Exhaust Fumes
 

A couple of weeks ago I ran over some new speed bumps, two closely spaced on a local road going 30 MPH in my Victoria. The speed bumps were so shallow as to be not easily recognizable, but they were high enough to make my Victoria airborne. There was no obvious damage to the car.

Last Sunday I was cruising along a parkway at 50 MPH going to a club activity 40 miles away. When I arrived at the activity, I noticed the smell of exhaust fumes. I was a bit dizzy when I got out of the car. I looked under the hood and saw no visual evidence of an exhaust leak, and there was no sound to indicate a leak either. I drove home with all of windows open, and still no evidence of a leak except for the fumes.

A day later I crawled under the car and found the tailpipe had gotten above the rear axle. The tailpipe was driven and bent up to the body by the rear axle when the suspension went full travel going over the speed bumps.
The reason for this post is to make you aware, if the suspension in your Model "A" goes full travel for any reason, check for exhaust pipe / muffler damage because it could cause exhaust fumes to get into the car.

By the way, the muffler assembly on my Victoria was on the car since 1993 when I acquired it, so it is 30+ years old. I have a new Aries muffler assembly on the way from Snyder's.

Re: Exhaust Fumes
 

I'm sorry that happened, Bob.

A stock size/shape exhaust system (muffler) should end slightly in front of the rear axle. Therefore, even at full articulation, the exhaust and the axle should never make contact. Unless the exhaust pipe was extended like on some of the commercial models, there's no way the rear axle and exhaust tubing should ever meet each other.

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Inexpensive insurance...

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A year or so, driving on a state highway at 45-50 mph, bang , we hit a bump where the concrete expands pushed up several inches, broke a radiator support rod and cracked a fender ! 40 miles from home and very slowly drove home( was worried about the fan hitting my new radiator with only one rod and the broken one held together with duct tape

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Bob, You will love your new Aries muffler assembly. Did you get the performance model? Some members have reported problems with the stainless steel one.

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I have been using the Aries Stainless for about 5 years and no problems.

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Really neat, i wish i could buy some on this side of the pond. Maybe next time i am in the us.
Thanks for the tip...

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Aries : some suggestions ; had to bend the up pipe end slightly to align with manifold, painted the non .ss. with 1200 deg F paint, used muffler cement and no gaskets, etc. at manifold = no leaks.

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On my Huskster I routed the exhaust pipe past the axle and exited to the right to reduce fumes entering from the rear. I am currently testing CO in the truck with a home carbon monoxide tester hooked up to 12-volt inverter. So far the numbers recorded are very low surprisingly. I was concerned this truck was killing off brain cells, but that was not the case.

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I was getting an exhaust smell inside the passenger compartment of my '31. Turns out that sometime in the past someone had run over something (I don't remember doing it) and put a gash on the bottom of the muffler right at the front where the straight section connects to the bell. I fabricated a patch out of some sheet metal I had, welded it on, and the problem went away. My navigator was much happier too.

Re: Aries: Joe Davis (the owner) sets up a booth at many of the regional and national meets, especially on the west coast. If you contact him prior to the meet he'll bring a muffler for you and won't charge shipping. He did this for me for Turlock last January. I don't know if he's going to Ruidoso.

Might not help you too much, TomInCologne.

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I installed the Aries black steel muffler in my Victoria, and I had two issues to overcome. First, the original tail pipe clamp was too small in diameter to fit the Aries pipe. I used a pipe expander to enlarge the clamp so that it fit loosely on the Aries pipe. Second I put a copper seal in the pipe to manifold joint, but the added thickness would not allow the clamp to fit properly. I discarded the seal and put the clamp on as it was originally (authentically).
Today I will be test driving the Victoria to leak check the exhaust system.

By the way, I attached the stickers that come on the Aries muffler. I should have heeded the sticker regarding the seal right off. It took my 81-year-old body a day and a half to install the Aries muffler while working in the 80F+ hot sun on my blacktop driveway. I am prone to sun stroke & dehydration, so I worked in 15 to 20 minute intervals and sat down for the same amount of time in between. I put Doo Wop tunes on to set an enjoyable mood in the garage and I drank lots of berry flavored water.

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I made sure the clamp was no too tight as they suggest, but still get that tic, tic,tic
noise after running her. It's not bad but noticeable.

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Bob, It is OK to use the floor jack to hold the tail pipe up when you install the clamp, but back off the floor jack and rock the tail pipe back and forth to get the correct seat on the manifold as you tighten the clamp.

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nkaminar, I used 2 floor jacks to install the Aries. One jack on the front axle to get the car up on a block so I could fit under the running board, and a second jack to raise the front pipe of the Aries into the exhaust manifold.
I must say that the Aries muffler is the first one I installed that I did not have to reform clamp flange as shown in the slide.
The test drive was successful, no leakage and no ticking noise. I sense that the Aries muffler has given my engine some added power. Throttle response seemed better than usual.

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Hello Bob, as always I enjoy your professional drawings. I am too lazy with this job. There is a product called Muffler Weld, Repair and Sealer made by Versal Hem, part no. 00103. The auto parts stores carry it. It comes in a 4 in.round can about 1 in. thick. I use this stuff as a sealant between the exhaust manifold and the pipe. It provides a leak free seal. The nice thing about this stuff is that when you have to replace the muffler, the sealant is very brittle and cleans up quickly. Ed

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Thanks for the tip Ed.