Technical A Kid's First Project: 1957 Fairlane 500 Town Victoria.

One reason having it reliable before hopping it up is that each change needs to be monitored for improvement. If it isn't the same each time, you don't know if the change made it better or it was just happenstance. Ask any good racer and they will tell you make one change at a time for this reason. Glad that you are diving into this project, continuing to learn, overcoming issues and taking advice.

 

late posting but Tuesday im calling a different exhaust shop to get a different quote for duals, as the one i initially planned on using refuses to give ANY form of quote up front (usually a sign for $$$) and i'll ask the other two my dad has used before, they are old guys so they will be familiar with doing duals on a car like this.

 

I wanted my exhaust done in one day, I got hit with a $700 bill and later found some half-assed stuff. Scratch that shop off my list. It came highly recommended.

The alignment we did at a friend's shop the eve of my 2016 heart attack, had nothing to do with although the job was tough. It came out well.

 

i'll gladly wait a few days for a quality but cheap job

 

now ive been driving it around, i just noticed the hood doesnt shake and flop like the old one, i really was playing with fire with that old hood.

tomorrow im driving back into town to get an estimate on exhaust work, the initial shop i went to quoted me 550 as a starting price, with me providing mufflers, hangers, and tips... ouch. another one my dad trusts quoted me 375 as a maximum for 2" clamp together, i'll gladly take that price.

 

Ask if they have done a full front to back on a vintage recently and ask to take a look at it. Look at the bends, the hangers, the flanges and overall workmanship. Is it nicely tucked up, do the bends fit the area, is it going to be removable for later floor/frame work without destroying it?

 

im going to show them these pictures and see if they can clone it

 

they are estimating today, hope their 375 was a good estimate!

 

Just remember a lot of shops don’t have the old bend cards for our old cars. They have to make it up as they go. That takes time, and time is money.

 

this shop somehow does, i unfortunately discovered the 30" smithys are too long, i forgot that it has to have space on either side. so now im getting 22" smithys and selling/finding use of the other ones

 

Use them on the Corvair.

 

thinking about it, would need to route the pipes in a way that it sticks right out the rear like afterburners!

 

Bōsōzoku
I will not post pics and get this locked down...

As far as replicating that system, you better get everything done around that area before a mostly welded system that goes over the axle and above the rear leafs get installed.

 

i know what youre talking about, that Japanese thing from the 80s? id just tuck most of it underneath and have little turn down tips right on the muffler

 

completely forgot to post this cool pic, i think that bronco is within the 1965 cutoff, im not a bronco guy though

 

Are/do they work late today? I’d think it’s close to quitting time in your area?

 

Nope, missed it by one year.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_Bronco

 

I will try and take pics of the exh. system that is going in my wagon next week. I am installing one just like your pics-I am using 22" Mello Tones.

 

that was from earlier, i forgot to post it

 

aw, didnt know that, still a cool old plow truck

 

I had short glasspacks on mine, then wanted something a little quieter. I wound up with 20" turbos which fit in front of the axle nicely.

 

these 22" glass packs will be perfect, summit cut me a deal too, i still haven't decided if i'll sell these or not, the downside to these is that i probably wont be able to sell them, as who else would buy a 30" glass pack?

 

hm, my coolant is black again. no bubbles or oil as a sign of a blown head gasket, if it sits for a day or two it turns green again. im assuming that the crud will be almost impossible to remove...

 

Maybe incompatible coolants were used at one time. Took me a lot of flushing after I had a similar issue.
This was maybe 20 years ago before green, red, etc could be mixed like some can today.

 

Might just be a lot of crud or Bars Leaks in the cooling system. Only flushing and time will tell.

 

You can get a pretty good flush going with a garden hose. Try to clean that old junk out as best you can, and refill the radiator with fresh coolant and water wetter. I typically buy the green concentrate and mix it 60/40 water to antifreeze. Use distilled water to refill, it's in the baby section of the grocery store or Walmart for like $1 a gallon.

 

I used to take those long 30" Cherry Bombs and cut a big section out of them and weld them back together into 12" cases. You'll find someone who will take them

 

its a new aluminum rad, i figured it would be clean? i think i need to have my entire cooling system power flushed like the manual says to do.