69 Side Pipe Cover Installation HELP

[Alexandra #40022]

Hi all,

Been spending all day installing 69 side pipes on my vette (its an early 70 vette). Just something that Ive always wanted to do......but Im trying to preserve everything as best as I can, so I can change it back to original if need be.

Ive installed the pipes (with only a couple of minor hassels to slow me down!)...but they are on and working.

Now Im trying to tackle the job of putting the side pipe COVERS on.
I didn't realise it would turn out to be this much of a hassel! (I kinda wish I left my car how it was

Anyway, onto my question........
None of the mounting holes seem to line up for one (with the rocker panel mounting holes)......and also I don't seem to be able to find any holes in the chassis to mount the front of the covers to! Did these front mounting holes only exist in original 69 sidepipe cars from factory? or did all cars have them?
or do I need to drill holes into my chassis?
(if this is the case this is exactly what I don't want....)

I tried to do my research before...and people were saying its all cool and fairly straight forward.....no mention of drilling all these new mounting holes!

Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks for your time.

Kind Regards,
Alex

[Jon S.]

Re: 69 Side Pipe Cover Installation HELP

I've never installed the side pipes/covers on a later car, but I've had them on and off my '69 frequently. My car is an original side pipe car, so I couldn't tell you if the holes are there on the non-sidepipe cars or not.

What I can tell you is how they are supposed to mount so you can make sure you've got all the pieces and parts. If the holes are there, it is a pretty straight forward installation. Maybe someone else can chime in and tell you if the holes will need to be drilled on your car.

I don't know what parts you have, so I'll list them all (from memory, so hopefully I don't miss anything). On an original cover setup there are 3 pieces to the cover (front, rear, center), and all three pieces attach to he insulator. The insulator is the part that has a lip that sticks out above the cover that actually attaches to the car under the door. Again, my car is an original side pipe car, so I don't know if the holes under the door are the same with or without sidepipes, but they should line up pretty easily if they are the same (plus, yours is a different year, so there may be some differences in the placement of the holes. If you do need to drill holes here, you can get a screw/nut kit from Paragon.

The insulator also has a metal plate attached to it toward the front. This plate wraps around the top of the pipe and attaches with two bolts to the frame. Again, if the holes are there, the line up should be pretty easy.

Toward the rear of the cover there should be an 'S' shaped bracket that attaches to the bottom of the cover (not the insulator), runs under the pipe, and attaches to the frame. This bracket and screws are also available from Paragon (and others).

One word of caution, I tried to replace one my insulator with a repro from Paragon, but the fit was awful. I spent many hours trying to finagle it to fit and was never able to get the holes to line up under the door and/or the metal bracket at the front that attaches to the frame. I ended up putting it on the shelf and repairing my original insulator. If you are using aftermarket reproductions, you might be running into problems like that.

Sorry I can't help with the actual placement of the holes, but hopefully this helps some.

Thanks,
Jon
#10673

[dick foehringer]

Re: 69 Side Pipe Cover Installation HELP

you have to put the covers on first. my 69 holes all lined up but you do have to trim the lower front fender. did you do that? i tried bolting the pipes up first but couldnt get the cover to wrap around the muffler. i still ended up cutting one rear mounting bracket off and re welding it onto the muffler. was off about 3/4". i havent fired up the 427 yet but the pipes look great. im sure ill regret putting them on as they get louder with age....

[Barry Chappell]

Re: 69 Side Pipe Cover Installation HELP

Here is a page from the '70 AIM. It may be of some help.

Barry

[Alexandra #40022]

69 Side Pipe Cover Installation HELP

Thanks for your help everyone...I really appreciate it.

Ive mounted the pipes and they fit fine........tried to mount the covers over the pipes but they don't line up.

Im thinking I will need to take the pipes off and mount the covers first or something? (as one of you suggested).
I also heard this from someone else (ofcourse after I had installed the pipes!).

The more I look at the AIM diagram and the more I look at the car, and the pipes and covers,...the more I get a better idea on how it all fits together......

Its all a learning curve..and thats why I bought my vette...to enjoy and learn
more and more things about these awesome cars.

I bought the covers (and insulators) used.....I don't know if they are original 69 or if they are factory reproductions. Is there a way to tell? (part numbers etc?).

Thanks again for your help.

Im sure I will have more questions when I try again to tackle the installation of the covers this week.

Cool!