tmorefield Posted January 5, 2009 Report Share Posted January 5, 2009 I am ordering an exhaust system from Nostalgic and wanted to find out if there are any clearance issues with a 700r4 transmission? Nostalgic tells me no but I have read on this forum that there is. It's impossible to tell on my current exhaust, since it has been repaired in pieces over the years. Thanks for any input and advice. Tony Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gunslinger Posted January 5, 2009 Report Share Posted January 5, 2009 I had a 700R4 installed in my '70 as well as a new exhaust and the only issue was that a new backup and neutral safety switch setup had to be fabricated for clearance from the exhaust. They felt the stock setup was too close to the exhaust. The shop that did the work also fabricated the exhaust system, so a stock type from Nostalgic may or may not have this problem. I have no way of knowing if the systems would be any different from one another. I did specify 2 1/2" diameter pipes...I believe factory was a 2" diameter system. That alone could make for clearance problems with the switches. There seems to be enough differences between individual Avanti's that anything is possible. Some have had clearance problems with the transmission tunnel when installing a 700R4...my car had no problems in that regard. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tmorefield Posted January 5, 2009 Author Report Share Posted January 5, 2009 Thanks, Gunslinger! I will need to get under there and see how the clearance is now. I believe the only pipe that is noticably different is the passanger side. But I think that has to do with the previous owner bending and welding his own pipe. I still plan on ordering the system though. I am still considering installing it myself, but I may quickly change my mind when the pipes come in. Tony Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WayneC Posted January 7, 2009 Report Share Posted January 7, 2009 (edited) I am still considering installing it myself, but I may quickly change my mind when the pipes come in. Tony If you don't have an overhead lift, I'd advise you to leave that job to the pro's. Doesn't cost all that much, only takes 'em an hour or so, and they've got all the right tools to take the old stuff off and coax the new stuff to fit properly.... tried doing an exhaust system on my back, ONCE, when I was in my 20's, never again! Another time I let a general-purpose shop put a new exhaust system in my Avanti (because they had the time to do it on the day I wanted it done, using my parts)... that same night it was rattling like crazy, falling out of the bottom of the car, and nearly dragging on the road; I took it to a muffler shop the next day and they uninstalled and re-installed every pipe while shaking their heads in disbelief. Moral: use a muffler shop. Edited January 7, 2009 by WayneC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gunslinger Posted January 7, 2009 Report Share Posted January 7, 2009 If you don't have an overhead lift, I'd advise you to leave that job to the pro's. Doesn't cost all that much, only takes'em an hour or so, and they've got all the right tools to take the old stuff off and coax the new stuff to fit properly.... tried doing an exhaust system on my back, ONCE, when I was in my 20's, never again! Another time I let a general-purpose shop put a new exhaust system in my Avanti (because they had the time to do it on the day I wanted it done, using my parts)... that same night it was rattling like crazy, falling out of the bottom of the car, and nearly dragging on the road; I took it to a muffler shop the next day and they uninstalled and re-installed every pipe while shaking their heads in disbelief. Moral: use a muffler shop. Doing it on your back is a royal pain. If you happen to snap off an exhaust manifold bolt that attaches the exhaust pipe, you're in deep (censored)! Good advice...let a properly equipped shop do it...not that expensive, it doesn't take long with a lift and proper tools, and if anything else is needed (clamps, hangers), the parts are right there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tmorefield Posted January 7, 2009 Author Report Share Posted January 7, 2009 Funny you guys would suggest that! I was under the car tonight looking at the existing pipes, looking around and getting a feel for what it would take and I came to that very same conclusion. I thought, "since I have to cut the existing exhaust off; what would I do if I ran into something I couldn't handle". Then I would really be up (bleep) creek! Thanks for your insight. Thanks, Tony Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gunslinger Posted January 7, 2009 Report Share Posted January 7, 2009 Funny you guys would suggest that! I was under the car tonight looking at the existing pipes, looking around and getting a feel for what it would take and I came to that very same conclusion. I thought, "since I have to cut the existing exhaust off; what would I do if I ran into something I couldn't handle". Then I would really be up (bleep) creek! Thanks for your insight. Thanks, Tony You have to realize there's a lot of experience here...experience is defined as "What you get when you don't get what you want!" No one is giving advice that we haven't already learned the hard way...we're all quite "experienced" here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tmorefield Posted January 7, 2009 Author Report Share Posted January 7, 2009 You're absolutely correct. I have gotten awesome advice from this forum. I come here first if I don't feel comfortable with what I am doing or about to do. My experience is limited to the 19 months I have owned the car and from the work I did on my 1975 dodge charger (25 years ago)! What mufflers do you have on your car? I can get the quiet tone or glass packs. I am just curious how quiet, the quiet tone mufflers are. I like an Avanti rumble but not something annoying. I did check with some local muffler shops and the cost is very reasonable to install the system. And they warrant their installation. Thanks again, Tony Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gunslinger Posted January 7, 2009 Report Share Posted January 7, 2009 I have Magnaflows on my '70...actually the factory put a Magnaflow cat-back system on my '02 as well. Nice, mellow tone with a low rumble at idle but opens up as rpm's increase. It lets you know you have a real car with a real V8 under the hood. Flowmaster is a good brand as well, but they have a loud, raspy sound that will almost shatter windows when you drive through a neighborhood. Not what I like. I've never had an Avanti with the quiet tone mufflers...the '63 R1 I used to own had stock glass packs that were similar in tone to Flowmaster (at least to my memory). Try going to different websites like Magnaflow's or Flowmaster's...they usually have a sample of the sound of their product to listen to. Of course, it won't be on an Avanti, but you can at least get an idea of the sound. Tony...what year Charger did you have? I used to have a '67 Charger...the original ramp back. 383, 4-spd...the car would RUN, but it was a money pit trying to rebuild. I eventually decided to sell it and go back to my real automotive love...the Avanti. It's unfortunate that the free market says Chargers are more valuable, but Avanti's are superior cars. I used to argue with one of my closest friends, who has always been a Mopar freak since he was a kid. I admit that Mopar engines, transmissions and rear ends are about as bullet proof as they come, but the cars themselves are cheaply built...weak electrical systems, cheap plastics, troublesome brakes, cheap quality upholstery, etc. That '67 Charger was made of lesser grade parts and poorer assembly quality than the '63 Avanti and '64 Pontiac Bonneville I used to own. He would disagree, which is fine, so essentially we've agreed to disagree on the subject. I believe Studebaker got far more from their starvation engineering budgets than Chrysler did with their far larger budgets. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tmorefield Posted January 7, 2009 Author Report Share Posted January 7, 2009 I had a 75 Dodge Charger SE, 400 with the Carter Thermoquad. It was the Cordoba body style, but with more power. Built like a tank too. It had a long front end like the Avanti. A buddy and I rebuilt the motor in 83 but the body started to show wear and rust. I sold it when I went to college in 85. I have driven nothing but 4 cylinders since. It's nice to drive a V8 again and get dirty. The 67 dodge chargers were great looking cars. My brother got a 67 Charger after he sold me the 75. In fact, he still has it. That was a fast car! Tony Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MARK Posted January 22, 2009 Report Share Posted January 22, 2009 I am ordering an exhaust system from Nostalgic and wanted to find out if there are any clearance issues with a 700r4 transmission? Nostalgic tells me no but I have read on this forum that there is. It's impossible to tell on my current exhaust, since it has been repaired in pieces over the years.Thanks for any input and advice. Tony Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hrhchazman Posted February 22, 2009 Report Share Posted February 22, 2009 Hi Tony, Hey if you don't mind, let me know how you make out. I still haven't done the exhaust on my 67, and I have a 700r4 trans too. Thanks, Charlie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tmorefield Posted April 24, 2009 Author Report Share Posted April 24, 2009 Hi Tony, Hey if you don't mind, let me know how you make out. I still haven't done the exhaust on my 67, and I have a 700r4 trans too. Thanks, Charlie Charlie, I had my exhaust installed last week, without any issues. I had it installed by a local Mom and Pop shop that works on tons of older cars. The only issue they encountered was the driver side pipe coming from the manifold interfering with the steering arm. A little elbow grease and it cleared. There were no issues with the 700r4 trans. I ordered my exhaust from Nostalgic and I was not happy with the pipe on drivers side coming from the manifold. It was twisted and kinked in order to shape the pipe. It looked really restricted in some areas. Fortunately, the shop was able to cut and weld in pieces to reduce the restriction, at a cost, of course. The mufflers sound great. I went with glass packs and they have a nice deep rumble, not the hollow metal sound I had before. Actually, at idle they are quieter than before. Take care, Tony Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
profaqualung Posted May 26, 2009 Report Share Posted May 26, 2009 This is a little late, but I am going to throw my 2 cents in anyway. IWe just completed putting in a modified crate 383 SBC in my 70 Avanti. With 700R4 trans. For headers, we used the Speedway cast stainless steel ramhorns [2 1/2" diameter], that had been polished. No real clearance problems on the drivers side, though we did build a heat shield to protect the steering hoses. The problem occured on the passenger side - the pipe off the headers ran TOO close to the tranny, and as a result we ended up cutting out a hole in the frame [and reboxing it for strength], and routing the pipe thru it. Offset Flowmasters [offset inlet, center outlet] where used for mufflers, but I quickly found out they were entirely TOO RASPY for my taste [and I love my 69 Vette sidepipes]. So we put on some 12" Cherry Bombs in front of the axle, and that toned things down sufficiently. These same mufflers on my 70 Mercury Cyclone [with 'H' pipe] sound great - but the difference in engine power and the 'h' pipe makes turns them into a really annoying sound. An added bonus from these headers, after running them a while and getting them HOT, they discolored quites a bit - oranges, coppers, yellows, and reds - they now are color coordinated to my new paint job - Candy Metallic New Penny Copper. Thomas Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ecoloney Posted June 11, 2009 Report Share Posted June 11, 2009 Friends, I don't have an Avanti but I have a lot of enthusiasm and curiosity. Is there a problem with clearance from the ground if using what I would call a "traditional" muffler from back in the '70s? Does anyone remember "turbo" mufflers? I recall buying them from JC Whitney for 10 bucks or so at the time... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gunslinger Posted June 11, 2009 Report Share Posted June 11, 2009 Friends, I don't have an Avanti but I have a lot of enthusiasm and curiosity. Is there a problem with clearance from the ground if using what I would call a "traditional" muffler from back in the '70s? Does anyone remember "turbo" mufflers? I recall buying them from JC Whitney for 10 bucks or so at the time... You shouldn't have a problem using a "turbo" muffler on an Avanti. Most aftermarket muffler manufacturers have diagrams of the different mufflers they sell so you can pick the physical size part that suits your needs...length, width, thickness, inlet/outlet diameter, center or offset inlet/outlet. It should be little problem for you...the biggest problem will likely be what brand to choose. Studebaker offered oval style mufflers as an option on the Avanti at a certain point so there's no real issue installing them. My car has Magnaflow mufflers as it gives the sound I like. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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