84 K10 full exhaust replacement

[K10noob182]

Hi everyone, I recently bought an 84 K10, SM265 Manual transmission 4 of the floor, it is all stock except for the 350 crate motor in it. Stock 84 oem exhaust manifold going into a poorly-contructed Frankenstein exhaust that must go.

Goal: Torque off the bottom to mid-range. Mellow "turbo muffler" dual exhaust out the back. (I'm 55 years old)

It's not the kind of truck I would be revving to the moon and grabbing the next gear.

PLEASE give me your opinions on the best set up? Cost isn't a huge concern if the value is there. I don't care much how it looks under the hood, but I don't like chrome. (just my preference)


My original plan:
1. Summit Ceramic Coated Headers for 4WD Chevy/GMC K-Series Trucks Part Number SUM-G9109 that were recommended by Summit support.
2. Two Summit Turbo 2.5 Inch Mufflers SUM-641125-XL
3. Exhaust shop would do an X pipe running dual exhaust out the back all 2.5 inch.

The headers didn't even come close to fitting. It hit the motor mount on the driver's side AND the frame at the same time. I had an experienced squarebody mechanic verify this.

I'm really enjoying learning the truck, had a K5 in the 90s, but I'm pretty frustrated. Burnt both forearms on the exhaust. Wife thinks I'm nuts.

Thanks for reading.

 

[Ricko1966]

Read this thread

Installing a New Exhaust System Including Headers

I am installing a new dual exhaust system on my stock '77 K10 to replace the swiss cheese straight pipe. I am also installing long tube headers. I have the passenger side header bolted in and the collector flange is touching the driveshaft. Any tips on bending it to clear? I am reluctant to heat...

www.gmsquarebody.com

 

[Old Guy Bill]

I used Hooker manifolds and stock dual exhaust, with the Turbo mufflers that aren’t aggressive.

 

[brooksman9]

You are nuts... just like the rest of us. Curious to see what you wind up going with. Pics when done please. Always been a big fan of headers but those Hookers are just sexy!

 

[cadillac_al]

If money is no object then get some Heddman Elite headers. They are heavy duty and fit well. I used to have them on my truck for 15 years then they rusted out. New ones are out of my price range. I always buy dual exhaust kits from Summit. I think they are Dynomax, those fit well too. Then some kind of stainless turbo mufflers.

 

[CalSgt]

I have nothing against 2.5" tubes but 2.25" will support about any streetable SBC you could put in that truck, might save you a few bucks.

Other than that I'm not a big fan of headers even though I like how they sound, a used set of stock manifolds or some of the Hooker units already mentioned will serve you better in terms of maintenance free reliability.

The duals with an X or H pipe and turbo mufflers should sound fantastic though. I've been researching X and H pipes and it seems most people think the H pipe makes a deeper exhaust note than the X pipes.

Good luck with whatever you decide

 

[Finkaire]

point taken, problems associated with headers, installation, noise, spark plug and starter removal. Sorry for getting off subject

 

[Ricko1966]

Considering WALKER systems, anyone familiar with there systems?

It gets confusing when people jump in in the middle with a different truck,different poster and different goals. I almost answered this with comments and opinion that were relevant to O.Ps original post. You should start your own thread to keep this one on point.

 

[projo198]

Good luck with the headers..... I tried several before I found a set that fit and even then I had to shave a bit off the driver's side frame rail as well as modify the clutch Z bar.

 

[K10noob182]

iIf money is no object then get some Heddman Elite headers. They are heavy duty and fit well. I used to have them on my truck for 15 years then they rusted out. New ones are out of my price range. I always buy dual exhaust kits from Summit. I think they are Dynomax, those fit well too. Then some kind of stainless turbo mufflers.

Thanks. I will start researching those now in case the hookers don't work. (that came out funny so I'm leaving it ha)

It stings spending the money. But that stings less than confirming fitment with Summit via the website and voice prior to ordering, having a friend take time out of their busy life to come help me, only to have it fail. Now I have to repack everything and likely pay to ship it back to Summit, take it to the UPS store, wait for the 2nd set, more time wasted.

I have tried youtube of course but I didn't find anything K10 4x4 manual trans specific. I appreciate the replies.

 

[K10noob182]

I have nothing against 2.5" tubes but 2.25" will support about any streetable SBC you could put in that truck, might save you a few bucks.

Other than that I'm not a big fan of headers even though I like how they sound, a used set of stock manifolds or some of the Hooker units already mentioned will serve you better in terms of maintenance free reliability.

The duals with an X or H pipe and turbo mufflers should sound fantastic though. I've been researching X and H pipes and it seems most people think the H pipe makes a deeper exhaust note than the X pipes.

Good luck with whatever you decide

I figured: 2.5in all the way just for the sake of simplicity.

There's an H pipe too? I will do some research on that as well. I had a friend mention that it could make things more difficult to work on. Like suppose you needed to take the transmission out. I didn't think of that.

 

[K10noob182]

I drove 850 miles RT across 4-5 states to pick up a seat yesterday. It was an 18hr non-stop turn and burn. Seller said I was crazy. I said yeah man, but that's a really nice seat!

Recently ordered:
4 Rough Country leafs with 2in lift, shocks, steering dampener.
Edelbrock 2701 intake and 600cfm carb kit
Valve covers
Double roller timing set
Water pump
Oil pan gasket
33in x 10.50in KO2s white letters out...80s style
New bumpers and grille off LMC
Lots of stuff rolling in

I want everything completed in about a month and will figure out paying for it later.

 

[75gmck25]

On my ‘75 the NP203 transfer case support has lots of exhaust space on one side and much more limited on the other. Had to carefully position 2 1/4” pipe so it would not bang against the case support or rest on the transfer case. One company in Texas now sells a W-shaped support that provides more space, but I did not try it.

If you use full band clamps on the pipes for the h-pipe you will be able to pull it out if you need more space to service the drivetrain. I also used them on the mufflers to make it easier to swap. Bonus - My H-pipe also serves as a driveshaft loop if I get carried away and something breaks.

In the past, nobody sold an off the shelf 2 1/2” exhaust system for a 4WD squarebody. And the ones for 2WD were expensive (maybe $500 for 2 1/2” vs $150 for a typical Walker 2 1/4” set of pipes).

Space for headers is tighter on the drivers side because of the automatic transmission linkage, and I think it’s also hard to work around mechanical clutch linkage. If you look at the stock iron manifolds and pipes you can easily see that the pipe “geometry” is much different between sides.

 

[TDoc]

I used this 2 1/4” kit with stock manifolds on my k5 blazer. It’s a universal kit designed to work on c10 k10, etc. this kit is for headers so getting it to work with manifolds required some cutting and welding.

Header back kit:

Advance Auto Parts - Down for Maintenance

Here’s the manifold back kit:

Dynomax Performance 89003 Dynomax Dual Kits | Summit Racing

Free Shipping - Dynomax Dual Kits with qualifying orders of $109. Shop Exhaust Systems at Summit Racing.

www.summitracing.com

I used 2 of these mufflers. They are very quiet at cruise but sound good at WOT. https://www.summitracing.com/parts/aph-xs1255

xc_hide_links_from_guests_guests_error_hide_media

 

[CalSgt]

I figured: 2.5in all the way just for the sake of simplicity.

There's an H pipe too? I will do some research on that as well. I had a friend mention that it could make things more difficult to work on. Like suppose you needed to take the transmission out. I didn't think of that.

lol, it will be a job pulling that big iron 4 Speed no matter what exhaust is on it