SS exhaust quality, should I complain

[jz78dje]

Hi,

I recently bought a SS exhaust for my 69 from one of the usual suspects, mainly because I was assuming there would be no issues in fit and quality. When it arrived, I noticed that one section of one of the long pipes where it goes up to the manifold is made up of about 4 sections of 4-6" of pipe welded together. I can think of no reason for doing this other than to find a way to use some of the scrap pipe they had laying around.

Anyone have any thoughts on this? Honestly, it's not what I would expect from a system that costs $1500.

If I can figure out how to post a picture I will do so.

[papawayne]

Reduce, reuse, recycle? Gosh, I don't know, other than it should work just fine, and the guarantee should not be affected. It seems to me though, that all of that extra welding becomes a labor issue that may not be justified economically. Are the welds pretty and unobtrusive or are they nasty? wayne

[jz78dje]

Here's a picture. Note that the other pipe is continuous.

[Suicidekid63]

It's unseen, but for $1500 bucks, I'd expect better.

[Uncle Joe]

If I had bought that, then there is no question about it. I would complain. From the look of the way those welds have been carried out, its going to fail very quickly.

[LithiumCobalt]

It's unseen, but for $1500 bucks, I'd expect better.

Agree. It looks like shoddy work for that amount of money. Which vendor did you get this from so it can be a warning to others.

[papawayne]

Now that I've seen it, ask for another one...wayne

[jz78dje]

Let me first see how it's resolved before I reveal the name, but let's just say it's one of the biggies. They asked to see a picture and I am sending. We'll see, but I'm guessing they will probably take care of it.

[Suicidekid63]

Funny they want to see a picture. Was it shipped from them or outsourced? Seems even more shady to act like it is news to them, instead of fessin' up to the patch job and just replacing.

[jz78dje]

So, the explanation I received is that this is done for a reason because there is a lot of bend in the drivers side pipe to maneuver around the steering components and it would be difficult to get the proper bend in the stainless if it were one pipe, and also that this is unique to the 60's models with a 460. To me it doesn't seem like there is any more bend in one side vs. the other, but then again I could be wrong. Any other '69 460 experts out there?

[Dan Szwarc]

The bending excuse is just that: an excuse.

However, it is stainless. it won't rust. Can anyone see it when I installed? Probably not. Is it worth the trouble returning? You'll buy another set from someone else and it could be the same.

You could grind the welds down for a neater appearance.

What's their guarantee? Do you want some money back?

[jz78dje]

Well, I guess mainly what I want is to get an idea of whether or not this is how Baker's has always delivered their exhausts, or if the quality has gone down while the price remains the highest out there. If this is how it's done and what I should expect from a top of the line system then so be it and I will accept the explanation even if it is an excuse, but if I'm out there at shows and see that other 69's dont have it sectioned like this then I'm not going to be too happy.

True, it is guaranteed for life, but if it fails I'm still going to need to break my knuckles again to pull it off and return it. But you are right, it is a major pain to have to return it and start over, and I've already been waiting for it to arrive for over a month.

[Dan Szwarc]

My guess is it is a cost cutting measure.

PS: my totally custom exhaust for my 66 was $550 in steel.

[Solid]

So, the explanation I received is that this is done for a reason because there is a lot of bend in the drivers side pipe to maneuver around the steering components and it would be difficult to get the proper bend in the stainless if it were one pipe, and also that this is unique to the 60's models with a 460. To me it doesn't seem like there is any more bend in one side vs. the other, but then again I could be wrong. Any other '69 460 experts out there?

Clearly the technology existed to make the bends in the 1960's. My '62's exhaust is a hack of original sections and new ones, but the original sections appear to have been crush bent. Are the contiguous bent sections on your new system mandrel bent?

I think for the price you'd be hard pressed to have a good fabricator make you a T304 stainless custom exhaust with mufflers you can trust for the price that they charged you, but I agree that the idea that it is too hard to assemble the bends from a single tube sounds like an excuse since the two sides don't really vary much at all in complexity and they clearly executed one side.

If the welds are continuous (IE no pinhole leaks) then I would see if they'll provide a better part or a discount, but at the same time I probably wouldn't get too religious about returning it as long as it fits well. Realistically, unless you have insanely decided to build a "performance" slab side, the fact that it has some roughness and suboptimal flow characteristics from more welds than are strictly necessary is irrelevant.

[RMAENV]

you can buy seamless stainless steel pipe, angels, mufflers, resonators and clamps from jegs, or summit racing and come up with something a lot nicer than that for $1,500.00