Whenever one takes on this type of work, one can have high expectations that end up being shot down when the reality sets in. Such is the case when it comes to building an exhaust system from a random batch of parts. Trying to fit things with the hope of not having to do too much work ends up being a fruitless endeavor. When I started off with the advanced exhaust system on the Elco, I started off by chopping the excess pipe from the mufflers, so I can weld on some straight sections of pipe and test fit the mufflers to see what I would have to do next in the construction of the system. I ended up digging out a couple lengths of fence post that happened to be the exact 2" diameter needed to fit in the flared ends of the elbows on the exhaust manifolds. After cutting the excess pipe from the mufflers, I welded the lengths of post pipe to them, then started the test fitting. This whole thing ended up being the beginning of the circus. The first thing I found was that the mufflers, by sitting in the muffler valleys, would require what amounts to an S-pipe attached to the input side. Since the input would be blocked by the floor of the car, the S-pipe would angle down and back straight to run along the floor. The pipe I cut off the mufflers yielded S-pipe pieces that I could use, so on the left side (the side I'm working first), I cut off the fence post I welded on and welded the short S-pipe piece that was cut, then welded the fence post back on at the other end of the S-pipe. The test fitting continued, as did the BS. The test fitting had me ending up having to add another S-pipe piece at the front of the straight run, to line the pipe up with the output from the elbow, as things weren't as straight as one would've thought by just looking at it. The S-pipe at the front was what was needed at this point to allow the muffler to sit up in the muffler valley while still running straight along the bottom of the floor and still go straight into the flared end of the elbow. At this point I had to mount the hanger for the system. At first I was going to clamp the strap at the output side of the muffler but because of the location of the muffler, the strap would have to go at the front of the muffler, with the muffler essentially hanging from the end of the pipe. I drilled a hole through the floor where I was able to place a bolt, washers and nut through the strap and on the inside of the floor to hold the strap, and the exhaust system, in place securely. With this side done, I can move to the right side, better able to approach the job with the knowledge of what I went through. Hopefully I can get the system assembled quicker by just cutting the pieces I'll more likely need and just start assembling and test fitting the system with those pieces already in place. Once that's all done and the exhaust system as a whole complete, I can move back into the engine bay. On a lighter note, there won't be any extra pipe on the end of the mufflers since their position puts the outputs just in front of the rear end, so I really couldn't even add axle pipes if I had them, so for the time being, we will be rolling with this seemingly incomplete system. I'll have to replace the mufflers with something smaller and different that would allow for something like side exhaust pipes, like mufflers with input and outputs on the same side. Shorter mufflers would place the output further away from the axle to allow for axle pipes.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Archives
May 2023
|