Exhaust Fumes

[P.S.]

Originally Posted by Bob Bidonde

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.

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.