Yep, when I first installed the 56 in a Score I looked at that muffler hanging down below the fuselage and thought about the bad things that could happen if I were to pancake it. That's when I ordered the proper tap and made a steel bending jig out of a couple pieces of junk I had laying around. Have been bending them for every airplane I've built since.
I've posted a couple threads on bending the pipe but not sure which forum and/or if they are still around. If I can find them I'll see if I can't provide a link, if it's on this forum maybe I get one of the moderators to move it.
Edit... Was unable to find the main post, all I could find was buried in other threads so lets start over...
This is the bending jig but since this photo was taken I added a piece of 1/4" drill rod about 3/8 inch long to fit down in the pipe when I screw the thing together. To make the jig I ordered two M10X1 taps and ground one down to make a bottoming tap.
Basically I screw the pipe into the short piece which is held in a vice. Fill the pipe with fine sand, insert the drill rod and screw on the handle. The small piece of drill rod insures the sand is and stays packed tight in the tube. If the sand is allowed to move it might just as well not be there. Once everything is ready I heat the pipe with my torch and bend away.. Pretty easy actually, it only bends where the heat is applied and other than a bit of discoloring the pipe isn't damaged.