1955 Ford Ranch Wagon V8 Dual Exhaust Tail Pipes

[steve fritz]

Today I installed the header pipes on my 55 Ranch Wagon . Stock 272 V8.
All went fine. So now I am looking at sourcing some mufflers and tail pipes to finish the job. I called WALDONS EXHAUST , Centerville MI outfit. They have been bending pipes and selling Ford exhaust for years. They advertise in Hemmings , etc. I have had good luck with their products over the years.
Now here's my question.....according to John at WALDONS , the Ranch Wagon and Sedan Deliveries call for tail pipes that exit to the side behind the rear tire , below the lower quarter. That really surprised me and I told him I was not sure if I wanted to do that. My next question to him was why cant I just order passenger car tail pipes and get the exhaust routed out the back , which I really prefer. He wasn't sure if the wagon rear structure was different than the passenger cars , and couldn't tell me for sure that they would route through and over the top of diff to exit to the rear properly.
So , told him I would call back tomorrow and make a decision then. What do you Wagon/sedan del owners think about this? Is there a difference in those models that would prevent using rear outlet , passenger car , tail pipes??

One more question.....does anybody have the overall and body length of stock 55 Ford mufflers for dual exhaust???

Thanks for any comments from wagon owners on my main question here.
Steve

[Jwawhite]

Steve, I wrote briefly on this topic about my 56 Wagon. My rear bumper has cut outs and the rear dumper tips bolted to it. The pipes do rout over the differential.

My rear upper tailgate window has a minor leak and I could smell exhaust fumes in the cab.

I decided to disconnect the exhaust pipes from the tips and have them (pipes) come out the sides.

Looking closely at the "clamshell designed" dumper tips, I noticed exhaust was not only exiting out the tip but also at the seams.... above the seems is a hollow area of the 1/4 panel and floor pan. Adding to the fumes in cab?

I don't think it's a good idea to have Dumpers on the rear of the Wagon, the rear creates a vacuum.

[poolplayer1]

When I first got my 55 ford ranch wagon some 25 yrs ago,the tail pipes were sticking out the rear past the bumper. When driving down the road at high speeds,I would always notice exhaust fumes inside the wagon,which I didn't like.I drove it like that for about 2 years until I was talking to a mechanic that knew alot about fords. I told him the problem I was having with the exhaust and he told me to take it to a muffler shop and have them re-route the tailpipes with like a 90 degree turn and coming out just behind the tires.
After I had that done,no more exhaust fumes inside the wagon and that felt good when driving down the road at any speed.

[Jwawhite]

My exhaust system was installed by a shop for my 302 Mustang driveline. The stock heatshields almost covers the length of the new mufflers and they rout through the stock eyelids in frame. The pipes travel outside the rear shocks.

[paul2748]

I think you will notice that on almost all Ford wagons the exhaust pipe made a turn just past the rear wheel. I guess the engineers found out that if the pipes went straight back, exhaust would enter the cabin, especially when the window was open..

[54vicky]

Sponsored Links (Register now to hide all advertisements)

it is due to the low pressure allowing the exhaust travel up on wagons.not just a Ford thing all makes suffer the same thing.

[58Yeoman]

It's not just on Fords. My 58 Chevy wagon has them out the rear, and I can smell exhaust in the car. Being that I only drive it in the summer, I just open the fresh air vents. But, one of these days, I'll route them to come out behind the rear tire like they should be.

[Daves55Sedan]

Well, JWA, somebody has swapped the original bumper on your '56 wagon for a '56 Fairlane bumper. None of the station wagons came from the factory with the Fairlane bumper (EVEN if the wagon was a Fairlane model). All the wagon models had the Customline/Mainline rear bumper.
Due to the way the back of the car is shaped, exhaust fumes will roll forward if the tailpipes exit the back of the car. The factory bent the tailpipes out and exited at the side under the rear quarter. You really should change your tailpipes to exit out the side to avoid becoming asphyxiated by carbon monoxide fumes.

[JimNNN]

My '54 RW comes out the back, but it's a single exhaust, a year earlier, and possibly not the original exhaust system.

I thought I'd check advertisements and brochures for '55, but it kind of looks like Ford didn't like to put unsightly tailpipes in artists' renderings. So I thought a TV commercial from back in the day might be more revealing. This one seems to provide the information you're looking for. I'm guessing the Ranch Wagon in the ad would be typical for most new cars back then.



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fwe_uNdBGpA


So it looks like your exhaust guy is kind of right, but maybe not entirely. The pipes seem to flair out to the side at the rear quarters, but more just before the rear bumper than right after the rear wheels.

[Dana Barlow]

I've had a few wagons ,although I like the design,looks wise of the bumper EX port. It's a love hate thing from rust of bumper to EX leaking back in.
So have redone on each wagon I had ,so EX tips come out behind rear wheel=has seemed to work well that way,but not as pretty.

[JimNNN]

Originally Posted by Dana Barlow

It's a love hate thing from rust of bumper to EX leaking back in.

Yeah, that's a good point. I presume the '55's had a tailgate window that would lock-tighten open like my '54. Before the days of (common) air conditioning it might've been common to prop the thing open and drive down the street that way. Sort of a carbon monoxide hazard, so maybe that's why they put the tail pipes coming out the side (???)



Anyway, to see the original tailpipe setup in the TV ad in my post, you'll have to paste the link to the browser. Fordbarn wouldn't let me do a direct youtube link (easily, anyway.)

[My Old Blue]

I placed an order with Waldron's on my 56 Country Sedan few weeks ago. 8 week lead. I have 57' manifolds on the 312 and hope all fits well and made sure I mentioned out the sides on tail pipes for good measure..

[Hot Rod Reverend]

I installed a set of pipes from Waldron's in 1992... still running the same set of duals with no leaks. Great people to work with.