Ford V8 exhaust pipes for '42 CMP

[Alex Blair (RIP)]

Originally Posted by Phil Waterman

Remember seeing and old hot rod trick of using the steel flex exhaust, noting unusual but the neat part of the trick was once the pipe was formed to the proper position the guy ran a welding bead down the side of the pipe.

Phil..
Us poor engine rats used flex pipe for everything from the manifold back..
And you didn't need to weld dickie doo...Once in place and tight the exhaust heat did the rest..you couldn't bend it to save your soul after it heated up..It was galvanized and the zinc oxide did the welding for you..
I remember having a rear hanger let go while I was performing in my '51 Ford for the ladies out side of high school and the whole muffler..rear flex pipe came stung out like a coiled wire fence when I ran over it and the weight of the muffler(Glasspack) and the spinning rear rubber did the rest..I had 200 yards of flex wire hanging off my left exhaust manifold..
I was the laughing stock of all the young ladies I was trying to impress..
But you are right..it was great stuff.

[Jim Price]

David,
I had the same dilemma when restoring my 1940 F8. I purchased a right side exhaust pipe from MAC's and my welder made some 11 cuts and 8 welds resulting in the attached. It took a number of fittings before it was finished! Works fine though!

Good luck!

Regards,
Jim Price

[david moore]

Jim, Thanks for your confirmation that this is a bit of a problem! When you say "right side" - do you mean the single cross over tube? Do you recall the Mac's code for the part you purchased? Did your guy fabricate the "Y" tube from scratch? How did you get the second flange?
Lots of questions but I'm going to have to go through the same performance one way or another!
I'll hopefully be down in Tucson for March - shame you didn't have a second set made and I could have brought it back in the car! No UPS cross border charge or Canadian 13% tax either!
Cheers
David

[Robin Craig]

Sorry for tardy reply David, have been in Quebec all week.

Yes drag it to Gerry's shop by prior arrangement and he will do you proud.

Robin

[Jim Price]

David,
My welder fabricated the pipe using the following Mac's parts: 78-5267, Cross-Over Pipe, and 91A-5245, Engine to Muffler Pipe. The second flange came from the cross-over pipe. Have attached another photo showing the acute welds needed to make the pipe fit the very crampted engine compartment.

I live about 100 miles north of Tucson; perhaps we could get together when you're in Tucson.

Regards,
Jim

[david moore]

Jim
Thanks for info and pictures. I will probably buy in the parts and then get my local guy (as per Robin Craig) to do the chopping/welding/fitting. Mac's no longer seem to have these pipes in stock - but Early Ford Parts of Schenectady NY do - and I can pick up from there.

More questions though.....I understood that the standard US vehicles(left hand drive, as per Mac's parts) had the main manifold to muffler pipe going down the right hand side of the vehicle - opposite to the CMP. The illustrations in the Mac's manuals show it that way too - presumably this is all because the brake master cylinder is on the left hand side on the US vehicles?So....did your 91A-5245 pipe fit the left hand manifold or did the flange have to be cut off and remounted on the opposite hand so to speak? Maybe you went down the right hand side and moved the master cylinder?

Finally, did you get muffler 91A-5230?

Makes you realize how dumb the Brit War Office was to insist on right hand drive! All this reworking must have cost a lot of valuable time and money.

Cheers
David

[Phil Waterman]

Originally Posted by david moore

Jim
Thanks ....

Makes you realize how dumb the Brit War Office was to insist on right hand drive! All this reworking must have cost a lot of valuable time and money.

Cheers
David

Hi David

I have often pondered the reason for requiring that all the Trucks the Brit War Office ordered from Canada should be right hand drive. Wonder if they really even thought about the fact that Canada drove on the right. At that point time wasn't Canada the only major Commonwealth Nation that did drive on the right.

Not sure once the production got started the cost penalties for right vs left and side really added up to much. Both Ford and Canada had export models which were right hand drive.

Your comment though does raise and interesting line of though. Why were CMPs built the way they were. Think about the differences:

1. Right Hand Drive
2. Semi cab over engine design
3. Generally two axle instead of three
4. Reverse Slope Windscreen
5. Driving compartments designed for people 5'5" and 110 lbs