs from the left manifold to put longer studs to accomodate the heat riser. One stud was really a bitch for some reason but finally got them both out (the other one was easy which I would find out why later), and was ready to install the Y pipe. I had a couple of new longer end stud bolts on hand and both installed nicely. I started tightening the nuts and had actually just tightened the right side down to the 33 ft/lb spec and wen to finish up the left side and right as I think I was getting close to getting it torqued one of the bolts snapped out.  I pulled it out and look up inside the exhaust mainfold and sure enough the threads had stripped out!  I could see that the threads were actually very marginal to begin with, even though this was a nice looking manifold from the outside. 

I know I could have tried to tap larger than stock threads in the bore and try to use an oversize bolt but knew what I had to do..remove the manifold and have new threads installed at the machine shop. This evening I removed the left exhaust manifold and have it loaded up to take to machine shop tomorrow on lunch break. 

I've got a CLC Region meetup this Saturday in Lenoir, NC, and really wanted to take the 200 mile, 3.5 hr drive in the "quiet 64 caddy" but I'm going to be up against the clock.  It seems to take 1 step forward I'm having to take a couple steps back first!  Well, that's the "fun" of restoring these old cars and know most of you have went through this time and again with your grand ole gals!

There will be more to come...but thought I would take advantage of our new site ability to just post new messages and pictures and at least start a new post on my latest project.

 

[Jason Edge]

Here's a bit of video with just the Y Pipe Installed:

[Kurt]

Very nice. Although the old Flowmaster exhaust sounded great, this suits the car a lot better and is much more relaxing on a long cruise.

[Jason Edge]

We were wide open last Thursday and Friday trying to get the exhaust installed in time to leave for our meetup with the CLC Carolina Region in Lenoir, NC. The pipes required some bends and had to take to the exhaust shop and was finally installed about 4:30pm and literally threw everything into the trunk and headed west. There's a lot more to the crazy story of trying to get to our meetup which I will probably detail in the next newsletter.  For now I've posted a few pictures (a few more to come) and have posted a short video which you can see here on our site at http://6364cadillac.ning.com/video/in-1964-coupe-deville-on-blue-ri...  or in the embedded video below.  Windows were down and have to say with windows up it really is a quite, peaceful ride!

 

[Jason Edge]

Really enjoyed the drive, especially on the Blue Ridge Parkway yesterday. No noticeable difference in power... just nice quiet power. We've put 500 miles on car in last 3 days. That's 100 more miles than I had put on it in last 5 months since engine rebuild.

[Chris Codd]

When my mechanic got my car fired up after sitting 26 years with the deteriorated exhaust he compared it to a 747 haha. 

[Jason Edge]

ps..I did fire it up uncapped with just the Y pipe this evening.....LOUD! Definitely Race Car Loud! lol

 

[Jason Edge]

I retorqued...if you can call it that...the RH bolts today since I have the car up in the air.   I could really only get the torque wrench on  3 ... maybe 4 bolts. The others you just have to  guess it. That's one reason I love assembling the engine out of the engine bay since you have complete free access to everything. Hopefully I will get some more done on the pipes in the next couple days. I'm heading out about noon Friday to meetup with the Carolina Region CLC members in Lenoir NC and had hoped to have the 64 ready to roll but may need to fall back to the Escalade!  If there are any additional bends needed to get everything right I would need to take to exhaust shop but will see what I can do.  I think at this point I'm just glad the stripped out LH manifold is one-n-done!

[Jason Edge]

Thanks, Neil! My car, like all of our Cadillacs, is a  work in progress. My car is a driver car...although not as much as I like, but do try to keep it reasonably clean.  I would love to head up your way sometime!

[Jason Edge]

Dropped the exhaust manifold off at machine shop and had new threads inserted, and installed exhaust manifold and Y Pipe after work.   I guess you can say I'm back to square one, but am really glad now that I removed the manifold and had it repaired the right way instead of trying to do a quick patch under the car. 

Below are some pictures of the repaired left exhaust manifold and some pics of the Y pipe installed:

 

 

 

 

 

[Jason Edge]

...well if you are looking under the left side of car it wouldn't be a stock look without that heat riser and spring. :-) 

Actually I thought about asking Scott at Classic Exhaust about extending the pipe but didn't want to complicate the order and wanted to leave open the option to go back completely stock by just inserting a heat riser with the butterfly in the gap. 

As you indicated, it is a matter of personal preference and my order of preference was 1) completely stock look with heat riser in place with working/moving spring, 2) just putting a spacer in the gap, or 3) extending the pipe.  Again, I had a heat riser on hand and my buds at the machine shop removed the butter fly for free.