Encyclopedia Hoonatica: Factory Side Pipes

EH-sidepipes
Side pipes were, at their genesis, an imperfect solution to a vexing problem. In many compact, low-slung vehicles with big engines (in other words, racing cars) there is often nowhere for those big, hot exhaust pipes to go under the floorboards, and thus they must be routed around the side the vehicle by necessity. Thus was the case with the 427 Cobra and the original Viper. But they have serious drawbacks for occupants: high door sills and, unless serious attention is given to guards and heat management, a very real burn danger. (Subsequent redesigns of the Viper have enclosed those calf-searing pipes inside the rockers, but they are still side pipes.) Because of these practical issues and because they were only considered stylish for a limited period of time in the 1960s and  ’70s, side pipes have not been widely utilized by car makers. But there are other examples of cars that were equipped by the manufacturer with exhibitionistic pipework along their flanks. And that is today’s Encyclopedia Hoonatica assignment: cars with factory side pipes.

    Specific Requirements:

  • Aftermarket pipes don’t count, but accessory pipes sold by the OEM as a dealer-installed accessory are okay.
  • We are looking for production vehicles: No concept cars, SEMA cars, or home-built specials.
  • Side pipes carry exhaust gasses; if you’re going to include some sort of fake side pipes, you’d best prepared a good argument to justify their inclusion.
  • Race cars don’t count, even if they were modified by the factory, unless they were made available for sale to privateers.

Difficulty: Get your fruit while they’re low-hanging. Zero to total obscurity in about 10 minutes flat.
How This Works: Read the comments first and don’t post duplicates. Adding photos with standard HTML is good, but shrink the big ones with width="500".
Image Source: Wikipedia, Hemmings.com

By Peter Tanshanomi

Tanshanomi is Japanese [単車のみ] for "motorcycle(s) only." Though primarily tasked with creating two-wheel oriented content for Hooniverse, Pete is a lover of all sorts of motorized vehicles.

0 thoughts on “Encyclopedia Hoonatica: Factory Side Pipes”
  1. These may not exactly be “side pipes” but they’re as close as we’re going to get in this era.
    ’12 & ’13 Boss 302. Came with a restrictor between the main pipe and dump. Ford offered difference sizes for varying loudness. Most just removed them. (Also available for the S197 4.6 from Ford Racing. And it rocks.)

    Dodge was supposed to offer on the Challenger as part of the Shaker kit. Came with remote valves and actually dumped out to a round exit. Sorry for the bad pic but it’s there.

  2. How has no one mentioned the Lotus 7 yet? Granted, the build quality in Hethel probably requires us to file this under home-built special.

    1. Um, sorry, but definitely NO. They were customizing shops, not production manufacturers. No different than any hot rod out there somebody slapped side pipes on.

      1. The Dodge Street Vans may have had the option from the factory as MOPAR was trying to get in on the action of van customization. Hard to tell without a catalog though.

    1. Side exit exhausts with only the tip visible count, right? Sorry for not shrinking the picture.

    2. It’s gotta count just look at that thing. It’s sexy as Hell. It would be missing somthing without those pipes sticking out the sides.

  3. The following small Renaults all had side pipes: R3, R4, R5 and R6.
    But the side pipes were not available on fast R5s or on the LeCar!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

The maximum upload file size: 64 MB. You can upload: image. Links to YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and other services inserted in the comment text will be automatically embedded. Drop files here