Automotive experts have boiled an engine down to being nothing more than a big air pump, stating simply: the more air that you pump through an engine at one time, the better it performs. That's the reason for installing turbochargers or superchargers (blowers) on an engine, to cram as much air as possible into the engine as quickly as possible. Of course, air "intake" is only half the battle. You must also have proper "exhaust" with the right amount of "back pressure" to realize the maximum benefits of a better breathing engine.
1. This custom exhaust system tucks tight, sounds great and improves performance. | 
2. We close Hooker Competition series "shortie" ehaders with their special metallic ceramic thermal barrier coating to keep the headers cooler. |
3. The new Hushpower II muffler from Flowmaster has a small case size, perfect for lowriders. | 
4. The muffler's stainless steel internal construction features Cool Shell Technology with a layered-laminar jet engine gas flow design and guided sound control with broadband sound cancellation. |
5. Tom disconnected the battery first to prevent any short circuits. | 
6. Then he removed the sparkplug wires to make it easier to install the header. |
7. Next the provided gasket and header was slipped into place. | 
8. The header was hand tightened evenly starting with the outside bolts first. |
9. The plug wires were then routed around the header and reconnected to the plugs. | 
10. The same steps were followed on the other bank. |
11. The starter power wire was so close to header it had to be reshaped for clearance. | 
12. The provided connector pipe and "donut" were fitted to the driver's side header. Tom found the pipe to be too long for our purposes so he cut off about half of it. |
13. The modified pipe and donut was then installed.14. A round file was used to remove the burrs left from cutting the pipe. | 
14. A round file was used to remove the burrs left from cutting the pipe. |
15. Then Tom measured the length for the exhaust tube from the pipe to the muffler. | 
16. Aluminized steel tubing was cut to length and mandrel-bent to fit. |
17. The flanged tube was then pressed onto the collector pipe. | 
18. Then the muffler was pressed onto the exhaust tube with the "inlet" side forward. |
19. The passenger side exhaust pipe was installed next. | 
20. The collector pipes and mufflers were then "tacked" in place with a wire welder. |
21. Then, with the muffler horizontal and supported at the tail end, a bead was welded around the pipes and mufflers, sealing them completely. | 
22 Cool turn down tips were welded to the outlet pipe of the mufflers and secured with hangers. Note the system ends before of the rear axle for better clearance. |
23. Then all of the welds were sprayed with silver high-temp paint to prevent rust. The finished exhaust system looks very clean and produces a sweet '50s sound similar to cherry bombs. | |