Speaking of exhaust...

http://www.taperformance.com/products.asp?cat=265

...has anyone used this system?

No pictures so hard to tell what this is. From the description it sounds like a true dual with mufflers under the front floor boards. My car has the same style system that was custom made for the car and I have seen many other first gen rivieras with this style as well. My car has the same center inlet and offset outlet mufflers they are talking about so this is why I am thinking this is the same design. Obviously, the one downside here is that the mufflers can be seen from the side since they hang down below the frame.

From the description, I'm thinking that the mufflers would go in place of the original resonators toward the rear just before the kick-up. Those OE resonators had the same inlet outlet configuration that TA is describing. My guess, no facts.

My car has the same style system that was custom made for the car and I have seen many other first gen rivieras with this style as well. .

Do you get much noise from the muffler under the front floor? Any other resonators in your system? What kind of 'tone' does it produce?

Tom Mooney's observation really hit home with me; he thinks the stock system is poorly designed due to the rear mounted muffler receiving all of the condensation. Makes sense to me and I would like to avoid that but don't want a setup where I can hear the exhaust inside the car.

Steve

Steve, with the bags you just installed, you don't want mufflers under the floor. On my car, these were the lowest things on the underside. Sit the car down, and the mufflers are the first things on the ground. Also, this makes them the lowest point when cruising. You will hear a steady tink, tink, tink of the exhaust scraping the pavement. Been there, done that, got the T shirt.

I can not say the system is 100% silent inside the car. You can hear it. There are no other resonators and mufflers look to be standard type and not any kind of performance versions. It is not at all loud, and actually has a nice tone to it. The sound it makes does not bother me at all. Its the way it looks from the side that bothers me a bit. If my car was lowered, I can see speed bumps becoming an issue. I have also seen some install glass pack mufflers in the same location as they are very narrow. That would be quite a bit louder. I have also seen mufflers that have a 3" tall case. Flowmaster and SpinTech make one I think. The best option for a system like this would be one of these.....

http://www.hotrodhotline.com/content/stainless-specialties-mega-oval-muffler

Only 2.5" tall!!!

I've seen lots of different exhaust systems on the 1st generation Rivieras and have come to a couple of basic thoughts. 1) with the X frame, there's no place for an H or X pipe between the two sides to balance things out. 2) As has been said previously, the pipes are too long before they get to the muffler. One thing that I have seen that seems to work well and that is the installation of a 'turbo' muffler mounted at the very back between the trunk well and frame where the gas tank is. You mount it vertically rather than horizontally. It still needs an X or H pipe further up the system though.

Hushpowers with an equalizer pipe in place of the original muffler gives them that nice Chris Craft sound. EVERYTHING I own isn't stock:

The full size equalizer really mellows the sound.

Of course there is a full stock replacement. I took all the parts for either to the exhaust shop and said "Make it rumbly if you can. If it is too hard put the stock stuff on."

Bernie

Now if you really want an X pipe on an X frame here's an awesome alternative for placement....just thought I would share this cool idea, hope u like

From the Rivision, isn't it? The X pipe is in front of the mufflers where it belongs but I'm wondering how effective it is that far back from the manifolds?

This is all based on some research I did some time ago about X pipes vs. H pipes that I was considering running on my El Camino SS with the 355 roller motor.

Here's what I found: Ed

A cross-over whether H or X for the sake of engine efficiency must be ahead of the most restrictive elements such as catalytic converter and muffler because the whole purpose of the cross over is to establish some peak flow sharing between the individual capacities of each side. This is the only thing that will be constant with RPM and loading where tuning will be sensitive to RPM (frequency of input) as well so will be constantly variable. The exhaust comes in pulses rather than a stream which allows all of the shared capacity and tuning to happen. Even a gas turbine does this, in high speed photography of jet exhaust you can see the individual pulses as balls of flame inside the exhaust stream.

You have to be careful with cross-over’s especially the X because they can (or not) trip a return wave as if the exhaust stream has hit the end of the pipe. Depending upon residual strength of the original exiting pulse you can also get additional return waves tripped by the cat converter, muffler, resonator, and pipe tip, obviously each of differing strength. So the cumulative effect of waves coming and going with the resuting wave attenuation or amplification this quickly gets really nasty.

From the Rivision, isn't it?

I think this is from the gray 65 with the LS motor that Bay 3 Customs built. Note the green LS with the nailhead covers?

Oh yeah! Guess I'm not "forward" looking enough. And at this point I have to be the first to give myself a 'well duh!' The Rivision has a turbo so the exhaust wouldn't be straight back. Still it's a piece of exhaust artistry.

Ed

Ive got the TA system it in my 65- it sounds awesome , just a little low at the front where they positioned the mufflers...dynomax super turbos-

tail pipes come out the rear just perfect. I like it. It is the 3rd system I've had. First was Midas, perfect but too quiet at the time - second was K***** ss system that did not work out, so this is the third and sounds the best.

Yes that X pipe exhaust is from the gray Rivi (u can see the Riv body in the background). Yes it does have the LS3, they did an awesome job.

I cut & pasted the following quote from their build thread. This was the comment the builder posted when asked about the proper placement of the X pipe.

"While true, the best place would be farther forward I talked with an engineer at Magnaflow about this and our conclusion was it will definetly still benefit, especially with the sound, which is our main priority."

David

My cars rarely see more than 3500 RPM. I just wanted one car that was a little rumbly. Its not engineered. Its artistic like a symphony.

Bernie

When I was building that El Camino some years ago, I thought that I'd have to have an X or H pipe to pull that last bit of horsepower out of the engine. After I started reading into it, only did I realize that X or H pipes were only used to balance the waves to produce the sound you're looking for. They're not really meant to make more power. So, as Bernie and everyone else is doing, they're "tuning" their exhaust to the sound they like.

Ed

When I was building that El Camino some years ago, I thought that I'd have to have an X or H pipe to pull that last bit of horsepower out of the engine. After I started reading into it, only did I realize that X or H pipes were only used to balance the waves to produce the sound you're looking for. They're not really meant to make more power. So, as Bernie and everyone else is doing, they're "tuning" their exhaust to the sound they like.

Ed

From what I've read over the years, there is a very slight horsepower gain from crossover pipes if they are installed

very close to the engine......usually about 5-10 horsepower. You probably would never notice the difference by the seat of the pants

driving, and I don't know anyone who drag races his Riviera, so probably kind of silly to put one on a Riv. On the x-frame cars

there is no way to install a crossover pipe close enough to the engine to do any good. Those crossover pipes by the rear axle

look impressive but really serve no function.

Those crossover pipes by the rear axle look impressive but really serve no function.

I've not done it, nor will I on my Riviera, but I'm betting that the guys who have done it are getting a different sound from their system than the rest of us.

Well…it sounds like the one & only "function" that guys have mentioned is the sound difference. I couldn't tell the difference unless someone schooled me up on it. But I'm all about the sound too. I don't think the family would enjoy me racing the Riv around town lol but I would love to sit at an intersection & just sound good lol

David

Regardless of performance it's definitely a nice piece. kind of a work of art

I wanted the sound. The Hushpowers have stacked horizontal flat baffles that were designed to mimic the old straight through steel packs. The equalizer or H replaced the existing muffler just to modify the pulses.

Better sound equipment might have picked up the speedboat idle a little better. Turn up the volume and see: http://brockportinternational.com/xjs/Dir5/Riviera/64riviera.mp3.

My son and I have been up to a bit of mischief today. My wife is working at the library.

Bernie

Bernie, I like it...sounds mean lol...thx for sharing