Chambered exhaust

[asm69]

Thanks red69. Nice to hear that you like it.

Do you drive your Z regularly ?
At times do you feel it may loud when  talking to some one sitting next to you ?

My car being an early built LOS Z came with chambered exhaust. What I don't know is if the original owner had the exhaust replaced with the deep tone system due to the recall letter.

So, I can re-install chambered exhaust or the deep tone system and maintain the originality of the car. I just need to decide if the louder chambered exhaust system will hinder my driving pleasure. After hearing sound clips of the chambered and deep tone system, they both sound great. I'm going to try to find a local car event to listen to a chambered exhaust system, that might help my decision.

[69Z28-RS]

Is the gardner chambered exhaust a stainless steel system ?

My PRIOR understanding was that Gardner ONLY did stainless.... but that was based on 'hearsay' from long ago.  So in responding your question above, I thought I should confirm that, so I went to the Gardner website, didn't find mention of stainless or any metal type mentioned, so I called and spoke to Eric Gardner and had a good conversation with him.

http://www.gardnerexhaust.com/contact.html

Eric tells me they ONLY do aluminized pipes (so I was wrong before - yes, it's happened again!!). but I will admit it when I find out..      Eric also doesn't like stainless exhausts for a couple of reasons, so he and I are in agreement on that.   While I had him on the phone I asked him the price:   Complete from exhaust manifolds back, with reproduction/original hangars correct for the chambered system, but using GM clamps ($1695).  He told me something I didn't know; the original chambered systems utilized 'rounded bottom' clamps, which are costly for him to reproduce, so to get those (ADD $100).

I apologize for the incorrect information I told you before, and I've adjusted my opinion on the Gardner chambered exhaust system!  If you want chambered, I'd suggest you go for it..

[X33RS]

Not to steal the basis of this thread but you bring up an interesting point Gary.

The system on my car that I believe to be original (the piping anyway) has a pair of rounded bottom clamps on it right where the 2 pipe hangers come down under the back seat.

Are these rounded clamps exclusive to chambered exhaust only???  What other clues might elude to a car having chambered originally?   Maybe my Z had it and it was changed to the transverse system very early on??   Now you have peaked my curiosity...

[Kelley W King]

My 69 L78 has a single muffler over the axle like stock. Although I have not seen it on it ,the previuos owner said it was a Flow Master. Sounds great with Hookers.

[69Z28-RS]

Not to steal the basis of this thread but you bring up an interesting point Gary.

The system on my car that I believe to be original (the piping anyway) has a pair of rounded bottom clamps on it right where the 2 pipe hangers come down under the back seat.

Are these rounded clamps exclusive to chambered exhaust only???  What other clues might elude to a car having chambered originally?   Maybe my Z had it and it was changed to the transverse system very early on??   Now you have peaked my curiosity...

Very possibly your hypothesis is correct; If I understood correctly what Eric told me, the chambered system rear hangar is also different as well as the clamps used in those locations, and is placed further to the rear than the normal deep tone exhaust hangar.   This was required to securely hold the chambered system tailpipes in place.   Where is your rear hangar located? 

[X33RS]

Not to steal the basis of this thread but you bring up an interesting point Gary.

The system on my car that I believe to be original (the piping anyway) has a pair of rounded bottom clamps on it right where the 2 pipe hangers come down under the back seat.

Are these rounded clamps exclusive to chambered exhaust only???  What other clues might elude to a car having chambered originally?   Maybe my Z had it and it was changed to the transverse system very early on??   Now you have peaked my curiosity...

Very possibly your hypothesis is correct; If I understood correctly what Eric told me, the chambered system rear hangar is also different as well as the clamps used in those locations, and is placed further to the rear than the normal deep tone exhaust hangar.   This was required to securely hold the chambered system tailpipes in place.   Where is your rear hangar located? 

Well Gary, I'm not sure on the hanger one way or the other because I've never seen the differences with my own eyes.  I guess the best way to determine it is to send you or someone familiar with it a picture of the hanger and clamp setup on mine.  Maybe take pictures of any other clues that may be needed??
  Probably best to start another thread on it rather than mess up this one.  Thoughts?
I honestly never gave this any thought before, I knew they were original clamps on the car but didn't know the clamps were specific to chamber.  I'm almost kind of glad I caught your statement about the clamps or I would have overlooked it on the car.  I say almost, because if this goes down that path, I'll be spending another $2,000 on exhaust, lol.

[69Z28-RS]

Yes, I think a good detailed discussion of 'what is right/correct/factory' on exhaust systems would be a great thread.  Generally we treat such items as an 'aside' attached temporarily to other threads.  I'd suggest starting with a discussion with Eric Gardner; he seems to know quite a bit (certainly more than I), and is willing to discuss such things in detail.   Send him some photos of yours (and post them here too in an 'exhaust correctness' thread), and let's have at it..    My car is too late for a chambered system, and when I found that out, I sold the NOS one I'd had for 35 yrs a couple of years ago, but in so doing I also obtained a pair of the resonators (which my car would have come with) which are essentially unobtainable..    I think a thread which summarizes what we already know about the variations in exhaust system (between deep tone and chambered), and also about 'periods in the year', would be a great start, and we can go from there to address the details (like these clamps) which I haven't been aware of until today...

PS.  I think it would belong in the *originality* section, rather than the general discussion area, but maybe I'm wrong and Kurt or Byron will address that issue? 

[X33RS]

Tell ya what.  I just took some pictures of it.  It will take me a bit to fool with photobucket (man I hate that)  But I'll post it in the originality section and if Kurt feels it needs to be somewhere else, maybe he'll be kind enough to move it    Give me 30 minutes.

[Bryan302]

Larry, Did any of your existing pipes have the crimps in the pipes as were typical to chambered?  Is your car's build date 05A or before, and before the cut off date of May 19th?  The other possibility, to determine yes or no, would be finding the firewall chalk writing by fisher body, indicating N10 for deep tone mufflers!

Gary, WOW!, Did Eric indicate any specifics on dimensions of the mounting hole locations for the hangars that are above the axle?  I thought they were in the same spot for either N10 or NC8.  If they are different, looks to me like that would pin point which system you had, if you didn't know!  Those hangar locations, and the firewall writing may be the only clues some people will have!

THANKS,
Bryan

[X33RS]

Larry, Did any of your existing pipes have the crimps in the pipes as were typical to chambered?  Is your car's build date 05A or before, and before the cut off date of May 19th?  The other possibility, to determine yes or no, would be finding the firewall chalk writing by fisher body, indicating N10 for deep tone mufflers!

Gary, WOW!, Did Eric indicate any specifics on dimensions of the mounting hole locations for the hangars that are above the axle?  I thought they were in the same spot for either N10 or NC8.  If they are different, looks to me like that would pin point which system you had, if you didn't know!  Those hangar locations, and the firewall writing may be the only clues some people will have!

THANKS,
Bryan

Bryan, my car is 12D.  I've cleaned the firewall delicately and nothing there but the PBT stamps. 

If by "crimps" you mean the crush bends with wrinkles, then yes the entire system is full of them everywhere there is a bend, as well as flat pipe through the mid section of the head pipes, and flat sections on the tailpipes as they snake around the frame and leaf springs. 

Yes Bryan, that was my thought when Gary mentioned that, if those hangers above the axle were in different locations or not (which makes more sense to me), which is why I posted pictures in a new thread about this very topic (in the Original section)

[BillOhio]

I have seen 2 different hangers on the drivers side frame rail. I was lead to believe the chambered hanger is longer and that way holds the pipe farther back.

[firstgenaddict]

Original 10D Norwood 531xxx  Chambered Hangers   VS Gardner reproduction Hangers

The Drivers side hanger, I am not sure that the same hanger was used throughout production. Additional research on original later chambered cars would need to be undertaken.
 


Passenger side hanger...

[dale_z28]

Gardner's is not stainless. Eric Gardner quoted me $1100 and some change (including hangers) for mine, but since mine didn't originally come with chambered, I'm going with either his deep-tone or Pypes from Summit (same style transverse muffler).
I spoke with a fellow Z owner at James Dean Weekend this past fall and he recommended I stay away from Allens exhaust (who I was leaning heavily towards because they're within driving distance). I have no experience with Allens personally, so I am just repeating what I was told...FWIW

[asm69]

I'm getting the impression from other threads and Camaro web sites, that many people would choose the Chambered exhaust system as long as their car fit the assembly time line in respects to when GM began to change the exhaust systems due to noise concerns.

[69Z28-RS]

Gardner's is not stainless. Eric Gardner quoted me $1100 and some change (including hangers) for mine, but since mine didn't originally come with chambered, I'm going with either his deep-tone or Pypes from Summit (same style transverse muffler).
I spoke with a fellow Z owner at James Dean Weekend this past fall and he recommended I stay away from Allens exhaust (who I was leaning heavily towards because they're within driving distance). I have no experience with Allens personally, so I am just repeating what I was told...FWIW

Dale,  HOW LONG ago did he quote you a price of $$1100???   that's a big difference from the $1695 he quoted me 2 days ago...