Exhaust Update.

Today was a spectacular Spring day in the Pacific Northwest. Temps in the mid-70s(!), sunshine, and clear blue skies. It was really our first sunny and warm day of 2008. The air was filled with … the symphonic roar of a thousand Briggs & Stratton and two-stroke “weedeater” engines as everyone went out and cut their grass for the first time in 2008.

The Goolsbee’s joined the chorus and added to the roar. I only mowed the area around the barn. Chris & Sue did the rest of the property. I was focussed on barn-related tasks, namely oil processing, a bit of Spring Cleaning, and getting the resonators onto my new exhaust. I did the latter job first, as I wanted the Jaguar out of the barn to do some cleaning in there. It was an epic wrestling match, but I finally managed to get the resonators onto the pipes. Unfortunately they are completely cock-eyed:

If Marty Feldman had exhaust pipes, they’d look just like this.

The cock-eyed nature of the pipe on the left is due to the position of the exhaust components upstream. Jerry Mouton provided me with some guidance on keeping all the upstream attachment points loose until I had the resonators positioned just right… but working in the tight confines here just isn’t conducive to getting these adjustments made. I really need to get the car up on a proper lift that allows full access to the exhaust front-to-back. Unfortunately I don’t have such a lift, or access to one. Hrmmmm.

Yes, that is a chunk of wood wedged between the pipe and the body. That allowed me to take the car for a drive this evening and not damage my paint.

I will say that it was WONDERFUL to get the car out on the road again, especially on such a warm, wonderful evening. It felt like August, not April. The car ran perfectly, and sounded GREAT… so quiet and smooth. In fact it is so quiet now, especially at idle, that I thought the engine had died a couple of times as I waited at lights or stop signs. When I pressed the loud pedal it still had a great tune, just not as raucous and dissonant as before. Now it purrs just like a big cat should.