A review of what's gone - period 240Z exhausts

[Arne]

As a follow up to the thread discussing the discontinuation of the Monza period-style exhaust for the 240Z, I thought I would post some info and pictures of some of the various true period and later period-style exhausts that used to be offered for the 240Z.

First, a couple of definitions. Back in the '70s, many of these exhausts were offered in sections. You'll see references to front, center and rear sections, as well as complete systems. In general, the rear was the part that replaced the rear muffler, and the center section was from the stock downpipe back to the rear muffler. The center section generally included a resonator, but not always. The front section was the headpipe or downpipe. Many systems did not offer a replacement downpipe, their center section attached to the factory downpipe instead. So most often, a "complete" system was just the center and rear sections.

Also note that the true period pieces did not use mandrel bends back in the day, that is a relatively recent development, as is aluminized pipes for longer life. Also note that none of these were larger than 2" pipe diameter, and many were actually smaller at 1 3/4" or 1 7/8". Again, that was pretty standard for that time.

The pictures below are either quick snaps from period magazines that I own (mostly '70s R&T), or in a few cases picked out of other threads. As I get time, I'll try to replace these with cleaner scans and better photos as I can find them.

So, in alphabetical order...

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First up - Abarth

Abarth was built in Italy (as were many of these systems). It very typical for the Italian-made exhausts for 240Zs (as we will see as we continue). The center section had a small resonator, the rear muffler was a small oval hanging vertically with twin resonated tips. The rear hanger appears to be a bit unique.

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Next - Ansa

Here are pictures of the classic Ansa system. Note that the rear section was really not intended to be used separately, but always shown with the center section as a system. It has the now classic dual vertical resonated tips that many today consider an Ansa trademark. (Not so, as we'll see throughout this thread.)

Ansa made several changes to appearance and pipe bends throughout production, but all were fairly similar in basic design.

Ansa was made in Italy.

The Ansa parts have been discontinued for quite some time, although NOS parts do show up now and then.

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Clifford

The Clifford exhaust was a true dual exhaust system. (a.k.a. Twice Pipes) They were designed to connect to the twin collectors on their Clifford 6-into-2 headers. This system was made here in the USA, and was also offered through the Datsun Competition catalog via the dealer parts department.

Things to note - the Clifford had a pair of glass-pack mufflers at the very end, mounted vertically, with chrome tips. There were no true center resonators at all, but some drawings appear to show an additional pair of glasspacks in the pipes that go across the car just behind the rear suspension. It was possible to order a pair of straight pipes to replace the mufflers for competition use. (Race tracks had no dB limits back then. The sound must have glorious!)

Note that the current "Twice Pipes" offered by MSA are not at all the same. Those apparently ship with a Y-pipe at the front to split a single exhaust to dual, and the dual rear mufflers and tips are oriented horizontally, not vertically.

The Clifford was only available as a complete system, not as separate sections. Indeed, it was most often packaged with the header to which it was designed to connect.

Clifford stopped production on these (both header and exhaust) quite some time ago. While the company still exists, they no longer have the tooling or specs, and so no re-issue is likely.

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Daytona

Daytona was another Italian exhaust company, a bit lesser known than Ansa, but often considered by those who had used both to be a bit higher quality and longer lasting than the Ansa. They may have been somehow related to Abarth, but that connection (if any) is not clear today. Here in the USA they were distributed exclusively through Al Cosentino's FAZA company, who also had strong Abarth ties. Al (who apparently passed away in 2009) was quite an eccentric character, which made buying Daytonas a bit of an adventure. Seldom seen on 240Zs, what few pictures I found confirmed my memory that they looked much the same as the Ansa. The only confirmed pictue I found was of the rear section, which shows dual vertical tips, apparently resonated.

It is unclear whether Daytona as a company still exists, solid info is tough to find. The website that Al had up for some time now seems to indicate that FAZA has a new owner, but gives no details and looks like a placeholder. No idea whether any old product for Datsuns might still be available, but it seems unlikely at this point.

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Monza

The most recently available of the period-style exhausts, the Monza was discontinued by Pacesetter (the parent company) in 2008. The final 240Z parts dried up this Spring.

The Monza was a modern interpretation of the classic Italian style exhaust. It consisted of a center and rear section, and had the ubiquitous dual vertical resonated tips with a center resonator. But it was a more modern system, at least near the end of its life, having mandrel bends and aluminized tubing.

The Monza was made in the USA, and the design of the rear section and tips changed several times throughout production.

Recently, I found that Monza also made a rear section as a separate part at some point, designed as a replacement for the stock 240Z rear muffler. The part pictured below is one of them, and it had a 1 3/4" inlet to mate up with the stock 240Z piping. The twin tips incorporate glass-packed resonators.

Edited February 9, 2011 by Arne

[Arne]

Stebro

While they certainly looked Italian, Stebros were made in Canada. (And still are for some high-end and exotic cars.) As shown in the attached ad, they were distributed in the USA by BAP/Geon. The one shown in the ad (both the rear muffler and the smaller image of the 240Z) have twin horizontal tips. I do not know if there were any other designs available.

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Supersprint

Like Ansa, Supersprint still exists today, although they haven't built anything for a 240Z in many years. Supersprint is another Italian maker, who offered yet another variation on the classic Italian exhaust.

The Supersprint system (at least in the late '70s, when these ads were printed) used three bullet mufflers, probably glass-packed. One in the center section, and then a pair at the very rear with short chrome tips. The second picture below appears to show the rear mount and that the dual rear mufflers and tips were mounted vertically as was typical for 240Z.

I've seen pictures (but can't find any right now) that seem to show that later Supersprints may have had a single rear muffler with dual vertical tips, similar to how Monza did it. Can't confirm that right now.

Modern Supersprint ads frequently make note that they apparently have what they call an "Archival Tooling Program" and to contact them about that for info on out-of-production systems. I've tried to inquire about that several times over the past 3 years, with absolutely no response.

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Targa

The Targa system was sold as recently as 3-5 years ago, notably by MSA. It was apparently made here in the USA, and was a very close replica of the Ansa system, but with mandrel bends and aluminized pipes. It was available as a complete system, or as the rear section only. As we would expect by now, dual vertical resonated tips.

Not sure who built the Targa system, but I suspect it may have been Thunderbird, which is part of the Pertronix family. Thunderbird now offers only air-cooled VW exhausts, but seems to me they used to have a broader range than that. In any case, the Targa is apparently no more.

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Velocé

Not much is known these days about the Velocé system. I found it mentioned in numerous ads in the mid-70s, but only this one rather small image, and a poor image at that. Velocé was apparently yet another Italian maker, and their exhaust appears to have followed the normal pattern of center resonator and rear muffler. The image appears to show horizontal tips, but it is not certain if that was truly the case or not. More info would be needed to confirm that. Info that is probably not forthcoming.

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That's all for now, I'll add to this if/when I get any more info.

Edited April 8, 2010 by Arne

[Zedyone_kenobi]

wow, just wow, great history there. Glad I picked up an ASNA before they were all gone. But a great story none the less. My fall back was going to be the Monza, but thats no more.

[70z4fun]

Great job,

I had the Clifford System for many years, until the glass packs went. I bought my car in 1979, and purchase the system through Bob Sharp Datsun. I still have the headers on the car, with a Abarth muffler, so you can add that to your list of manufactures that had a system for our cars.

I am looking forward to going back to the dual system in the future, but I will wait until the Abarth goes bad.

Thanks for the great write up.....

Bob

[Arne]

Abarth added to the first post. Looking for pictures and more details now. Thanks for reminding me of them, Bob.

[madkaw]

Arne,

great info as always. I have made my own "clifford" system with one exception, I put a crossover pipe between the the duals. I also used glasspacks. I wish I could play some sound for you, but the car is still in the paint shop.

[JonnyRock]

I'm assuming the Abarth you refer to is the famous tuning firm noted for racing Fiats (and now wholly owned by Fiat)?

[70z4fun]

As Ed use to say,

You are correct sir......

Enjoy

Bob

[suzook86]

OK, now that I'm thourghly depressed what's left? Currently I'm running a modern sys MSA header, 2.5" pipe, and Dynomax. But back in the day I had an Ansa on my 260, and I raced anything on Hwy 20 heading to Tahoe. Man, the sound echoing through the forest was like music, made you feel ten foot tall and bullet proof. Ooops, got that mixed up with the stupidity of youth. The best run ever was a humbling encounter with a very fast wide bodied BMW 2002 (with ski rack). We diced and had fun from I-80 thru the forest till the road opened up, at which point, he waved and was gone, very fast Bimmer. Damn Alzheimers . . . so what's left Twice Pipes?

[Arne]

In pre-built, ready to bolt on systems? As far as I know, just MSA's Twice Pipes (which have horizontal tips which—to me—look stupid hanging below the 240Z valance) and their various 2.5" systems w/Dynomax. So really nothing that I'd call period-style, nor anything that has the sound of the old Italian glass-packed systems. I'm still waffling on what I'm going to do on mine.

[ainokoz]

Not sure if this counts, but last year I was able to get a hold of a new, out of production TRUST header and dual exhaust system from Japan. My mechanic at Shinzo Auto Service installed them yesterday and called me because he was worried that I might not like it because of the loudness. He revved the engine over the phone and it was awesome. I'm heading down there this weekend to see and hear it in person. Shinzo said that it sounded just like his race-prepped 240--which put a very big smile on my face:) Here are some photos.

[=Enigma=]

In pre-built, ready to bolt on systems? As far as I know, just MSA's Twice Pipes (which have horizontal tips which—to me—look stupid hanging below the 240Z valance)

What about just cutting off the tips, rotating them 90 deg, and welding them back on? I haven't looked at these so I don't know if it feasible. Just a thought. You wouldn't get that slashed look but it's better than horizontal tips on a Z.