The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area General Truck Talk are muffler, tailpipe and shocks DIY candidates?

Hello. 1951 Chevy 1/2-ton 216 here. This truck has a rusty muffler and no tail pipe, so it's a little loud. Do most of you guys take your muffler needs to a local shop, or can the average shade-tree mechanic do a muffler and tail pipe job? I know occasionally a tail pipe must be custom bent, and I think some flaring may be involved. Same question for shocks, which appear to be at least 30 years old on this truck. Working with giant springs may be better left to the pros with an overhead lift, it seems. Thoughts, or experiences?

Thanks guys. Have a great weekend.

All are easy. The only hard part about the shocks can sometimes be getting the old bolts off.

The muffler and tailpipe are very easy. If you don't want a full tailpipe, just use a turn down on the outlet side of the muffler.

You might want to check out Waldron's Exhaust on the internet. They will sell you just a tailpipe if you call and ask at a very reasonable price. They don't advertise that on their website. It will appear that they only sell the entire exhaust system. I find their quality and service to be excellent. Freight might appear high, but when you call them, ask them about shipping through Fastenal to the store closest to you. They'll do it and it cuts the freight cost by at least a half.

I have found the best price on mufflers for these trucks at Rockauto. The last couple I bought from them were Wagner. The price was $40, but they had a $30 rebate bringing the final price to $10. Shipping cost more than the mufflers!

Matt

Red,
I took my old exhaust in to a shop (local) and had my guy bend new stuff which I installed at home. I didn't want to be welding out bends and flares. My truck doesn't drive yet. All new tubing, bends, clamps, mufflers, chrome tip cost $200. It was well worth it. The time it would take to build your own in (if you haven't done it before) my opinion negates the savings.

.....got a quote at my local independent shop last month for my 50 coupe. Front to back including muffler $120. I hate doing exhaust systems and the price was right. I'll take it in a week or so and mark that off my list......I say have the local do it.

I had an exhaust shop do the work on my '65 C10.

I swapped out the shocks in the driveway tho'.

The biggest pain was getting the bolts loose, a few of them broke of course.

Be prepared for that if you do it, leave yourself time to go to the hardware store for some quality bolts.

I've never done it on an AD(1947-1953) truck yet, tho'.

-W

Thanks all. Yesterday, while waiting for replies to my post, I decided my question might be silly and I might be over-cautious, so I went to AutoZone and bought muffler #24200. The shop manual says the exhaust pipe and muffler are welded together but can be cut apart to replace the muffler (and that if you ever replace the exhaust pipe, you'll also be buying a muffler....because they're welded together). I can't believe my muffler is original, so I'm guessing my dad (deceased Cadillac-Oldsmobile dealer and the previous owner of this truck) or his shop guy, has surely already severed the exhaust pipe from the muffler.

Anyway, I'm about to go down the path of replacing my own muffler, then probably buying a straight tail pipe from the muffler shop. After this is over, I'll add my opinion of whether it's easy, or I should'a taken it to a pro. Same with the shocks.

DJ,

Thanks for the clear and informative post.

"The shop manual says the exhaust pipe and muffler are welded together but can be cut apart to replace the muffler (and that if you ever replace the exhaust pipe, you'll also be buying a muffler....because they're welded together)."

http://chevy.oldcarmanualproject.com/shop/1948_51truck/51ctsm0803.htm

I had never read that section of a Shop Manual and I am somewhat amazed to see that the exhaust piper and muffler were one integral part on the original truck.

You also posted: " . . [and] then probably buying a straight tail pipe from the muffler shop . . "

Most likely, a "straight" (no bends) tail pipe will not get "around" the rear end. (The tail pipe extends from the muffler to just below the rear bumper (if you have a rear bumper).

As a "postscript": has any reader/member come across a truck that still had/has the original exhaust-pipe/muffler welded-together combination?

I have bought exhaust system parts (54 pickup) from Jim Carter, and they have fit fine. No one seems to sell the correct tail pipe for a panel body truck.

ooops, I did a search on that tail pipe and bowtietim corrected me in 2005 - Chevs of the 40s sold/sells that tailpipe
https://www.chevsofthe40s.com/shop/search.lasso?partno=3689574&Go=Go

DJ,

I see a post above that suggests just using a "turn-down" pipe behind the muffler.
You do not state what model 3100 you have.

If you have a panel-body truck, you might not want to use a short turn-down tail pipe?

Tim, right you are. I just looked again, and the muffler is on the same plane as the rear axle, so I will need a bend over that. Also, the hanger location will require a slight bend to the driver's side. So much for the "straight pipe" idea.

As for which model of 3100 I have, I guess you'd call it a short-bed pickup. At some point in the past I wrote that I have a 3104, but I don't know what prompted that or what would make it a 3104.

Thanks.

Another option for the tailpipe is to have a muffler shop that does more than just buy prebent parts bend one up for you. One of the guys posted up some bend instructions here. I downloaded them and saved them for future use. Straight tubing is a lot cheaper to ship to Alaska than a bent up piece that comes in a box that's mostly air. Here's what he posted.

3104 is a 1/2 ton pickup. (that is the only size 1/2 ton bed)

Thanks a lot, klhansen. I called my local guy and he was very confident he could bend me up something. He said he can usually just eyeball it. But I've got to take the truck in, which is a problem because it's not street legal. I'll probably remedy that in November, though. Thanks all.

Just a quick comment. I went to a local small muffler shop for my 1953 one ton. He looked it up in his book, bent the pipe (from exhaust manifold to muffler, sold me the pipe, the flange to connect it to the manifold, and a muffler. Took him about 15 minutes to do the job, then I hauled it home and installed it on the truck. Total cost was $30! And I got to have a great conversation with an old time stock car driver/mechanic!

Tim

Cool. Those are the kinds of shops that have all the good info. He probably has more bend cards like I posted for just about any vehicle. Unfortunately, they're getting harder and harder to find.

Great story. Tells me, before I rent a trailer to get to my local guy, I should show him those bend cards and ask if he can work with that. Can't hurt to ask.

Well, I twisted 'er off (the bolt on the muffler hanger strap). I don't find this item in any of the print catalogs I have. Has anybody seen one of these for sale? (A muffler hanger strap for a 1951 Chevy 1/2 ton). I'll check over at the Swap Meet, but I'm not optimistic.

I could have the bolt welded, but my local welder has a $40 minimum job charge.

Jim Carter Truck Parts: muffler hanger strap/bolt/etc

Yes! Thanks, Tim!

I see the muffler strap references their reproduction muffler.

The muffler itself sure doesn't look like anything special. Anyone have a part # for a muffler they used to approximate the original?

I purchased a model 24200 from AutoZone. It looks exactly like the one that was on my truck and has the straight-through design. Cost $23.99 + tax. The 24200 has a 2" inlet and outlet. The 24201 is 2.25".

The glasspack model? I was looking at the repro at Jim Carter as well, but shipping and exchange rate made it not practical at this stage for us. We went with the Walker 21028 from Rockauto instead.

Lindsey, if you're asking me, yes, the Thrush glasspack. It has the straight-through flow described in the shop manual (don't know how important that is). But the Walker 21028 you mention has the outward appearance shown in the manual; mine has sloped ends rather than boxed ends. I know very little about these, only that the AutoZone search by vehicle make & model led me to the one I purchased, and it looks like the very old after-market muffler that was already on my truck.

I'll quote you this time! Yes I was asking you. Our rotted and falling apart muffler looks very similar to the one on Jim Carter's site. I would have preferred that, but the shipping was $1 less than the muffler to ship to my location and with the exchange rate I can't justify it. The Walker 21028 doesn't have great reviews, but I just need something for the time being till we decide what route we're taking on this truck. Let me know how it sounds!

Oh, and ours doesn't have a tail pipe either, just a turndown behind the muffler

no tail pipe is the fast route to frame and suspension rot

Bill

I've never heard of rot on these old trucks.

??? An amazing world up north?

I would say it's too cold to rust, but my truck contradicts that.
Yellowknife is just a bit farther north than me, though.

Just a little humour and sarcasm to get through our long, dark and cold winters. Although, they don't use salt on the roads in-town here, just on the highway, which helps (not that this truck will be driven in winter). It's too cold for salt to work here.

Lindsey,

They did not use salt on the roads back in 1969 and 1971, when I bought 3100 panel truck and Suburban (in VA). They both had significant amounts of rust.

Lindsey,

They did not use salt on the roads back in 1969 and 1971, when I bought 3100 panel truck and Suburban (in VA). They both had significant amounts of rust.

Understood. Stovebolt is not a place for humour....