Performance Exhaust Systems: Car Restoration Tips

Summary: The sound of your custom hot rod is key to the admiration of bystanders as you cruise down the street. If your huge engine sounds like a Geo Metro, you won't get much street cred regardless of your brand new custom headers and immaculate flame job. In addition to determining the roar of your hot rod, the exhaust system also has a great deal to do with the power. The right systems have large-diameter pipes and mandrel-bent turns to reduce the back pressure in your system as much as possible. Reductions in back pressure amount to increases in performance.

In this series of custom car performance videos, our hot rod expert and body shop owner Doug Jenkins demonstrates the installation of a custom exhaust and muffler system in a 1975 Chevrolet Caprice with a 572-cubic-inch 620-horsepower engine. To get this street monster up to maximum power, Doug and his crew install 2.5” and 3” pipe with mandrel turns. Watch as he demonstrates each step in this upgrade, from removing the old muffler to expanding and bending the new pipes to welding on the new muffler. Learn professional tricks for connecting the muffler to the exhaust pipes and fitting the entire system to the chassis of your custom car.