BlueCalais79

Last weekend I installed a new Gardner W-31 style dual exhaust system, front to back, in my 1972 Cutlass S. This was to replace the existing Flowmasters which were droning my wife right out of the car at low speeds. Couldn't hear my 8 tracks too well either. I bought the stock-style muffler system with 2 1/4 inch going in the mufflers and 2 inch going out. I must say, this system is ultra top notch! Other than me still needing to tweak the tail pipes so they line up correctly. The look, the fit, the function made buying & installing this system worth every cent and I'm glad I bought it. At highway speeds, with the windows closed all I hear is the road, NO exhaust. If that's what one is looking for, look no further. They make more aggressive systems that will give you a growl, but I have a plain old Cutlass S 350 2 barrel. I was looking for smoothness & they have it hands down. It's not completely silent at acceleration but what dual exhaust system is.

Yes, I know it's not entirely correct as the dumps are turned down as the 69 & 70 W-31 systems were, etc. So be it.

Also, this job took me 10 hours. I'm fired. I always was a very slow auto mechanic. Nothing's changed there. Having to make 4 manual hacksaw cuts from awkward positions to get the old system out was no help. No excuse, I'm still fired.

Now it's on to getting those tail pipes lined up right.

Yellowstatue

Congrats on your persistence. It's too late now but there is a 'vise-grip chain roller cutter' that does a great job of removing pesky exhaust systems.

BlueCalais79

Hey thanks for that, the wife's Camaro is next, and I'll be sure to pick one of those up.

RandyS

You can pick up a cheap Sawzall at Harbor Freight that will do the job quickly and easily.

Allan R

Gene,
Good to hear Eric set you up with the system you like. How much welding did you have to do, or was this system all clamped? I'm surprised you didn't swing by Brian's and tag team install it.

BlueCalais79

Allan, here's to hoping you survived "Judgment Day" at the Olds Nationals if you went.

No welding, all of this fit on the car snug and tight, all clamped up. It looks great, it sounds great, really glad I bought it. I'm still have an issue with making the tips even, but I will confess I'm not too good at this stuff. So, I'm going to cheat. All I need is about an 1/8th of an inch rise in the middle of the pipe to translate to about 1/4 to 1/2 inch at the tip which is going to be a good enough rise to make it look ok. So, I'm going to use the other style hanger for the drivers side which is going to get me to where I need to be. Not a correct thing to do but this is a driver. I'd like to see as little of these tips as possible and I really like the way the W-31 dumps are pointed down instead of out, another reason I bought this system despite it not being correct for a 1972 car. This also keeps either end of the bumper cleaner.

It's just amazing how much better the car is running, my carb issues went away and I'm even getting better gas mileage, a real peeve with this car.

BlueCalais79

Got those tailpipes to line up! It seems I had the rear brackets on the wrong sides. I switched them and the drivers side tail raised up, the passengers side tail lowered down, and the end result was even. Onto the next project!

Professur

Lots 'o' lube is the key to these things. It's like a multi-tooth pipe cutter, and it will always punch through in one place early ... after that you're dragging the chain against rusty pipe until the rest cuts. Plenty of 3-in-1 or PB blaster on the pipe at the cut point and it's relatively smooth. And your cuts are square ... for me that's worth the price of admission.