Go Flowmaster - Tech Project

Aftermarket exhaust kits and mufflers have been developed for several reasons. Most of the performance guys will add these kits to their vehicles to gain horsepower, usually adding 5-15 additional horses. Another good reason to upgrade an exhaust system is to increase your gas mileage, as your engine tends to breathe a little bit better with a new exhaust. With gas prices reaching new highs this summer, that alone is a good reason to upgrade your exhaust. One more reason why guys change out their exhaust is to have that cool growling sound when driving.

When it comes to exhaust systems, people tend to have different tastes. Most owners of classic bombs love the glass-packs. The guys with the classic Chevy Impalas like to go with the Flowmaster mufflers, so it was a natural that Flowmaster developed an exhaust kit for '58-'64 Impalas. Rumor has it that they're already working on the next generation of Impala kits, so watch out for those.

For this article, we caught up with The Muffler Man in Placentia, California, who was installing a Flowmaster mandrel-bent exhaust kit on a "first generation" Impala. This kit was a long time in the making and comes with a few muffler choices, including a short version and a complete tube kit. For this install, we opted to use a complete system with two Hush Power 2-inch mufflers. You've seen them advertised in Lowrider as the "Sound of Lowrider," and Flowmaster has pretty much hit it on the dot with their all-steel mufflers and exhaust kits. Now follow along as Josh of The Muffler Man installs this mandrel-bent Flowmaster exhaust kit on a classic '63 Impala.

	This guy might as well have just put up caution flags instead of these long muffler tips.	The new Flowmaster 2.5-inch exhaust kit is available in several combinations depending on your needs. This version features the traditional three-chamber mufflers.
This Impala was ready to get a modernized mandrel-bent exhaust.	Josh started off by cutting the old exhaust with a Sawzall.	The old muffler hangers were also removed to leave the frame bare and to gain a fresh canvas to start working on
These old school glass-packs are good for a classic bomb but have no business under this Impala.	Josh started by placing the center of the exhaust into location and working his way forward before tackling the rear part of the kit.	As you can see, these pipes do not hang below the frame and are great if your car lays low with hydraulics or airbags.