BUICK PORTHOLES (with a purpose?)

I was just wondering, off topic, has anyone ever seen or heard of running your exhaust out your portholes? I realize that it would be LOUD and lots of FUMES. Also you would need a car with 4 holes (for one each) or pair front and rear runners into last 2 holes on a 3 hole fender. I was looking at mine just a minute ago and only the last 2 are open into the engine bay, the front hole is hidden in the wheel well. I did knock out the caps at the end to vent the engine bay, so now there is at least some function to the aesthetics too.Steering column presents some difficulty on the drivers side, but the passenger is mostly open. Just wondering if it's already been done.

 

Sounds like a recipe for carbon monoxide poisoning to me. LOL. Also, you'd end up with a nice black stripe of soot and exhaust deposits down the side of your car. Other than that, it could be cool.

 

Just like a P-51! Cool!!

 

Sounds rat-er-riffic!

 

No, but in the late '50s JC Whitney sold kits to replace the portholes with tinted lights, you could get them in 4 or 5 colors. Just get some clear and paint a flame design on them and you're good.

 

or maybe some skulls with eyes that light up yea or some traditional ol skool tribal ghost flames or....... ok Ill stop.

 

No spider webs and iron crosses?

 

Lots of rods have zoomies and I've never heard of anyone croaking off cause of fumgation from them. Not much room to work with, go for it, Joe.

 

of course... those are a staple of a hot rod. Just thought I would kick it up a notch.

 

Harley Earl had lights in his portholes wired to the distributor. They lit up in sequence with the straight eight's firing order.

The P38 Lightning had an influence on his design of the early 50's Buicks. Hence the portholes.

 

I currently have lakes on it, should I keep those or try this porthole exhaust crackpot od an idea? Or I guess I could split the exhaust up front and run haft to the lakes and half through the last port hole. I don't know, I think too much.

 

What year Buick? Your avatar looks like a 54 ???? (Long ago I had a 54 4dr Special)

The 54's were larger than the 56's but both those years really looked great as compared to the 55's.

In 1958 when I was in ET school on TI in Calif there was a guy who had put 8 54 portholes into the hood of his 47 Merc as air intakes. They looked pretty sharp.

Im not sure if the potmetal would stand the heat but it sure would look and sound cool.

 

you would have to warn people about touching your fender because it my be hot as a mother. Plus i doubt motorists passing next to you on the road with their windows down will be to pleased either.

 

BarneyO, yes it's a '54 and it is as you said MUCH larger. It BARELY fits in the garage, literally only an inch or two front and rear.

 

Rarefish made a good point about Zoomies though, it wouldn't be much worse than them if any.

 

you could put motorcycle baffles in the pipes to quiet it down a bit

 

personaly i think the headers idea isnt that great, it would just warp your fenders over time. the intake idea would be cool though. but i would keep the lakes.

 

Great point about warping! Intakes would be GREAT, but not for this car with my carb setup If I keep the lakes I realy wasnt to french them in closer.

 

I don't remember when Buick first started using portholes, but I recall reading somewhere that during the first year, in very early production models, they were open, functional vents. Buick apparently thought that they might actually help reduce underhood temperatures.

Of course these cars only had a draft tube instead of a PCV system for crankcase venting. So between that and any dust kicked up under the hood it didn't take them long to notice dark streaks forming on the sides of the car behind the ports. And soon after that the "Ventiports" were sealed off and became strictly decorative.

I guess exhaust "scorch marks" weren't considered fashionable back then. Yet now I see new Cadillacs sporting stick-on JC Whitney portholes on the fenders. Go figure.

 

I plan to ditch the draft tube in favor of a PCV System shortly, but I already Knocked out the caps on the portholes to make them "Ventiports". I'll keep an eye out for those streaks though. I have a pet peeve about decorative scoops and vents. That's just me though.

 

I would keep the lake pipes, kustoms are generally suppose to be classy and I cant see anything classy about having your exhaust come through portholes in the hood. Seems more like something you would see on a demo derby car. Plus it would get old real fast on a long highway trip not too mention probably really hot in the car when cruising with the windows down.

 

Now that's cool!

 

I think the gerneral sensus is that it would be cool as hell on a car with ther right attitude, but possibly HELL to drive and could warp your fenders. I think that sums it up.

 

Hellish stupid!

 

Since you opened the Ventiports, why not run the exhaust near them and insert hot dogs or burritos in them? Then when you arrive, simply reach in to the fender side grill (Ventiports) and, Viola! Hot lunch!

 

do it. then go flush your head in the toilet a few times too. swirlys are totaly trad.

 

The last time I was in Calif I saw many cars with port holes(most were low riders) even Chevy trucks. This is getting out of hand.

 

I HATE those damn stick on portholes, I think they're okay if they are on....oh I don't know......say........a BUICK!!!

 

The Cubans, making their break across the Florida Straits, use them for bow thrusters.

 

Funny.