Ford Blitz Restoration/Rebuild

[Tony Wheeler]

Hi Jacques,

Attached pics show rear tailpipe bracket dimensions as measured in situ, I'll need to remove and straighten it for complete accuracy. I'm pretty sure your Dennis Carpenter bracket will reach the first hole in the petrol tank bracket, and the hole for the rubber mount may be conveniently close to the correct location. Clearly it will need to be extended to reach the second hole, which means butt welding a piece of 1 1/4" strap to the end. The support strap will prevent any flexing at the join so it shouldn't fail. They could even be spot welded together for complete confidence.

The front tailpipe bracket is the offset clamp type, of which there are 3 in the Mac's 48-52 Pickup set. These are considerably longer and will reach the chassis rail, but will still need to be extended to bolt in the original hole. This would have to be an overlap join as there's no support strap, however it would be inside the chassis rail where it wouldn't be seen.

I think that's the solution for tailpipe brackets, clearly it's not worth trying to fabricate new ones when these items from Mac's can be easily modified. The required kits are:

Ford CMP front tailpipe bracket (48-52 Pickup set): http://macsautoparts.com/ford-pickup...0R3CHL1143645/

Ford CMP rear tailpipe bracket (35-38 Pickup set): http://macsautoparts.com/early-ford-...R3CHL1141416E/

I've ordered both sets and will test these mods when they arrive and post results here for general info.

Of course, the 48-52 Pickup set will serve for both brackets, the only difference being the offset clamp on the rear, which is hardly likely to be noticed. After all, we didn't even know there were two types until today!