VCCA Home Forums TECHNICAL - 1945 AND NEWER 1949-1954 Good source for '54 210 complete exhaust?

Hi,

I just acquired a '54 210 needing complete exhaust. The best price I've found is $242 including shipping from National Chevy Association http://www.nationalchevyassoc.com/.

Any other sources I ought to check? And, if that's the best price I'm going to find (hope not), have any of you done business with these folks before?

Thanks, Chris

I don't know about the pricing ,but NCA has been around for quite a while and they do a good job on the years they service. I have purchased from them for my 51 and have been satisfied with most items I received. On the ones I wasn't they handled the return promptly with no problems.

Thanks Steve, that's good to hear!
Chris

nat.chevy,chevs of 40s filling staion are all reputable companys but wouldnt the shipping cost be rather high try your local muffler shops and see what they come up with if the exhaust pipes are simillar to my 50 it would be a piece of cake to do there not that many bends and a good muffler shop could it do in no time best of all if you have anything left of the old exhaust system that would be a plus thats what i would try first and that comes from first hand experience,just my thoughts others might have a different opinion good luck

a lot of your good parts stores say like napa can still order parts for older cars try them first you might be surprised at what is available andy

Check ebay, there is a guy on there selling exhaust systems pretty reasonable. I bought one from him and am very happy with it. I think it was $171 for my 37 chevrolet. Can't remember the name but he has several ads on ebay.

I got a system for my '50 from National Chevy Assc. I was very happy with it. They are close to me so I just stop and pick up parts and don't have to ship. Good people.

I agree! Not only will you save shipping, but I have found that most times the cost will also be less.

Thanks for all the good suggestions. I had already checked parts houses such as NAPA, O'Reilly, CarQuest, and all the others. There's a local guy who fabricates, but he's a little funny to deal with. I checked out the eBay seller, and he had good feedback but his system was $212 without hangers or donut, and one month estimated ship time. For an extra $30 through NCA I would get hangers and donut (which I need, have it in a few days from the "specialists". I appreciate the good reviews of NCA, that helps. Thinking back, I guess I've never had to shop for complete exhaust before, for any of my cars old or new. So now I can't say that anymore.

Although you can sometimes save money fabricating your own exhaust, sometimes it better to bite the bullet and buy a system made for your car. NAPAs ok but they have a limited number of items for old cars. I bought a complete system from National Chevy and was quite happy with it also. You get a better fitment with a system designed for your car and the hangers and fittings available for it. You're next door to the Twin Cities, so maybe you could make a little field trip down there, meet the nice folks, and save the shipping costs?? After all, how many times are you going to replace an exhaust system for a pleasure driver?

Good luck.

My local mechanic [he's a young guy in his mid 40's ] has a pipe bending machine and he made mine up for the '31 four yrs ago. Not original but a very good fit, reasonable, and I'm happy. Will do the same for my '49. Didn't know about National Chevy but am gonna run down there this year to check on the interior for my '49. Thanks for the tip.

You'll probably be happier with a local shop. They do whatever you'd like and there's less seams and clamps usually that a mail order / auto parts store kit. Midas and Merlin will do custom work but you have to make an appointment and be prepared to leave it there if they're really busy. Cost wise it will be equal or cheaper unless you want stainless.

Ended up getting the NCA exhaust. I left it with my mechanic at his shop, and was out of town looking at a car when he installed it. Got back, and he said it was a lot of grief. Manifold pipe was too long and too low, and threw everything off. Tailpipe was wrong bend. He could have stopped when he realized it was wrong, but instead went ahead and got out the torch and spent an extra few hours making it fit. I contacted NCA, and asked them to speak with my mechanic. They did, but wouldn't admit that there was anything at all wrong with the pipes. My mechanic has been working on cars for the last 60 years, and he knows what he's talking about. Anyway, NCA gave me a few bucks back, but it really bugged me that they wouldn't admit the exhaust was wrong. Moving on...

I have never had any problems with NCAs parts,but,I have heard stories of issues with their exhaust systems.I'll just buy the muffler from them and have a muffler shop copy the pipes that are there.

I had the same experiance with my 53 a few years back, after crawling around on thr floor of the garage (one of the reasons that I bought a four post lift) I didn't like the fit. i tool the car to a local muffler shop, he put the car on a lift and started using the torch, the next day I picked the car up, paid $150 to NCA for the complete exhaust kit, worked a full day under the car and paid the muffler shop $50. The muffler man said he would have custom built and installed exhaust system for $150! Never again will I order a generic exhaust system. Always check out your local vendors and shops, before sending dollars out of state. (JMHO)

Sorry you had so much trouble. The complete system I bought from NCA bolted right in and everything lined up. Maybe they changed suppliers or there was a lemon in the bunch. Too bad they didn't make it right with you.

You might talk to Sharon and Jeff--the owners. I bet they would make it right.

Good luck.

You know even being a welder and and fabricator, there are still some things I just prefer to "delegate" to someone else I trust.
Find one that folks say "he knows what he's doing" and "let it go"...And then use that time doing something that gives you more satisfaction...! My wife comes to mind...! lol

Over in that other Chevy forum there has been a lot of comment about the fit of NCA systems.

I bought an NCA system for my '53 convertible. The worst problem area was that first down pipe from the manifold. It touched the lip at the bottom of the block, where it meets the oil pan. And no shorty pipe inside the donut, so it leaked. Also in a convertible, it is real tight alignment to come through the X frame before the muffler. If I moved the down pipe out so it didn't touch the oil pan lip, then the system touched the frame. Fought rattles against the frame, leaks, and alignment issues for a while - eventually gave up, had a new down pipe bent at a local shop and we re-adjusted everything at great length, and now all is well. Basically would have been cheaper and a lot less frustrating to just have the new system bent from scratch.

styleline51,

It may also be that the contractor that builds the kits for NCA used a 1951 exhaust system for a patternfor their "one Kit fits all 1949 - 1954" cars.

Very good point Mr. Mack.
Somebody should point this out to the folks at NCA.
As my previous post, the owners should get a friendly, "by the way..." Having a 51 I guess I lucked out.
Cheers,

NCA is not alone when it comes to non-fitting exh systems. I purchased systems for my 32 and 51 each from a different supplier and both had to be reworked to fit. The only system that bolted in was the replacement on my 32 from Parks Pipes.

Hi Chris,
One thing to keep in mind when reading the negative feedback on these suppliers, is that most if not all really do want to know when something goes wrong and will honestly try to make it right. Despite the complaints about National Chevy, I have found them decent to deal with. The same holds true with the Filling Station. I bought some wheel bearings from F.S. a while back and they didn't fit my car. When I called to complain, the owner--Steve Karras took them back and promptly refunded my money. It's important to explain clearly and calmly what went wrong.A little courtesy goes a long way.

With NCA, if you contact Sharon or Jeff (the owner), they will try to work with you.
I've also been very happy with Chevs of the Forties.
Good luck.

I have always had good relations with NCA, except the fit of their complete exhaust system for the 1953 Belair 2 door sedan.

You mean NCA is so stupid they can not get 2 pieces of pipe bent right. Good thing they do not sell corvettte systems.