Shadowman IMPORTANT Stainless Works News

Let me begin by saying that what I am about to share is about a product however it is also a wonderful example of a company that cares; the following information is an example of one company's desire to make better a product rather than simply accept mediocrity because they desire to offer only the best. I always say; problems do not concern me it is the manner in which they are dealt with that I monitor and care about.

FYI; I presently have the Stainless Works exhaust system installed on my gal; their system with the small metal bed cats integrated as I have encouraged many others to do so too. I enjoy both the looks and the sound of the system "HOWEVER" when The GT Guys were out here they also installed two of the systems and during this process we chatted about the manner in which the "H" pipe was secured. Dennis shared that the thermal expansion of the system maybe enough to cause stress to the mounting brackets over time; his comment was based on the known expansion characteristics of the OEM system which is very extreme. I said that because of it being a freer flowing system and the small metal bed cats that the system would likely not fall prey to such a concern because it stays much cooler; or I should say; I was hoping that it would not. Regardless we all discussed a few ideas and then I simply kept them on the drawing board just in case.

Well a couple weeks ago ACR Joe made me aware that he had a mounting ear on the "H" crack; in fact come completely loose as such immediately the earlier conversation with The GT Guys played in my head. I called ACR Joe and he explained that Stainless Works were anxious and willing to correct the damaged "H" at no cost and also shared that they had made an improvement in the "H" pipe design. I then called Stainless Works and was told the same thing however the fix as they presented to me did not make much sense as such I called ACR Joe and asked him to do some testing once the new "H" pipe was received.

What we did was install the "H" pipe in the same location and manner but rather than tighten it into position he installed a longer 8mm 1.25 pitch bolt so that as the system got hot we could measure the growth if any. Well in the end the system grew 3/8" -1/2" when hot and then when cold came right back into position. He repeated this process for me several times as I had a fix in my mind but needed to confirm this activity.

FYI; throughout this process I continued my communication with Stainless Works and once I had a drawing of the proposed fix they reviewed it further and then immediately began the process of shipping me misc. hardware so I could do some dry fits and even more testing on this end. In addition I ordered a litany of hardware from McMaster Carr so that as many alternates as possible could be considered at the same time.

This brings me to today. I was on the phone with Gardner Spring and tomorrow I will have a conference call from them to confirm the usage of the final pieces that I want to integrate into the system thus IMO making this; an already stellar system even nicer.

In the meantime I feel that it is "IMPERATIVE" that all of you that have the Stainless Works system installed please look closely at the attached pictures because "UNTIL" the retro hardware kit is able to be shipped you need to do the following;

1.Remove your gal's rear license plate for access
2.Then remove the two bolts as shown in the picture that the "H" hangs on
3.Install two 8mm 1.25 pitch that are 1 1/2" long which are available at most hardware stores. Install them until they bottom out and are snug; they do not need to be overly tight as there is truly very little that they do.

By doing this you can drive your gal with "NO" concern until the retro kit is shipped. Once the retro kit is received all you have to do is remove the two bolts that were put into place for this interim fix and you will then install two studs, a machined collar, a spring and a self locking flange nut.

Now if you do not do this will you have a problem; maybe. I suspect that some of you will remain under the proverbial radar much like the half shaft bolt issue nevertheless IMO it only takes 10-15 minutes to complete the process as described above with only basic hand tools therefore IMO there is no reason not to do it. If by chance you find that your "H" has a crack then rest assured that Stainless Works will anxiously and quickly replace it at no charge.

I intend on shipping retro kits to all that I helped acquire the system however I ask for you to PM with current shipping information. Once I have completed the defining of the hardware to be used then this will become staple hardware with all systems that ship from Stainless Works. I am hoping to have the retro kits ready to ship by the end of the week as I have my machinist fabricating collars out of bronze at this time.

Let me know if I can answer any other question

Regards

Shadowman

paul b said:

Just checked my H pipe, bracket ripped the pipe on one side.

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Hi Paul

Call Jim in the morning and share that I encouraged it and I remain confident that he will have a replacement to you ASAP.

The policy is to ship a replacement in advance so that your gal remains on the road however once received they would like the original returned.

I am sorry that you fell prey to a failure however the corrective measures have been put into place.

I had my meeting today with Gardner Spring Co as such they took what I mocked up and the test data and now they have specified what they believe to be the proper spring for the job. I will have them in the morning and then once confirmed my machinist is ready with materials in hand to fabricate the bushings. Furthermore I chatted with Jay last night aka GTSaver.com and as the result of the conversation I added a Viton washer to the washer to the mix as well. They were ordered late last night from McMaster Carr and are expected tomorrow as well.

Now on to the issue of leaking header gaskets; uuugh I dare say that as was mentioned through the process of very thick flanges, multi-layer stainless steel gaskets, locking nuts that this will not be an issue. I have been installing quality headers on all sorts of Marque's over the past many years and can not remember the last time we had to replace header gaskets. Now if we were to roll back the clock 15 years then yes; it was fix on Friday....race on Saturday....... then repeat. Now why Ida had issues keeping hardware secure; I can only speculate but I would say that it was the hardware and nothing more. There is hardware out there that deals with heat cycling very well but sometimes the least expensive choice is the more expensive choice; only speculation. Furthermore when I hear providers make mention of heat cycling and then resulting issues as if they are a matter of fact I cringe because before a product comes to market it should be debugged. Yes; even in this case with Stainless Works however I give them a "thumbs up' because even though during testing I feel the ball was dropped they have remianed active through the retro process because "they care"

Now in closing; those that have the Stainless works system installed have nothing to worry about and for those considering which exhaust to choose; if a complete system is your cup-o-Joe then I feel that it is the only way to go however if cats back is your direction then there are a couple wonderful options to consider.

All the best

Shadowman

road racer said:

:confused Shadow, I have confused myself again (par for the course). I was planning on starting the installation of the Stainless Works headers tomorrow AM but then read your post above. I called Scott @ SW this morning and he told me they would ship out the new hanger kit today. I then read your most recent post re obtaining the final springs, etc. by the end of this week. I am concerned that their kit is a preliminary response that does not have the Shadowman's stamp of approval. My question is: Are the two of you working on one common new hanger kit? As long as their fix has your input, I'm a happy camper. By the way, I agree with your assessment that the SW people are quality folks. Thanks for steering me in their direction. :wink :thumbsup

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It is all good

Install the system and then call me and describe the spring setup and I will let you know. Even if they did not ship the latest version you can still install and enjoy your gal; simply follow my notes in this thread.

You are in for a treat

All the best

Shadowman

paul b said:

How about some kind of hanger set-up using rubber donuts?

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This was considered however there were two key factors during this process.

1. The movement of the exhaust when warm remains on a flat plane

2. We wanted the retro system to be something for both the exisiting and future systems

It was as the result of this that the setup as defined was created. FYI: the exhaust will remain in place even with no hangers on the "H" pipe; the hangers control vibration more than anything else

Thank you for your input

Regards

Shadowman

Well here we go

After several hours at the machine shop last night all of the bronze bushings and the special washers were all machined.

The pictures show the results of the effort. There are 4 bronze bushing for each system and as you can see two different styles.

1. One style bronze bushing was cut so as to be fit into the "H" pipe bracket thus indexing it and the other end was cut so as to index the spring

2. The other style brinze bushing was cut so as the index the spring

3. The washers were cut at .030 and they are to be positioned in-between the "H" pipe bracket and the transaxle so as to eliminate any initial start up squeak, These washers only serve a purpose for the first 30-45 seconds because the exhaust will move away from the transaxle almost immediately after which the washer is simply along for the ride

4. The springs were selected by Gardner Spring Company for there tension, service life, and ability to work within the heat range at this area

5. The studs are case hardened with a smooth center portion so that the bronze bushing can slide freely

6. The self locking nut designed for exhaust applications will retain the assembly and also create the slight initial preload on the spring

I will ship the retro kit out to those that I worked with through the purchase of the Stainless Works system and will also forward the final data points to Stainless Works so as they can create and forward similar retro kits from their end.

All the best

Shadowman

One last picture

Shadowman