Stainless Steel Exhausts

[Gareth]

Hello there!

Well, my mild steel exhaust has fallen off for the last time - it's broken around the top of the flange and cannot be refitted. As such, poor old Phyllis made quite a spectacle of herself as she grumbled, farted and popped her way through the Shropshire countryside tonight.

I'm not sure what to do about it, to be honest. Last time, my local exhaust fitting type place charged £70 for fitting said exhaust. That was 18 months ago - surely it shouldn't have fractured so soon? I think we're going to have "words"...!

I know that for £30 I can get a mild steel exhaust from a moggy factor, but for the extra £15, would a stainless one be worth it? I've had no problems with the things rusting - just dropping off...! I think they look a little bit better, and the mild one they put on does seem a little bit long...

Anyway, are stainless ones more difficult to fit? I'm hoping to get the autocentre to fit it for me (probably...), but if I decide to do it myself, am I letting myself in for a big headache? I've noticed that they come in two parts - that would make fitting it without the aid of a high-lift ramp easier, wouldn't it?

The main thing is - when I've got all the pieces together, will Phyllis still sound like a John Deere tractor? When the last exhaust was new, and all sealed and nice, the car was almost silent. That's something I'd rather like to return to!

Any thoughts would be appreciated!


_________________
Happy Minoring!

Gareth (and of course, Phyllis...!)

PoachedEgg[ This Message was edited by: Gareth on 29-05-2002 20:20 ]

[Willie]

Lo, the problem I have found with stainless
exhausts is that they are noisier than the
mild steel variety, I believe because the
metal is slightly thinner?. My car has one
but I have had an extra, small straight-
through box made up in stainless which fits
at the rear and sits between the near-side
rear spring and the petrol tank. This is very
successful and gives a quiet car. It also removes the normal 'Morris Minor' roar on
overrun, which used to annoy me intensely.
BUT the specially made up rear box cost more
than the stainless steel system!! Yes, the
two piece system is much easier to fit. The
biggest problem I have encountered is to avoid having the bend below the manifold
joint banging on the chassis, they all seem
to be slightly wrong on this bend.
Too Long??? It's your exhaust... just saw it
to your preferred length!!
Willie
[ This Message was edited by: Willie on 29-05-2002 20:48 ]

[pbottomley]

I love the "Morirs Minor Roar " on overrun it makes me smile all the time. And i like to wake the other drivers up, they alll sleep in ther super quiet smooth cars. LOL I would change me exaust for anyothet type, that make Matlida quieter... she is a robot wars hero !!![ This Message was edited by: pbottomley on 29-05-2002 21:54 ]

[Gareth]

I absolutely agree. The parp on overrun is fantastic!

In any case, I had "words" with the chappie, and he agreed that it shouldn't have fractured so soon. My engine mountings are fine, and I've got one of Grumpy's top steadies on the old girl, just to make sure!

Anyway, he's getting me a new exhaust. It'll be a mild steel one, but as long as I don't upset him, it'll be free.

Hey ho.

Thanks all! Think I might treat her to a chrome pipe finisher instead

[tuning72]

Hi
Exhaust. On the 1000 there was a batch of manifolds that had bad castings on the Exit Flange. If you turn the manifold upside down, check that the Exit is not obstructed at all by rough casting.2 I had with nearly blocked exits! This led to poor flange sealing and vibration.
To alter the noise of the exhaust we put a large(or two)Jubilee clips round the silencer.(Quieten)......Ivor.......

[tuning72]

Double Entry[ This Message was edited by: tuning72 on 30-05-2002 22:13 ]

[Janie]

I managed to fit my exhaust all by myself(after the old one fell off going over a speed bump!), and there was minimal rolling around in my road to achieve this, although I admit to the occasional rude word. The most difficult bit was the manifold clamp, as it is bloomin' fiddly, but I do recommend getting a six year old child to help as they have nice small hands to hold all the bits together ready to be tightened!

[Gareth]

Bit of an update for you

Saturday 8:30 am
Went down to local autocentre complete with car. (It helps sometimes!). They said they'd got the exhaust, and the car would be ready within an hour.

10:00 am
Phoned autocentre. "We've hit a bit of a problem. I've broken the manifold... can you get a new one?" I was not a happy bunny, as you can imagine. They'd managed to snap the end off it. God know's how. I certainly don't!

10:05 am
Phoned Morris Minor Centre, Birmingham. Only available second hand. Hadn't got one. Couldn't get one until at least Weds because of the bank holiday.

10:10 am
Phoned Bull Motif. Closed.

10:15 am
Matt's Morris Minors.
He'd got one. Yippee (!)

10:20 am
Went down to autocentre to explain that I might be a while collecting said manifold. They said that if I got a new one, I could have the old one returned, and repaired later in the week - their welder is on holiday.

10:22 am
A thought struck. There's a chap that lives round the corner from me with a drive full of Morrises. I wonder... Yes! He'd got one. Yes, I could have it. Hallelujah!

To cut a long story shorter Phyllis is much better now, and happily chugging her way about. I've had to alter the throttle spring slightly (not sure why...) and retighten the steady bar, but so far all seems well.

Oh yeah, and the exhaust, and the day's work all came free. The chap's parting words, however, were "Get that bloody Morris out of my sight!"

I'm beginning to wish I'd done it myself. Indeed, next time, I might very well do that!

[Chris Morley]

This exhaust centre must employ a load of ham fisted clowns. It sounds like they twisted the downpipe without releasing the clamp. The lesson in this is to do it yourself when you can.

If the broken manifold is made of cast iron ( ? ) then it's not going to be so easy to weld as mild steel.

[Red Bull]

I can't comment on a stainles steel exhaust for a Minor, but a couple of years ago I had a similar problem with my Daimler 2 1/2 litre V8.
The original mild steel system had developed a couple of holes that had already been repaired once, and they were back with a vengeance. All due to the moisture in the system finding the lowest point.
A stainless steel system cost about £100.00 above a mild steel system, so I bought one.
My big concern was that it would make the car sound different. A V8 Daimler has a burble that develops into a roar, and believe me, you don't want to change that.
Anyway, no problems at all. It still sounds wonderful.
I would pay the extra and go for a stainless system.

[Gareth]

Sorry to resurrect this thread (it seems I started it in 1969, so it predates me by 24 years; is that a record?) but Phyllis has just passed her MOT.

The two advisories were:

• 1. Oil Leak - "They all do that, Sir..."
  2. Noisy exhaust

Investigation with a bodger created a rather nice hole in the pipe... Oops.

I was planning to get a stainless steel exhaust (standard manifold fitment, small-bore type) but was wondering if anyone knew the best place to source one? A quick internet search suggests that many of the suppliers are selling the same exhaust kit (the pictures look similar, at any rate) for often wildly differing prices.

Any suggestions from the collective?

[bmcecosse]

Factor in carriage + vat -and go with the best deal? Is there a supplier within easy reach (check MOSS - they have 3 depots) which would save a fortune on carriage - and time.. Oh and these threads were certainly NOT started in 1969 -or 1970....

[Gareth]

Just noticed I edited the original post in 2002, so 13 years for a mild-steel exhaust isn't doing too badly, is it?

Price is a factor (isn't it always?) but I was wondering if anyone knows where I'd get the best quality. Aside from going down the bespoke route, although...?

[taupe]

Hi

I have used PD Gough for several stainless exhausts and have found them excellent quality...they have a Lifetime guarantee. I would think that they have an original pattern for a Minor so the fit should be good too.

http://www.pdgough.com

Taupe