Sidepipes mounting preferences

[Churchy]

Hi Gang,

I have been making a set of sidepipes that will go on the Cobra after engineering. I don't want to have any objects on the car that could upset the men that give out the bits of paper we all so desperately want

I was wondering if there was any standard as to how high up the side of the car, or how far out from the body, or where does the exit pipe locate with reference to the rear guard. There was a thread here recently that had 2 photos (1 was Philm's car) and the height and distance out from the body was very different. Is there an original look?

I guess it is all personal preference but wanted to hear some opinions about where to mount the sidepipes.

And not just that they mount on the side of the car

[Tenrocca]

Originally Posted by Churchy

And not just that they mount on the side of the car

OK......they mount on the side of the car - UNDER THE DOORS

So you made 4 right?

Seriously - I reckon PhilNs are just about perfect. PhilMs are too low and I think he wants to relocate them, but it could be just the that heavy ford motor weighing the car down. I was thinking about this myself the other day, and how the location of the pipes can affect the overall look of the car. When they are too low I reckon they can make the car look taller through the middle ( Ithknk this was mentioned in a previous post)- which probably isnt what you want in the already "thick waisted" CR. Where you set your ride height may also have an impact on which location looks right as well.

So basically if you send 2 spares out to me, Ill set it all up and let you know

[Churchy]

Andrew, Ha... your a funny man.

I have made them modular. By that I mean that the collectors, sidepipes and cats/perf tube are three different pieces that bolt together. It's hard to explain (well it is for me), however I have turned up some reducers that also allow me to weld flange plates on the end of the cats that then bolt to the reducers internally and then just slide the outer pipe over the actuall working bits. (did I confuse anybody, cause I am now confused)

I have made TWO, but if you like I had a heap of fun making them and would be happy to do it again (if they work). I will bring them to the next "show and tell", and you guys can rip me to shreads over my welding.

[Philm]

I must say I am getting used to the low pipes, I like the tall side look, hey its my car and I do what I like.

As Andrew has said it will greatly affect the appearance of the car, when building the side pipes I built the outside bits first and then positioned them on the car, found the position I liked and then mounted the back and bracketed the front temporarily to the car and then built the headers to suit.

That worked well on the first set of headers but the new set are probably about 20mm to low at the front.

Some pics of me setting up the pipes and looking at every angle.
















Phil

[spookypt]

My 2 cents worth is have them facing outwards not down on an angle. Blows up all the dust at car shows and makes for more work once you stop on the oval! The blue oval.... hehehehe

Oh and chrome is HOT dam HOT. HPC black is better but still burns your shins off! And VERY BAD for little kids who like shiny things too....

Hotter than a BBQ plates and the flesh sticks...

[Churchy]

Phil,

That's exactly what I am doing as well. I have very nearly finished the sidepipes and will "trial" fit them so I can get the position on the car so I can make the headers.

I guess the next big question is. How big a breath do you take when you cut the whole in the body for the collector exit ?

[Philm]

Mark,

The breath is just as long as it takes to say Brain Homebush Fiberglass!!!!!


Phil

[Tenrocca]

Originally Posted by Philm

I must say I am getting used to the low pipes, I like the tall side look, hey its my car and I do what I like.

I fort you said you was moven em If they didnt scrape on my driveway then they cant be too bad

Is that second pic something that came out of your pipes after firing her up after a lay off?

MArk - Im actually looking forard to tackling the pipes myself...but I'll certainly look and learns from what youve done. Progress picks would be good

[Tenrocca]

Originally Posted by Churchy

Phil,

That's exactly what I am doing as well. I have very nearly finished the sidepipes and will "trial" fit them so I can get the position on the car so I can make the headers.

I guess the next big question is. How big a breath do you take when you cut the whole in the body for the collector exit ?

Rememeber - pipes go up on one side and down on the other - but I cant remember which way and I think its different between ford and chev motors and between the north and southern hemispheres.

[Rebel1]

Bottom of side pipe = bottom edge of the sill of the car.

Distance from body = enough to not burn the paint.

clearance of side cut out = enough to not burn the paint.

Salve for shin burns = aleo vera

Protection from legal action = good solicitor

Best idea = run them under car and have pretend side pipes.

Cheers

[Rebel1]

Forgot to mention...I know a fella who had working side pipes and who left them at a roundabout.

That'll teach him to cut the corner a bit fine.

[Churchy]

Rebel1 - These can actually be either working or fake. Ha - that reminds me of a girl I once knew

Andrew - bugger, I though they went down then up. What if I stand on the other side of the car? Will that work?

OK, some progress pics



The merge collector with the patented Aussie Mike cone where the four pipes meet. Mike, bugger I owe you another beer



This is the flange that I turned up on the lathe and then welded the mounting flange to the cat. Yep my welding is shocking, but mechanically it's OK, and I have a big pipe to go around it an cover it all up..



This is what I have planned for the exit flange. Perf pipe and a reducer again that will allow the adapter to sit in the flange.



This one is of the collector, the collector flange, the cat collar and the eventual outside pipe. If all goes to plan I should have it all welded up this weekend and then off to get coated.

Any welds that will be seen when fully assembled will not be done by me as I know that I am not very good at making welds look good. However where I can weld it and then attack with a flap disk I am am going to weld. Gotta get my money's worth out of the MIG gas bottle ..

[Plums]

The bottom of my pipes were meant to be approx 30mm below the sill (this was the measurement given to me by Rob from G-force)... They ended up being around 15mm below...

The gap from pipe to the body (as measured by my micrometer finger) is 18.683mm. I just made the gap big enough to fit finger between the body and pipe and it seems to look ok, (I haven't started it yet so I hope there's enough room to stop my paint from burning).

[LoBelly]

such a frought subject

I made mine so there was the obligatory 100mm ground clearance and enough room between the exhaust and body so that I could clean it easily.

I also made sure that the sidepipes did not protrude beyond the perimiter of the wheel arches (ADR says 'body') - turns out that Bernie Knight has a story of using that line with the authorities and getting by (!)

so just some food for thought.

LoBelly

[Aussie Mike]

Here's mine.





I also built Bernie's. I tried to keep the pipes within the body line as Michael mentioned. If you look down the side of the car the pipe and headers don't extend beyond the hips of the car and are within the track of the wheels. You also need to leave enough space so you can slide your fingers and a cleaning cloth between the muffler body and the panel work. 25mm should do unless you like skinned knuckles.

I reckon they need to be parallel to the ground to look right. You should also check this with someone sitting in the car as the car might squat a bit more at the rear (depending who's sitting in the car )

Sit them on some blocks of wood and try different heights till you find a height where you think they look right. Your the one that needs to be happy.

Here's Bernie's





Cheers

[Gav]

I have gone for a similar look to Mike.
Low and level is the go.

[Cobra.au]

Churchy
Are your cats going to flow enough they look a bit small at the reducer going into the perf tube?

[Churchy]

Hi Craig

I believe it will. The guy I have been getting advice from on the pipes built the ones for PhilN, and he reckons that all should be OK. The reducer goes from 3-1/2" down to 2", which is what the original pipe on the cats was prior to me cutting it off and welding the reducer on.

[Churchy]

Finally we have managed to fit the sidepipes and see how they look.. The coating is great and I am really happy with how they have turend out (can't wait to fire them up)

Here they are



And a pic of the headers



And it's starting to look like a Cobra !!



Can't wait to fire it up !!

[LoBelly]

...mmmm..... sidepipes

Its like some right of passage - how will I manage the exhaust system

In Churchy's case - very well.

Looks sweet


LoBelly