Exhaust pipe help needed

[av8]

Got a "friendly" quote from one of the local muffler shops for head and tail pipes and inexpensive glasspacks for my F-1 today. I'm installing Fenton headers on the flatty, so there's nothing tricky about the head pipes. Anyway, the quote was "about four hundred bucks," which more often than not translates as $500.

I know I'm out of touch with real-world prices, as my daughters are quick to point out, but four-hundred-plus smackers seems way stiff for 30 feet of muffler tubing and $50 worth of Smithy's.

Yeah, I know that the tubing has to be bent, swedged, and hung, and I also know that it's little more than an hour's work for a competent installer with an old Huth bender and the necessary card.

And that brings me to the core of my plea for help: Does anyone have a Huth bender and the cards, or maybe just the cards? The benders were sold with a substantial "library" of data cards covering popular cars and light trucks going well back into the '50s. There was also a box of blank cards provided so the installer could create a card for a car or truck when there was not an existing card -- just in case he had another one come in later on. While I'm reasonably sure that Huth provided cards for F-1 and early F-100 Ford pickups, I'm hoping that if they did not, someone on the board might know of one that was made up for a Huth bender of their acquaintence.

I have a friend with an old Huth bender (with no cards) tucked in a dark corner of his sheet-metal shop, and if I can find a card for a 1948 Ford F-1 I can do the work myself, save a ton of bucks, and revel in the satisfaction of achieving both goals.

All I need is a photocopy, or a file attached to an e-mail with the card data and I'm halfway home.

TIA for any and all help.

[SKR8PN]

The exhaust shop that does my custom work,gets under the car,does some measuring and goes to it. Puts an angle finder on the pipe and makes a note when he gets it where he wants it. He can do a  set of 2.5 in  stainless duals under your truck for 150 bucks if you supplied the mufflers. That takes into account the cost of STEEL going up every day,as well..........
Drive that truck to Ohio.
I'll feed you,house you,and even buy the beer

[C9]

I'd be eying my box of U-bends and trusty torch about now.  

Might want to check with an old gennie parts house - as vs. the blister pack stores - and see what they have in the back.
It'd be rusty, but rust can be dealt with, specially surface rust.

What about some of the pickup specialty houses?

Isn't there one in Sacto that specializes in F100's and maybe F1's as well?
Or maybe even Hemmings to see if anyone has some NOS stuff.

Not much help I know, but 400 ouchies all at once.... :?

[58 Yeoman]

The shop I usually frequent is about like SKRP8N's, on the older cars. His shop is an Exhaust Plus, but he does weird stuff too.  I chose the pre-bends and pieces from AutoZone, and welded my own on the Pontiac; but there's no body on it yet, and I don't put mirrors under my car, so looks weren't important to me.

[enjenjo]

10 years ago, my business partner had a muffler shop. He never charged me more than $100 for a system, and would  do them in one day. He died in 1994 from a ruptured aorta. His sister and brother in law inherited the shop. I needed a car done, and he needed someone to teach his new mechanic to operate the bender, and how to figure routing and angles.  So I spent a day teaching his guy, and making the exhaust for this car. When I was finished, I asked how much I owed, $200, last system he did for me. I went down the street, they do a complete system for $175, and I don't have to do the work. The first shop folded after about a year.

Point is, outside of the mufflers, material cost is about $40 for a whole system.

[av8]

. . .  outside of the mufflers, material cost is about $40 for a whole system.

Yes, and I could do it in 2-inch 304 stainless for less than $200, and that's overkill. FWIW, the shop that quoted me the $400-plus price does many of the street rods in the area, and rather badly. Their systems hang too low, done with as few bends as possible -- not much imagination applied to construct really clever systems.

I might just make my own head and tail pipes, using the the method I described decades ago when I wrote the technician training program for the Huth bender. Yes, Frank, I really am that old!

Sacto Vintage Ford gets $110 for a pair of tail pipes which doesn't seem terribly out of line, but I could make them for about thirty bucks if I had a Huth card. I guess I could also make them for thirty bucks if I have to do it with a wire pattern, which is what I will do if a Huth card doesn't turn up soon.

[34ford]

Did a search on the net and came up with this. Might contact the guy and see if he's send you the information you need. Worth a try. There was no phome # listed in the ad line so you'll have to email him.

bob

Huth Exhaust Tube Bender. Currently stored, in very good condition. Includes, expander and all dies. For more info call 8:30am to 11;00am Pacific time. Asking $2000.00 rjscend@juno.com

[58Apache]

I found these doing a search on Google:

http://www.midwestauctions.com/seifert/seifert_june_27.htm

http://www.americasprideonline.com/productinfo/benders.html

http://www.exhaustbenders.com/items.jsp?category=9405

http://www.henneymo.com/benders.htm

http://www.stallionequip.com/pages/huth_benders.htm

http://www.allstates.com/Muffler.html

http://usedshopequipment.com

[av8]

I found these doing a search on Google:

Thanks for the links, but I don't want a new business. I just want to bend about 30 feet of tube for my own truck!  

[enjenjo]

Mike, You can buy a box of mistakes from Shoenfeld headers, specifiny pipe size. A box of 2" pipe, along with a couple sticks of straight pipe,  would be enough to do at least two cars. They are also available in smaller sizes.  Just pick your bends, tack it together, and get someone to weld them solid. you might even find the bends you need for the head pipes in the box. Paint with Eastwood stainless Exhaust paint, and they last for years, even in Ohio.

Burns Stainless in LA is a good source for SS steel pipe if you want to go that route. They have the best pricing I have found.

[av8]

. . . Burns Stainless in LA is a good source for SS steel pipe if you want to go that route. They have the best pricing I have found.

Frank -- I bought J-bends from Burns when I made the headers for my roadster. Best price, great service, and good tech support. I also bought some exhaust-pipe bends from a local muffler shop to mock up the runners before I started cutting the 'spensive stuff.

I'll do a search for Shoenfeld. Thanks for the tip.

[av8]

. . . Burns Stainless in LA is a good source for SS steel pipe if you want to go that route. They have the best pricing I have found.

Frank -- I bought J-bends from Burns when I made the headers for my roadster. Best price, great service, and good tech support. I also bought some exhaust-pipe bends from a local muffler shop to mock up the runners before I started cutting the 'spensive stuff.

I'll do a search for Shoenfeld. Thanks for the tip.