409 exhausts, Australia

[MYTA21]

I wondered if anyone in the Australian group had experience of getting a new exhaust system for a 409 made. Apart from getting the factory items from BCL with the inevitable shipping costs, the currenet solution seems to be to get a "local" firm to make something to fit.
That is what appears to be fitted at present, resulting in smaller silencers being fitted, plus " burble' boxes in the front pipe section.
Am I correct in thinking that the original boxes were probably made by Burgess or Servais? "Straight through" construction with concentric inlet and outlet? Box length about 24'' each?
Thanks for any help
Mike 0

[Kevin H]

Mike, realistically I think a custom job is the only economically viable solution in Australia. Those "burble boxes" in the front sections were also on my 411, I think they were originally fitted to the cars.

[Rubbond]

I couldn't sleep tonight, hence this e-mail.
Isn't it amazing that car manufacturers don't fit proper (type 304)
stainless steel exhaust systems themselves?
It would maybe cost them about USD 15 more initially, but they would last
well beyond any of our lifetimes.
Not to mention the hose clips, etc..
Am I mad?
Andrew Knox.

[Kevin H]

Originally Posted by rubbond

I couldn't sleep tonight, hence this e-mail.

Well writing emails won't help!

The only negative I have experienced with a SS exhaust is a rather tinny sound (on an Aston DB4), but maybe that was a design issue.

I suppose car manufacturers could improve every part of their cars by throwing a few more dollars at them, but their goal is usually to reduce the cost of manufacture rather than increase it, and they probably don't really care, providing the parts last longer than the warranty period.

In fact the way some parts are made nowadays you could be forgiven for thinking they were designed to fail!

[MYTA21]

Yes Kevin, I think that will be the way to go, but I'll leave the small
front boxes in as those and the down pipes are in good condition. I would
the car be quieter than noisy!
Mike O

[Rubbond]

You're absolutely right Kevin, but thereafter I slept like a log.
The tinny sound on your Aston was probably caused by the supplier using the
wrong type of Stainless Steel.
Thin gauge in the wrong type can even be brittle on impact.
P.D.Gough's in Watnell, near Nottingham in the UK, make very good
reproductions in thicker, ductile types of SS. By ductile I mean you can hit
it with a hammer and it will just dent.
Car manufacturers of course don't care initially about how long parts will
last, but would you choose to buy a 10 year old second hand Fiat, rather
than a Saab?
I do believe that manufacturers of anything that contains a "chip" design
them to fail on a pre-determined date, after the power has been turned
on.That includes washing machines etc..
I now own my fourth AIO printer, having only paid for the first one. Believe
it or not, the failure appears to be programmed into the ink cartridges.
Can anyone confirm this?
Maybe I am going mad!
With best regards,
Andrew.

[Claude]

Originally Posted by MYTA21

I wondered if anyone in the Australian group had experience of getting a new exhaust system for a 409 made. Apart from getting the factory items from BCL with the inevitable shipping costs, the currenet solution seems to be to get a "local" firm to make something to fit.
That is what appears to be fitted at present, resulting in smaller silencers being fitted, plus " burble' boxes in the front pipe section.
Am I correct in thinking that the original boxes were probably made by Burgess or Servais? "Straight through" construction with concentric inlet and outlet? Box length about 24'' each?
Thanks for any help
Mike 0

My 411 has original exhaust (stainless) purchased from BCL. Not sure if I can get under it, but if necessary I could try to take some digital pics. Alternatively remember this is a standard Chrysler V8, and any decent muffler shop should be able to fabricate a setup that will work.

Claude

[Nick Challacombe]

Hi Mike,
My 407 has a stailess steel system made locally in England at reasonable
cost
and this seems to be the way many owners have gone.
The actual manifolds are still original. ( they are difficult to come by)

Nick