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1969 Camaro Exhaust - Flowmaster American Thunder

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Yenklone

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Discussion starter · #1 ·
I am in the process of installing a Flowmaster 817139 exhaust on my 1969 Camaro. My concern is that the exhaust pipes which are the type with stainless tips exiting at rear and below valance, are very close to leaf springs and valance. I have tried lot's of adjusting and tweaking of the exhaust pipes and system but they remain too close for my comfort. Question is, have any of you installed this kind of exhaust system on your cars? I see a lot of 1969 Camaros that have the FM kit for 67-68 Camaro with pipes exiting right behind wheel and wonder if the reason is to not have the same issue. The pictures below are taken before I did some adjusting yesterday and got them placed about 1/2" from springs and 1/2" below valance. Thank you in advance for any advice you can offer.

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#2 ·
I have the same Flowmaster system. Yep, you'll have to do maybe a little more tweaking. I had the same issue as you on the right tailpipe too close and hitting the leaf spring. I've found that you'll need to loosen the muffler clamp and the frame mount tailpipe hanger. I place something between the leaf spring and tailpipe to act as a spacer. After the clamps are loose , give the tailpipe a twist at the muffler and you'll see the effect it has on the tail pipe placement.
I assume you have the offset In/ center out muffler pair. If the mufflers are not evenly parallel, you'll get something like you're encountering.
In pic #1 , looks just the same as mine. In pic#2 same as I encountered, too close to/ or rubbing against leaf spring. I was able to adjust that to perfectly centered. In Pic #3 my pipes are spaced an additional 1/2 inch or so below rear valance. In your pic it looks too close.
Keep at it, with the tweaking and adjusting, until it's perfect or your satisfied. That's just the way it is.
 
#4 ·
you could consider cutting the pipe by the leaf spring for a tidy look as mentioned above
 
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Discussion starter · #6 ·
69_IDOL said:
I have the same Flowmaster system. Yep, you'll have to do maybe a little more tweaking. I had the same issue as you on the right tailpipe too close and hitting the leaf spring. I've found that you'll need to loosen the muffler clamp and the frame mount tailpipe hanger. I place something between the leaf spring and tailpipe to act as a spacer. After the clamps are loose , give the tailpipe a twist at the muffler and you'll see the effect it has on the tail pipe placement.
I assume you have the offset In/ center out muffler pair. If the mufflers are not evenly parallel, you'll get something like you're encountering.
In pic #1 , looks just the same as mine. In pic#2 same as I encountered, too close to/ or rubbing against leaf spring. I was able to adjust that to perfectly centered. In Pic #3 my pipes are spaced an additional 1/2 inch or so below rear valance. In your pic it looks too close.
Keep at it, with the tweaking and adjusting, until it's perfect or your satisfied. That's just the way it is.
Click to expand...
Thank you for your input. I appreciate it.
 
#7 ·
Yenklone said:
I actually have a set of flowmaster 67-68 tailpipes because I thought I wouldn't like the 69 style but now that I have installed the 69 style pipes I sorta like them.
Click to expand...
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#8 ·
I also have tail pipes like a 69 and had this issue of pipes close to leafs.
I solved the issue by tweaking, welding, and adding a rubber mount closer to the rear of the body. I used a rivet nut, and a welded SS frame mount on the pipe.
Perfect for me.
I like the tail pipes better ;-)
 
#12 ·
69_IDOL said:
I have the same Flowmaster system. Yep, you'll have to do maybe a little more tweaking. I had the same issue as you on the right tailpipe too close and hitting the leaf spring. I've found that you'll need to loosen the muffler clamp and the frame mount tailpipe hanger. I place something between the leaf spring and tailpipe to act as a spacer. After the clamps are loose , give the tailpipe a twist at the muffler and you'll see the effect it has on the tail pipe placement.
I assume you have the offset In/ center out muffler pair. If the mufflers are not evenly parallel, you'll get something like you're encountering.
In pic #1 , looks just the same as mine. In pic#2 same as I encountered, too close to/ or rubbing against leaf spring. I was able to adjust that to perfectly centered. In Pic #3 my pipes are spaced an additional 1/2 inch or so below rear valance. In your pic it looks too close.
Keep at it, with the tweaking and adjusting, until it's perfect or your satisfied. That's just the way it is.
Click to expand...
I didn’t have the flowmaster system however when installed my 3” Magnaflow system I welded a rigid stainless bracket on top of the pipe - centered it, then tech screwed to the frame - it doesn’t move anywhere and is dead center between the spring and the fender
 
#14 ·
How do you guys with the Flowmaster system like the sound, and are you using the stock cast iron manifolds or headers? I'm thinking about a stainless system from the stock manifolds back ('68 RS/SS 350 Convertible), and looking for what's been working best.
 
#15 ·
It sounds like you got it adjusted like you want. I like the look of the polished tailpipes out the rear. I had a Pypes system that fit perfectly on my '69, but I couldn't get rear pipes to fit on my '67 so I have them dumping behind the tire.
 
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