favorite off the shelf exhaust package?

Hey everyone, wanted to share with you some great news.

Packaging and shipping our first run of 2-1 Exhaust kits next week. 12/3/18

We've updated the first post to show everyone the details of this kit.
http://classicbroncos.com/forums/showthread.php?t=290733

Thanks to Monster Mike for putting in huge amounts of overtime to get this kit dialed in so we could offer it with free shipping for Black Friday.

He has tweaked this kit several times so it will work with many different drive train configurations as well with two of the most popular shorty headers available on the market today that do not already offer an exhaust kit to go with them.

We will continue to make this kit even more versatile in 2019.

JDI

I was lucky enough to buy one of the prototype kits to test fit. Monster Mike did a nice job on these 2 into 1 exhaust kits. It’s so much cleaner than my old dual exhaust setup and now I have my fuel lines down the driver side and exhaust down the passenger side it’s really clean underneath...huge improvement.

I just spent more hours than I expected to trying to fit the duffs 2 into 1 system on my Bronco.

351w
1" body lift
Stock 3 speed transmission
Drake Bronco shorties

Only 2 of the slip fit joints have fit so far. Most have needed a lot of filing and die grinding to make them even fit over the ends and one is quite dented from being in the tube bender and going to need even more work to make fit.

On top of that the passenger side pipe that comes off the collector is nowhere close to fitting and I've tried it every which way. Doesn't help that the slip fit on that joint is too big so the pipe will not go into it's joint. Even to get it close the angles it puts the drivers side on is pretty ugly.

Going to put a call in tomorrow. But due to these problems I wouldn't recommend this system to someone unless you have way more time than money.

BigB said:

I just spent more hours than I expected to trying to fit the duffs 2 into 1 system on my Bronco.

351w
1" body lift
Stock 3 speed transmission
Drake Bronco shorties

Only 2 of the slip fit joints have fit so far. Most have needed a lot of filing and die grinding to make them even fit over the ends and one is quite dented from being in the tube bender and going to need even more work to make fit.

On top of that the passenger side pipe that comes off the collector is nowhere close to fitting and I've tried it every which way. Doesn't help that the slip fit on that joint is too big so the pipe will not go into it's joint. Even to get it close the angles it puts the drivers side on is pretty ugly.

Going to put a call in tomorrow. But due to these problems I wouldn't recommend this system to someone unless you have way more time than money.

Click to expand...

Well that sucks. I expected some hiccups along the way but not this.

I just finished installing the kit myself right off the shelf for an install video I'm working on. I honestly didn't have any issues. You can imagine my shock reading this so let me see if I can help.

1974 Bronco
351W
AOD
Drake ceramic bronco shortie headers

I didn't have any slip fit issues. With that being said it doesn't mean we're perfect. Not even by a long shot. Here is what I know. Occasionally when the tubes are expanded on our exhaust bender the seam can cause a high spot and needs to be tapped flat with a hammer right on the seam until the tube is round again. With that being said every expanded joint is tested when we build these kits. We try to expand them so they slip in with no issue but fit snug to prevent exhaust leaks. The front of the head pipes and the rear of the Y pipe are designed to be expanded for a snug fit but slide inside of other tubes not over them. This is where you may have to tap that seam. Again, this is not normal but I can't say it won't happen. The two anomalies we cannot control is the drake collector adapters and the mufflers. Some are oval or a little out of round causing a fight when trying to slide our tubes into them. We have found that the Drake collector adapters are pretty consistently oval shaped or out of round. That doesn't mean we didn't screw up. If you have some calipers handy, let me know what the OD is and I'll check the ones at the shop and see if we over expanded yours.

Where the two head pipes meet up to the merge pipe it is best to keep all the joints loose enough to allow the merge pipe to line up. With the 3 speed EB trans you should have plenty of space to move the pipes into position however with a 351W the passenger side head pipe will be close to the trans crossmember and need to be slid down and out of the Drake collector adapter so only 3/4 - 1" of the flared end is inside the adapter. If it's slid in more than that you will not be able to get the Y pipe slid over it. Also make sure you keep your collector adapter bolts nice and loose on the passenger side until the Y pipe is on. If the nuts are threaded on too much it won't allow the collector adapter to pivot downward enough.

Please send me pics of your progress. You can even send me video at monstermikeduff@gmail.com

I'm especially curious about the dent you are referring too. It's not impossible we let a pipe leave with a dent but it's also possible it was damaged while being packaged and/or shipped.

Again, I must remind everyone there is going to be some trials and tribulations when a new product comes out. We do our very best minimizing issues before our customers get the opportunity to buy them but this is a complicated exhaust kit for us to design and build with several processes and procedures. We expect the end result is a simple DIY kit you can easily install in your garage or driveway but there is bound to be some issues along the way that we are more than willing to fix and help you with.

MM

Monster Mike said:

Well that sucks. I expected some hiccups along the way but not this.

I just finished installing the kit myself right off the shelf for an install video I'm working on. I honestly didn't have any issues. You can imagine my shock reading this so let me see if I can help.

1974 Bronco
351W
AOD
Drake ceramic bronco shortie headers

I didn't have any slip fit issues. With that being said it doesn't mean we're perfect. Not even by a long shot. Here is what I know. Occasionally when the tubes are expanded on our exhaust bender the seam can cause a high spot and needs to be tapped flat with a hammer right on the seam until the tube is round again. With that being said every expanded joint is tested when we build these kits. We try to expand them so they slip in with no issue but fit snug to prevent exhaust leaks. The front of the head pipes and the rear of the Y pipe are designed to be expanded for a snug fit but slide inside of other tubes not over them. This is where you may have to tap that seam. Again, this is not normal but I can't say it won't happen. The two anomalies we cannot control is the drake collector adapters and the mufflers. Some are oval or a little out of round causing a fight when trying to slide our tubes into them. We have found that the Drake collector adapters are pretty consistently oval shaped or out of round. That doesn't mean we didn't screw up. If you have some calipers handy, let me know what the OD is and I'll check the ones at the shop and see if we over expanded yours.

Where the two head pipes meet up to the merge pipe it is best to keep all the joints loose enough to allow the merge pipe to line up. With the 3 speed EB trans you should have plenty of space to move the pipes into position however with a 351W the passenger side head pipe will be close to the trans crossmember and need to be slid down and out of the Drake collector adapter so only 3/4 - 1" of the flared end is inside the adapter. If it's slid in more than that you will not be able to get the Y pipe slid over it. Also make sure you keep your collector adapter bolts nice and loose on the passenger side until the Y pipe is on. If the nuts are threaded on too much it won't allow the collector adapter to pivot downward enough.

Please send me pics of your progress. You can even send me video at monstermikeduff@gmail.com

I'm especially curious about the dent you are referring too. It's not impossible we let a pipe leave with a dent but it's also possible it was damaged while being packaged and/or shipped.

Again, I must remind everyone there is going to be some trials and tribulations when a new product comes out. We do our very best minimizing issues before our customers get the opportunity to buy them but this is a complicated exhaust kit with several processes and procedures. There is bound to be some issues along the way that we are more than willing to fix and help you with.

MM

Click to expand...

Hi Mike

Thanks for the response.

I will send you some photo's this morning and my phone number so we can talk it through.

I will check on the roundness of the PS drake collector as hadn't thought of that, but it does seem like the down pipe is stretched too far. The drivers side slips in and out really easy.

A good idea for future if all joints are checked would be for some marks with sharpie that line up the joints to give a ballpark position for fitment. I think that would make the install process a lot quicker.

Was the system designed around the width of a 302W and it also fits a 351W just by adjusting the angles of the collector flange? That's what it looks like to me seeing the angles I am seeing and thinking about it after the fact.

Why are the head pipes designed to slip inside the collector? Isn't that introducing a joint that can potentially leak? Same goes for rear of Y pipe.

Can you post a link to the install video you just did?

Thanks.

Hi Mike

Thanks for the response.
You bet!

I will send you some photo's this morning and my phone number so we can talk it through.
Ok great.

I will check on the roundness of the PS drake collector as hadn't thought of that, but it does seem like the down pipe is stretched too far. The drivers side slips in and out really easy.
Ok. If you have a mic handy I am curious what the OD is of the expanded part of that tube.

A good idea for future if all joints are checked would be for some marks with sharpie that line up the joints to give a ballpark position for fitment. I think that would make the install process a lot quicker.
I'll look into that and see if that's possible. With all the different combinations of motors, transmissions and crossmembers it may be difficult for that to work for everyone

Was the system designed around the width of a 302W and it also fits a 351W just by adjusting the angles of the collector flange? That's what it looks like to me seeing the angles I am seeing and thinking about it after the fact.
It was designed to fit both. I have 4 different EB's I designed it off of. Yes there is definitely some give and take when designing a system to accommodate both engines. On the Windsors utilizing a stock trans crossmember, the angle on the PS head pipe is more severe than other drivetrains

Why are the head pipes designed to slip inside the collector? Isn't that introducing a joint that can potentially leak? Same goes for rear of Y pipe.
Yes, that is correct. This is why we use a band clamp at the head pipes instead of a saddle clamp. The band clamp makes a great seal. On the backside of the merge pipe I would think because of how the exhaust gas flows it would be beneficial for the merge pipe to slide into the mid pipe. With that being said I was planning on changing it anyways to accommodate the future upgrade option of a all stainless hardware kit that will only use band clamps at all the joints.In its current design a band clamp wont work on the back joint of the merge pipe

Can you post a link to the install video you just did?
I sure can, I am working on getting it uploaded to youtube today. I will get a link posted here and to the email you send me. Ironically, we didnt spend a lot of time discussing the orientation of the P.S. head pipe and the answers you are looking for may not be explained well in the video. With that being said, your feedback gives me some insight to the difficult areas that need to be addressed. I am looking at what I can do to edit the video to address your concerns,

Thanks.
You're welcome.

After Mikes suggestion I checked the Drake collector for being round. It was slightly off so I corrected it but the down pipe was oversize from what measurements he sent me. He had offered to send out a replacement if in fact it was oversize.

I got half the system fitted up but I have spent more time clearancing the joints when the pipes wouldn't rotate around where I needed to and had the system on an off more times than I care to.

I am impressed with Mike reaching out so quickly and we have been emailing but this has been a real ball ache compared to what I expected. I would be interested to hear how easily or not others who got this kit install went.

I did order on black friday and imagine mine was one of the first batch.

Not bashing just sharing my experience.

As always YMMV ;D

BigB said:

After Mikes suggestion I checked the Drake collector for being round. It was slightly off so I corrected it but the down pipe was oversize from what measurements he sent me. He had offered to send out a replacement if in fact it was oversize.

I got half the system fitted up but I have spent more time clearancing the joints when the pipes wouldn't rotate around where I needed to and had the system on an off more times than I care to.

I am impressed with Mike reaching out so quickly and we have been emailing but this has been a real ball ache compared to what I expected. I would be interested to hear how easily or not others who got this kit install went.

I did order on black friday and imagine mine was one of the first batch.

Not bashing just sharing my experience.

As always YMMV ;D

Click to expand...

If it wasn't for that ps head pipe being slightly over expanded (our fault) & the mid pipe ends being bashed in (UPS's fault) I think the other little stuff could be dealt with w/o too much hardship. Sucks when a handful of things stack up all at once and just sours the experience.

I definitely gained some insight from your POV and we can make some small simple adjustments to ensure the experience is consistently good for everyone.

If you had never chimed in, here was what my experience was from the weekend that just past...

I had Jon Melton from Nashville Early Broncos at the shop this weekend shooting a DIY video for the 2-1 kit while assisting me putting it in. We had one of the most challenging drivetrains to deal with and like you we were also installing the drake shorty headers. The kit literally came off the shelf as if it would ship to any customer and gave us zero install problems. Obviously I knew the challenge areas in the install and to share that with all of you is the whole purpose of making this video but as my witness, Jon can tell you we didn't have any issues like you're describing.

You can imagine how confused I was seeing your above review and it being a complete 180 from my experience. I'm definitely the first to admit when we screwed the pooch but that wasn't what I saw here so I'm feeling pretty confident this is an isolated incident and I will do my best to keep it that way.

My sincerest apologies for the struggles you faced & thanks again for your feedback.

MM

Monster Mike said:

If it wasn't for that ps head pipe being slightly over expanded (our fault) & the mid pipe ends being bashed in (UPS's fault) I think the other little stuff could be dealt with w/o too much hardship. Sucks when a handful of things stack up all at once and just sours the experience.

I definitely gained some insight from your POV and we can make some small simple adjustments to ensure the experience is consistently good for everyone.

If you had never chimed in, here was what my experience was from the weekend that just past...

I had Jon Melton from Nashville Early Broncos at the shop this weekend shooting a DIY video for the 2-1 kit while assisting me putting it in. We had one of the most challenging drivetrains to deal with and like you we were also installing the drake shorty headers. The kit literally came off the shelf as if it would ship to any customer and gave us zero install problems. Obviously I knew the challenge areas in the install and to share that with all of you is the whole purpose of making this video but as my witness, Jon can tell you we didn't have any issues like you're describing.

You can imagine how confused I was seeing your above review and it being a complete 180 from my experience. I'm definitely the first to admit when we screwed the pooch but that wasn't what I saw here so I'm feeling pretty confident this is an isolated incident and I will do my best to keep it that way.

My sincerest apologies for the struggles you faced & thanks again for your feedback.

MM

Click to expand...

Thanks and no worries.

Maybe my pipes were a late Friday afternoon job!

here is the 2-1 exhaust video.

you will also notice the video is on a new youtube page called Bronco Garage. check it out to see more videos.

I have a goal to post install videos of a product on there once a month.

If you hit the subscribe button it will send you an email notification when I upload new videos.

I still have one more short video to upload that addresses some of the challenges that you may run into when using the 351W & Ford AOD. It will be up by the end of the week.

[youtube]lOJPEL-Ea6I[/youtube]

? for mike
how is your setup with nv3550 or ax 15 trans

jwhit said:

? for mike
how is your setup with nv3550 or ax 15 trans

Click to expand...

That is covered in the video

In fact that trans with the Advance Adapters crossmember is currently on the Display chassis at JD with the 2-1 exhaust kit mounted.