383 Exhaust questions

[Brayday0]

I am the new owner of a '69 D200 with a 383ci. It has nasty rusty headers that have holes. The headers each terminate in new mufflers under the cab. I do have a set of factory exhaust manifolds that are in good shape.

I want to pull off the old headers and put on the factory manifolds, and obviously need to build out the exhaust system. I am a c minus mechanic, good welder and metal fabricator, but no tools for custom pipe bending.

Questions

1) Is it reasonable to sourch repro exaust pieces and maybe mix and match with off the shelf pieces to cobble together a system?
2) Single or dual system?
3) Better to just pay a pro shop to handle the work?
4) Sources for correct pipes? Especially the down pipes.

[martincom]

1) Is it reasonable to sourch repro exaust pieces and maybe mix and match with off the shelf pieces to cobble together a system? No

2) Single or dual system? It depends on how much you want to spend and if your truck is a racer or a truck.

3) Better to just pay a pro shop to handle the work? See below.

4) Sources for correct pipes? Especially the down pipes. Nobody offers just "down pipes". Vehicles vary wildly as to how much room they have for routing, clearing steering linkage, crossmembers, etc. See below for link to complete systems.

If the exhaust system is solid, from the header collectors rearward, I'd retain it, considering the dollars involved to replace it. I've never had much success with muffler shops, but maybe your luck will be better than mine. I'd have them fabricate what you need from the exhaust manifolds to your existing.

Also, there is a difference between standard and high performance exhaust manifolds. The factory high performance cars had exhaust manifolds that flowed much better and had 2.5" outlets, compared to 2.0" outlets of standards. Back in the day, they were dime a dozen, as guys were pulling them off to replace with headers. Today, they are almost worth their weight in gold. Unless your truck is focused on being a racer, you'll see very little benefit from them.

If you want to clean up the exhaust system so it is not a collection of patches, I'd go with a new stainless steel system from Waldron's, assuming you have the correct stock exhaust manifolds. It is not cheap, but it'll likely outlast the truck. Also, if you go that route, have them install threaded bungs for O2 sensors. If you re-jet your carb or go the racer route, you'll want to be able to add an Air/Fuel meter.

https://waldronexhaust.com/

[Brayday0]

Awesome advice thanks. No its not a racer, and Im not pulling loads. Its just a sweet old truck that deserves to be resurrected. Theres no exhaust left to speak of. The headers are super long and the last owner put a short pipe on the end and right into dual mufflers. Nothing after the mufflers. Once the headers are off only the mufflers will be usable. Im running a stock carb on it now, but yes might consider upgrading.

Ok, so its sounds like once the exhaust manifolds are on, best bet is to order a system. But I notice that they dont sell a complete systems for the 383. So it sounds like some improvising will be in order.

[martincom]

But I notice that they dont sell a complete systems for the 383. So it sounds like some improvising will be in order.

I'd suggest you phone them and see what they suggest.