1957 Buick Dual Exhaust System as OEM Complete

Just thought I would give everyone a "heads-up". Found this site on ebay. This guy has been making mufflers for apparently a very long time. He now has the complete exact copy of Buick's OEM dual exhaust system for 1957 Buicks. Check it out. Here is the link:

1957 & 1958 BUICK MUFFLER & RESONATOR ASSEMBLY - SS - eBay (item 230588132470 end time Mar-21-11 12:55:20 PDT)

Maybe us Dual exhaust fans could team up and get a group buy going? Let me know if you guys would be interested?

you will still need the correct pass. exhaust manifold.

OK, Buick people: this is just Kepich. New label; same soup.

... new label, same soup? - Someone hip me in here.

40series - it is the driver side manifold that is different for the dual exhaust.

Alternatively, you can have the d/s pipe modified or an extension piece made and just flanged on. Yeah, not completely stock but it works, is cheap, and nobody will see it unless they're changing the oil!

Tri-Shield, I was being nice and not saying anything about Kepich. I had my fill of him years ago.

I have been using King & Queen, but not often. I just got a quote from Waldron's for my '60 Electra. Their standard is 16 gauge. I asked to up it to 14 gauge and they said another $50. Not bad.

Last time I had a problem with Kepich a lackey answered the phone. He told me to wait. I heard footsteps and then click the phone hung up.

i have the full exhaust up to the rear resinator, pipes ,flanges, mufflers,,off 57 buick roadmaster..brand spanking new..first 200.00 + shipping takes both sides...email is MARTINOS1@COMCAST.NET...thanks guys

Martinos: When you say new do you mean the correct dual muffler setup per side or the aftermarket single long muffler per side and are the pipes new as well?

Flattop - What kinda problems were you having with Kepich, was the system any good or not or was it a service issue? Please explain if you can. I started this post cause I was having trouble finding a good Authentic system.

On a separate note: Are there others out there that provide a correct OEM craftmanship product? The correct dual muffler per side setup. One with the correct gauge of metal, original reverse flow dynamics, correct baffle orientations and dual wall insulated construction which greatly reduces "canning"? Kepich wrote me and explained he provides all of the above except for the dual wall construction but uses a heavy gauge for his single wall build. I would think one would have to use a substantial gauge sheet metal if you are not using dual wall construction.

Julie Tonietto the Director at Waldron's Antique Exhaust wrote and informed me they do not make the complete correct OEM 1957 Buick dual muffler setup. They only quote the aftermarket replacement design which was the single long main mufflers and the rear resonator can muffler on each side.

Edited February 26, 2011 by buick man (see edit history)

aftermarket buick man. comes of manifold, muffler, straight pipe ,resinator missing, tail pipe on one side...the flatbed driver caught somthing and ripped the passenger pipe off. the guy i bought the car from never put resinators on it, ran straight after mufflers.

The only experience I've had with Kepich is having him bend me a set of 2 1/2" tail pipes for my 71. They fit with no real problems. I would probably do business with him again, but I've read some stories that say otherwise.

60FlatTop, I've been buying from Waldon's and will continue to do so.

I did a pretty extensive back search on Kepich and the others. Seems in the late nines (last century), some had issues with Kepich but it appears most if not all had to do with fit problems relating to complete systems with the piping and not the mufflers. To be fair, Waldon's had a few of their own as well.

Most had good to things to say about Kepich's mufflers however even when they had complained about some pipe or how he had sounded on the phone or whatever. To each his own.

All in all my take is the muffler's Kepich makes should be up to snuff. Look at it this way, At least he is attempting to offer us a complete and correct looking muffler setup for the 1957-58 Buick that he claims is to complete stock specs except the dual wall design of the muffler. As far as I know you cannot find that anywhere else and he has them ready to ship both in aluminized steel and 304 Stainless. If anyone knows another place then please let me in on it.

Some other things I found on my search about exhaust systems:

- Stainless Steel gives your system a somewhat raspy non stock canny ticking sound compared to aluminized steel and transfers more heat.

- Some of the GM years offered double walled pipes in an attempt to further quiet and mellow the sound of the exhaust systems. This does work and double pipe is still available but you will have to bend it yourself to custom install.

- End piece exhaust Resonators work very well to quiet your system and that is why makers of upper end automobiles like Buick, Cadillac and Packard installed them as part of the correct system back in the day.

- Most agree that to get things done right, order the mufflers and then have the pipes done on site at your local favorite muffler shop for proper fit and not at one of those big box muffler stores but a good small shop that can take the time and do it right cause most of the bad mouthings resulted from pipes not fitting properly - not the mufflers themselves.

- Make sure your muffler is at least 14 gauge or heavier.

- Watch out for pour welds and seams.

- If you are buying a cross over pipe some are very restrictive due to crappy welding and bending techniques which has been known to greatly reduce and restrict flow.

- If you have a lot of bends sometimes it is a good idea to oversize the diameter of your pipes by a 1/4 inch from stock to insure good flow.

- Make sure you get a spec sheet detailing the flow of the muffler design and the number of baffles and a written statement that the complete construction is to OEM specifications and design criteria. That way if you xray the system and find that all you have is a can with two pipes and no guts then you have a good claim. Also a lot of the Buick systems were back or reverse flow design, not a Cherry Bomb type straight through design.

- Wagner made mufflers as an OEM GM supplier. They can be had through Napa today. But I do not know if they are crap like everything else mass produced these days so find out about the specs as noted above.

Let me know if anyone would be interested in a group buy with Kepich.

I know that the dual exhaust was standard on the 70 series in 1957, and optional on all others, but with the single exhaust, did they use the same components, i.e, muffler, resonator and rear resonator? I recall seeing a picture / drawing in one of the parts reference manuals that the single exhaust did not have the rear resonator on the system? Can anyone verify that?

Here is the reference I have on that:

Thanks David! Just what I figured. That's how my single exhaust is configured currently, so I guess I don't need to spend more to upgrade just yet. Funny how they do not use the forward resonator / muffler combination in the single exhaust system. I wonder why they didn't just commonize it.

All you would need is the passenger side manifold and you would be off and running. You just gotta have duals.

David, In fact, I do have the driver's side manifold for the duals. Got it last year, so a dual system is in the plans..just not at this time, I think.. I do have a question, though. The manifold I purchased has the studs in it, but they are completely rusted in. I have been putting PB on them, but no luck in getting them to move an iota. How would you suggest to remove them without damaging the manifold? I would really like to put new studs in before I start assembling the dual system. Thanks.

Edited March 2, 2011 by 1957buickjim
listed wrong side for dual exhaust - it is drivers side. (see edit history)

Use matte gas on a propane torch head. Heat in concentric circles. The physics is that you will have a contracting dissimilar metal. Work at it back and forth between heat and toque and it can be removed. Without heat it never will be. IMO

gotta have heat..heat i tell ya..lol.. buick man is the master....good job in description...

Road Master!

Anybody know a current source for proper aftermarket 57-58 exhausts? Now that Kepich is gone I cannot find any that have the correct fit. I used 3 Kepich systems in the past and they were the most correct aftermarket I have seen. He made his own jigs off a complete NOS system for accurate duplication including front resonators and brackets. He was a little salty at times, but the product was good.

I've heard good things about Waldron's

 

http://waldronexhaust.com/cart/index.php?cPath=61_31

Yes I've heard their quality is good. Unfortunately they don't offer the setup with the extra resonators up front

…. Kapich Gone - that's news to me.  So what happened to Kapich  ?  

 

You are right he is the only one that sold a correct system.  Waldrons sells what they want and is their own configuration, fittings etc …. not OEM stock as Kapich's setup.

I have used Kepich exclusively for the last several years.  I tried to find him when I was buying a setup for the 55 Pontiac I am working on, and couldn't find his info.  So I went on ebay and found "Classic Exhaust" and gave them a shot.  The exhaust arrived in good shape, and it appears to be well done, but I have not tried it out yet.  Much cheaper than Waldron, too.  Hopefully, not due to quality.

I have used Kepich exclusively for the last several years. I tried to find him when I was buying a setup for the 55 Pontiac I am working on, and couldn't find his info. So I went on ebay and found "Classic Exhaust" and gave them a shot. The exhaust arrived in good shape, and it appears to be well done, but I have not tried it out yet. Much cheaper than Waldron, too. Hopefully, not due to quality.

Yep I tried these guys on my 76C. They do not offer the setup with the resonators up front though. Having little choice, I tried them anyway.

I had 2 problems with it. First, the flares that connect to the manifolds did not fit correctly and made it impossible for the studs to reach through the flanges to bolt up. I emailed him and his first response was that that was the smallest flange he could make. That's it. When I made it clear that was unacceptable he offered to send new front pipes with larger openings in the flanges, which did allow me bolt it up.

The second problem I had was that there were no hangers on the mufflers as the originals had. I had to custom bend some aftermarket ones just to make it work. I asked him about this and he said he could only buy that type of bracket in bulk and that he didn't want to invest in a bunch when he didn't sell a lot. So I guess the alternative he chose was to offer a cut-rate product that he'd ultimately sell less of. Doesn't seem like a wise business move to me, but hey what do I know? Only that the profit he is missing by me never buying another set would have probably paid for the stock of brackets.

Other than that the quality is good.

Edited January 1, 2016 by lancemb (see edit history)

Maybe I'll never buy another 57-58 Buick and this won't be an issue foe me again!

HA! ROTFL