Thread: Exhaust Frame Rail????

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I am working with a friend on a 1969 Chevy half-ton. We are putting a turbocharger on a 396. I am trying to figure out the exhaust from the turbo and was brain storming the idea of boxing off the frame and using it as the exhaust to try and save some space. What problems am I going to run into?

If I read your query right .......... Lots, mainly in what happens with all the holes that are punched in chassis rails ? What happens if the exhaust vents into the cab ? the CO will kill you dead. What about the heat problem ? metal conducts heat and you could have a fire it only has to melt the insulation off the wiring and you would have a direct short. Then another side product of heat is that it will cause the metal to expand and contract everytime the truck is started up and turned off, eventually you will get metal fatique.
All these things I have mentioned without bringing the law into it. And you can also guarantee if this was an accepted way of doing things the auto makers would of allready done it. But they haven't for the reasons mentioned above.

there is a chassy builder in Seattle that has done this with a Corvette chassy.

Have you been in touch with him ?

How 'bout cutting a side off the frame, inserting exhaust tubing, then welding the side back into the frame? You could even wrap the tubing with some thermotec to minimize heat transfer.

i did two duel turbo cars one with a buick v6 4 inch and a big block 540 3 1/2 ex. i ran the Ex out the lower front fenders . and used a small glass pack mufflers in line cut the tips on a angle and oval it to me it look like a WWII plane the one had 4 inch ss steel and made the bottom part of the fender out of ss steel and had it buff this was done becaues the front end was glass

What about the corrosive effects of the exhaust gasses on the frame?

Not a good idea.

Figure out how to loop the exhaust around where it should go and do it right.

I still like my suggestion of running exhaust tubing thru the frame. use stainless steel tubing and it would last a long, long time.

LOOPY309: do you plan on installing the turbo off on only one side (left or right), or somehow installing a Y-pipe with the turbo downstream?
Here's an idea for ya, have you ever looked into the remote mounted turbo setup? STS Turbo has a pretty genius design that works great. I have one installed on my 99' Camaro SS. Freakin' thing burns the tires off the rims at only 9psi of boost!! A good friend of mine liked my setup and decided to mock copy the design himself by getting all the parts individually. In the end, it saved him around $2K from what I paid... which upset me quite a bit, but good for him. If you're concerned about space, I would think this would be the setup for you. Here's the site: check em' out. http://ststurbo.com/

If you have questions, feel free to ask away I'd be more than happy to help.

A turbo requires heat and velocity of the exhaust gases to work. Your setup would have excess volume in the supply plumbing, losing a lot of efficiency. A large tube welded into the frame, with the exhaust pipe run through it but not touching, would work much better.