Auto body repair & detailing: Flowmaster, dual glass packs, dual flowmasters

Question
What would be the cheapest and easiest way to give my truck a very loud exhaust. I have a 1983 Ford F-100. I've considered dual flowmasters if they are made for my model truck. What is your opinion?

Answer
Hey Marcus ! I don't really do mechanical questions, but I'll give you my two cents on this. Now, if you have an area that does E-checks, you can only mess with the exhaust from the catalytic converter back. In that instance, just get a cat-back exhaust that splits into two pipes, and don't run a muffler. It sound pretty good, and is plenty loud. Now, if your area doesn't do e-checks or inspections, the sky is the limit. I would personally price a set of cheap headers and a pair of cheap header mufflers. Flowmasters are nice, but I think that a vehicle with tuned headers sounds much more beefy than a pair of high priced mufflers. The headers will also really improve performance, while the flowmasters will only marginally improve performance. However, putting headers on your truck will probably be an all weekend project- not easy. If you want to go REALLY low buck, cut the y-pipe, do some plumbing with some pipe pieces, (You can get all sorts of bent and straight pieces of muffler pipe from Advance or Auto Zone) and run dual glass packs. However, I don't personally think that will sound good- just loud. The only way to make this option sound good, is to run enough pipe under the truck to have the exhaust dump in front of the rear tires. It looks sporty, and the extra piping makes it sound deeper. I know the header option is a lot of work, but I think it's well worth the effort, and extra expense. Before I tore into it, however, inspect the exhaust manifold bolts, and see if they look like they will still easily come out of the heads. Put a socket on each one of then, and see if the head has rusted away. The socket will fit very loosely on the head of the bolt if it's rusted away. Try loosening up the bolt that looks the worst, and see if you can get it out without breaking it, or rounding off the head of it. If all goes well, this might be a good candidate for headers. If not, I wouldn't fool with it. Getting a broken stud out of a head is incredibly difficult when the engine is in the vehicle. Also look for clearance for the headers. You might have to remove the starter and the steering shaft to gain enough clearance to remove the exhaust manifolds, and install the headers. hope this helps. Bill