128 exhaust options

Jeremy128

Jeremy128

True Classic
I recently got my hands on a header for the 128. It is a 2 peice set up, that (I think) is suppsed to meet at a collector, then go to one pipe. I bolted it on to the 1.5 motor on the stand to fab it up, and get it welded in place. I found a problem. The collector will not go on. The ends of the 2 peice header do not meet evenly. Becuase of that, I cannot use this collector. I stopped by an exhaust shop today to talk to them about my options. And to get the rear hanger on my existing exhaust replaced.
One of the guys there has been doing exhaust work for decades and took a serious likeing of my car. After gettign it on the lift, he suggested, instead of fabbing up a collector, and then going with a single pipe, that I should just go with dual straight pipes, with glass packs. He was saying he would keep the 2 pipes very close together all the rear of the car, then they would seperate near the gas tank. There he would install the galss packs.
Now, here are my questions. First, should I go with dual exhaust? Why or why not?
I want the car to be relatively loud, so what type of muffler should I use? Would dual glass packs be way too loud? Or should I go with an actual muffler...maybe a free flow type?
Also, he quoted me around 250 to do the job. I will install the header, and drive it there, and he will do the rest.
Should I do this?
 
YES! (Boy, am I good at spending your money...)

But NO to the glasspacks.

And secondly, I'd say NO to the twin pipes exiting to the rear. Running two relatively small pipes rearword would kinda be a restriction in itself, versus a pipe that gets larger handling all four pulses, IMHO. I also think the weight of the pipes would take away from any supposed performance advantage.

I would run the twin downpipes to a decent size single pipe... maybe 2 1/2 inches, as a collector of sorts, and then take it back to a decent free flow muffler in the rear. It can have TWIN tips if you like, but that is only for show.

I'm unsure of the labor and material costs, but the single with a single muffler should cost less also.

(Boy, are you having fun or what? Wait for the next ten OPINIONS coming atcha... You'll be more confused than ever!)

If he really LIKES you or the car... he should be willing to TEST several mufflers until you find the one with the SOUND you like. (They can be just pushed on or clamped to try...) Running twin pipes for a TEST might be asking too much... but do try the glasspack and see if you don't agree with me. I don't think you'll like the sound.
 
Well...

Kinda depends on your goals. If a loud dual exhaust is what you want, that'll work.

If you're interested in performance you don't want the added weight of dual exhaust.

Besides, a properly designed 4>2>1 system will make more power. If that's what you're after then do some research on the intrawebZ to determine the appropriate size/length of the secondary pipes to use with that header on your particular engine to achieve better power in the RPM range where the motor spends most of its time.

HTH,

///Mike
 
I dont have a preferene of dual over single either way. I also dont want the exhaust TOO loud. Afterall this is a car I try to drive daily. I dont think straight pipes with glass packs would go over too well when I pick my daughter up from school.
After reading the replies, I do think it would be better to stay with single exh.. THe weight vs power is a very good point. Afterall, that is what makes these cars fun right....power to weight ratio. I dont want to add heavy stuff to it if I dont have to.
 
double tip end

Hi jeremy

I like the vintage look double tip end slide style, right or left side, something like this auction on e-bay

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/75-8...ptZMotorsQ5fCarQ5fTruckQ5fPartsQ5fAccessories
Also you can get this muffler (for example) cut and custom fit on your 128

my 2 cents.

your car looks very cool (agressive!) with this new look
(also my own opinion if you replace the original 7" head lamps and replace for CIBIE or flat HELLA with bright blue light bulb could be a nice upgrade) this is other 2 cents.


extrasmallrbrbadgezv7.jpg

Ricardo
X19/79
 
Loud pipes get old real quick...

...fine when you're feeling sporty.
Tiresome when you just wanna get there.

Twice pipes running length of car makes no sense at 1300cc.
Glasspacs tend to burn out over time, so not recommended ever.
Putting dual 'pacs near FUEL tank seems unwise.
$250 is very reasonable for complete custom exhaust,
but I'd question the dudes previous use of mind altering substances.

One of my 128s had a glasspack on it.
It was a raspy buzzy thing.
Only good attribute of a 'pac is they're cheap.
 
I looked at those blue Xenon type lights, and decided against them. I am trying to keep the car with a period correct look to it. I realize the hellas are not period correct, but they are just too sweet to not put on. THe blinkers I installed are LED lights. While they look cool, eventually I will get rid of them. I had em sitting around the garage, and put em to use. I would love to get a period correct style light to install. In time...
 
I've been thinking about this today while driving around. I agree with you. While loud pipes are cool. Not all of the time. I went for a good 60 mile drive today. I was running flat out for several miles. While doing so, I imagined it with loud pipes. MMMMMM good thoughts!
When I got off the highway and re-entered stop and go traffic, I thought about it with the straight pipes w/ glaspacks. I think it would get annoying after a while. Besides, I work rotating shifts. My neighbor is a friend of mine, and our driveways but up next to each other, and go between the houses. Last night, while backing up the driveway, I thought about all of the exhaust noise echoing between the houses.
 
Jeremy128 said:
THe blinkers I installed are LED lights. While they look cool, eventually I will get rid of them. I had em sitting around the garage, and put em to use. I would love to get a period correct style light to install. In time...
Click to expand...

Why not just use the lamps in your old bumper? Talk about period correct!
I have done this conversion many times, works for me.
 
You put the stock blinkers on 1/2 of an X1/9 bumper? How? Did you have to fab up a housing for them or something?

Here is what I have on the front.

128rallylights2.jpg

By jeremy128, shot with SPH-M540 at 2009-06-02

How and where can the stock blinkers go? If you have a tip, I'm all ears....Seriously

I have all of the stock parts to the car. I dont want the car to be stock. I want to modify it with all period coeerct stuff. It would be silly to have a cool old car with all modern stuff on it (in my opinion).
 
Jeremy128 said:
You put the stock blinkers on 1/2 of an X1/9 bumper? How? Did you have to fab up a housing for them or something?

Here is what I have on the front.

128rallylights2.jpg

By jeremy128, shot with SPH-M540 at 2009-06-02

How and where can the stock blinkers go? If you have a tip, I'm all ears....Seriously

I have all of the stock parts to the car. I dont want the car to be stock. I want to modify it with all period coeerct stuff. It would be silly to have a cool old car with all modern stuff on it (in my opinion).
Click to expand...

It's pretty simple. I often will use the brackets that come with the 1979-88 X front bumper. This is what I did with my 1979...

[img=http://img231.imageshack.us/img231/7641/6102009001.jpg]
full installed shot


one side


back side. Note how the original brackets are holding the lamp. I drilled & tapped the holes into the bumper bar, and since I don't trust it, I have also installed a lock nut on the inside.

On the 128 I am currently restoring,

here is the overall shot. Notice the brackets for the yet to be mounted license plate. I am unhappy with the direction the ends are at and will be doing some reshaping of the bar end to get them at the angle I want. The bar is polished, but after I get the ends right I will clean it up again...


here is a close up


and here is the back side. I did not bother to get the X brackets as I had some scrap alloy bar laying around that was easy to fabricate with.
 
Single exhaust

Keep it simple and go with a single exhaust. The muffler guy is probably used to working on Mustang GTs and Camaros. I ran an Ansa on my 128 and it sounded fine. Most Stock Fiat mufflers and resonators are "glasspacks" in that they are glass filled containers with a straight through design...X mufflers being an exception.

Carl
128SL
 
I'll concur on running a single exhaust. I had a 78 128 and had an exhaust fabbed up using the early twin outlet manifold and downpipe. Originally used just a glasspack where the cat was but it was way too loud. Put a Walker turbo muffler on the end and it was perfect, I think it even gained a little torque. This was a mildly worked 1300 so a 2" system worked well.
 
I decided that I am keeping with single exhaust. I am also NOT going with a glasspack. I am going with a freeflow type muffler. Should I run a resonator also, or not?
 
Chris, I am in the process of doign the same blinker mod that you suggested. I made the brackets out of some scrap T4 aluminum I had laying around.
I'll post some pics when its finished. Thanks again for sharing your ideas!
 
I agree with your decision...

... of course, it MIRRORS my OPINION exactly... HA!

As for the resonator... you wanna carry around extra weight and pay more for what? I don't think it would add anything but cost and weight...
 
Jeremy...

I think you could gain some power if you do a 4 into 2 into 1 system with the correct pipe lengths. Correct pipe lengths being the operative phrase.

I know there are some sites on the intrawebZ that offer calculators for primary tube lengths, so surely there are some that take into account secondary tubes as well. After all, the 4-2-1 design is known for helping improve torque output.

While you may be limited in what you can do with the primaries, with a little research you can probably do lot with just the secondaries. There are a couple of tech articles on the Burns Stainless site that might help.

As to a resonator, it might not be all that bad of an idea if you've decided you want the car pretty quiet. In my experience a resonator combined with a small muffler is quieter than a large muffler by itself. Kinda depends on the space you have, and where. If you have a good bit of room out back I'd choose a large 1 in 2 out can, in order to keep that weight as far back as possible. But if you have limited room out back and there's a spot for a resonator then that might be a better option.

Regards,

///Mike
 
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