Quote Originally Posted by jerry clayton
I charge $120 hour for welding up stainless systems and I think we are probably losing money on it--I have to figure in the costs of much more than my time---stainless rod, argon gas for the torch and to feed inside to purge the tube, plugs and pieces for the purge system, bandsaw blades that are between $50-60, sanding belts, some material thats not part of the tube and bends, etc, etc

I see many jobs that were done low buck that the owner was never happy with, some that rattle and bang, some that are in the way of something else( brakes, fuel lines,oil filters, etc

On a side note---I have discovered that the late model Mustang(up to 04) muffler and tail pipe will fit up over an axle, around a coilover and line up down the frame rail clearing a fuel tank on 32-34 fords--you got to shorten the tip but works fine and there are many cat back packages that will give you muffs and pipes--good hanger system also

Jerry

Jerry,
Please don't take this the wrong way but you are way too expensive for my wallet and many of the others here. I do understand that you are in business NOT to lose money and applaud that fact. I just cannot afford that kind of cash outlay for my hobby car exhaust system.

What you are talking about is basically a thousand to 1500 dollar system:

Figuring(guesstimated) 4-6 hours of fab time, is ~$450-700
A pair of small dimensioned SS Flowmaster Hushpowers is $320 (Summit)
Header connectors ~$100 pair(Burns SS)
U and J bends, 4ea 2.25/2.5 at ~$60 each(Burns SS)
Straight pipe at ~$35-40 per foot(Burns SS) (I used all 10 feet of my steel pipe)

Taking this to the low side, it is ~$1500 plus clamps and hangers - probably another ~$100 - 150 for SS.

How many aluminized steel systems can I Build for that, 3-4?? Mine has plenty of clearance everywhere, though I did elect to pass under the diff housing as I have a Model A as well but with a '32 style gas tank - so is real tight.

Using a Mustang cat back system gets you into crush type, cottugated bends - not what you really want on a 'performance car' like a street rod.