The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area The HiPo Shop Exhaust Headers-dual exhausts for a '54 chevy 3100 w/ 235

I have a 54 chevy 3100 with original 235. I plan on it just being a daily driver.

I have a source for Fenton cast iron headers, but I found another source, JEGS, that has stainless steel headers for less money.

Anybody used the JEGS headers? On installing the dual exhaust, some shops weld only which usually runs less. Is there any problem with this? Which muffler would sound the best, glass packs or steel packs (straight through type)?

Thanks.

i have the cast headers and i like them very much. the best sound is from flowmasters, imo,. go to www.mongosgarage.com, in his projects he has the sound of his flowmasters recorded. ron btw mine are welded and no problem in years.

Haven't seen the JEGS headers but I have a set of Fentons. They are very quiet under the hood. I run a set of Smitty's which JEGS probably caries as well, if not Speedway does. Steelpacks are louder but the Smittys are plenty loud and have a nice sound. Also consider adding a heat source for the intake manifold. Either hot water, or exhaust. These are available (usually) wherever the headers are sold. Have Fun! Nothing sounds like a Chevy 6 in heat!!

I've got the Fentons and just added Patrick's stainless steel duals to it. Haven't had the truck out on the road yet but when I fired it up last week, my neighbor said it sounded great.

http://community.webshots.com/user/geezer

Pardon me for being skeptical, but what headers does Jegs sell for the 235? I found some Gibsons for the 4.0L Jeep, but not the 235. Please correct me if I'm wrong.

I would be happier with the cast headers for one reason, heat. Bare tube headers allow tremendous heat loss. Ceramic coating helps, but the engine bay gets hot with tube headers. This not only heats up the cab, but also causes power loss due to the rapid cooling of the exhaust. The cast headers run far cooler.

For dual exhaust run 1-3/4 or 2" tubes. The smaller tube will give you slightly better low end torque, and will be more than enough capacity unless you're going to be running 6,000 rpm.

For mufflers, a pair of 24" glass packs sounds great. But I've never heard steel packs on an old six.

I run Fentons through 1-7/8" ID pipes into 22" cherry bombs. They sound fine up to 2100-2200 rpms. After that they are FIERCE! An UnGodly racket that is an absolute cop magnet.

I would strongly recommend that you consider a chambered muffler...FlowMaster, DynaMax, etc, if you plan on driving your stock geared truck over 45-50 mph.

Several folks have touched on the benefits of Fentons....they also include provisions to hook up a manifold heat plate that is essential for adding heat to the intake manifold. Hope this helps.

I like my Fentons. Get lots of people ask me if it's a 350. I love the look of shock on their faces when I tell them it's a 235 inline 6. Currently, I'm running stock type Jeep mufflers, but that might change soon.

Denny, Jeep mufflers (Old CJ's) are normally relatively small, fairly quiet, with 1-1/2" OD pipe...the 258-390 cid 6's and 8's run a larger dia. system. On the older 4's the exhaust pipe, muffler and tailpipe was all welded into one piece! Made it a snap to change out the whole system, as it all pretty much rusted out at the same time!!!!

I went with the cherry bombs with a T5 and a tall R&P because you are normally running under 2200 rpms so they are fairly quiet. Running up through the gears, you can ease up through the 2100-3000 range without shattering windows. Cruising at 65-70 at 2200 is mellow but not offensive.

However, you have the option of nailing it hard and scaring kids and little ole ladies if you feel the need. For stock gearing, where you're going to be above 2200 at highway speeds, I don't think the glass/steel packs would be a good choice. There are just too many good performance mufflers as viable options. Just my $.02.

Dave

I need to look at getting my system redone, my manifold is in sad shape & I've been eyeballin the Fenton setup. Would rather keep it stock, but at least the Fenton looks more like original equipment than the welded tubes.

Some muffs I have always likes the sound & look of are Magnaflow products. Many of them are just oversized glass packs, but they flow well & have a deeper tone than Cherry Bombs with similar flow capacities of the Flowmaster models. All welded construction, thick metal, & heavy batting, they outlast most other products. The polished stainless steel models look pretty sweet if you care about such things.

Thanks guys for all the info. At the jegs.com site they do show 3 choices for headers on the 37-62, 216/235/261/ cid inline sixes: Stainless steel, painted, and ceramic coated. From what I hear from everyone, the Fenton cast iron is the way to go. My 54 is original, so it must have the 4:11 rear-end, very slow, so most of my driving will be 50 and under. If the muffler is not straight through, will the sound be as good under 2300 rpm as straight? The glass packs or flowmasters may be the best choices.
At 2300 rpm with the original rear end, how fast will the vehicle be going? PTR

Think you'll find that your 54 will be a 3.90. That should give you a little more top end. You're correct in going with the Fentons. Use the following site to calculate your engine rpm's as the diameter of your tires is a significant factor and your top gear ratio will be 1.00.

Http://csgnetwork.com/multirpmcalc.html

The chambered muffler will have a nice sound all the way up....the glass or steel packs will be extremely loud above 2300 rpms. Hope this helps.

Dave

I had original-style mufflers on my 261 with Fentonns and dual Rochester Offenhauser (1954 Chevy pickup). The original-style truck mufflers are straight-through with side baffles. They sounded nice enough for police to stop me and compliment me on the sound (after they saw that the mufflers were legal).

I've got Clifford headers running into regular old mufflers. But, in front of the mufflers I've got a set of quick time performance electric cut-outs. Quite when you want to be and then loud as all He** when a noisy honda pulls up.

My $.02

That is good news about the 54 3100 1/2 ton having a 3.90 rear end. I have owned three 50 chevy sedans that all had the 4.11. I am still deciding on which mufflers. I am not a mechanic, so will have to hire all the work done on the exhaust system. Those of you that have removed the old original manifolds, did the bolts holding them on always come out without any trouble? Phil

Some time in the future, possibly the far future, I plan to put a 1966 292 in my 1951 4400. I had decided on headers, and was going to ask about clearance problems (SM420, chassis mount vacuum booster, basically stock except for, probably, a hydraulic clutch)

Now I'm beginning to wonder about cast manifolds. The ones that I took off today are in good shape but I would like to increase performance, if possible, without increasing maintenance, or tailoring.

Naturally, I have the 6.17 rear end ratio, and won't be changing that this year, but I still plan to keep RPMs under 4000 most of the time. (Maybe 34 inch rear wheels?)

Has anyone out there put a 292 into a '51 Big Bolt? If so, what problems did you run into?