Thursday 23 November 2017

Exhausted by all the noise

Blatting about North Norfolk I've become aware of quite how loud the W/NG is, partly due to its original silencer and partly due to the poor fit of the exhaust pipe, which is well and truly battered, to the cylinder head.

I've no intention of doing anything about the silencer, or the battered nature of the pipe since they are irreplaceable original parts, but I must fix the joint to the head as it is leaking fire and smoke with every other piston stroke. You might recall I made a new exhaust pipe clamp which has done well but it cannot deal with the fact that the pipe does not fit...


I looked at various ready made mild steel exhaust pipe bends available at a well known internet auction site, before I twigged that I had an old exhaust header in the loft, the perfect diameter:


And the perfect shape:


I cleaned it ferociously with emery tape:


I need about 45 mm of this tube to reach the head, using the full length of the cast stub. The exhaust has had a repair in the past which was not aligned correctly, leading to the leakage problem, but leaving 5 mm of this old repair piece in place means I do not have to weld to 75 year old steel.


I've put a ring of masking tape around the old & new tubes, to show where I have to cut and to keep the cut square.


Clean the inside:



I've marked the outside of the bend with a Sharpie to make sure the pieces are aligned as I go to tack up.:


Now tacked in about 6 places, we go to trial fit. Not too bad the first time, but ideally needs more angle - I needed to cut a wedge out, to bring it closer to the head at the top.


Now fully welded & a first coat of paint applied:


Clamp added:


Just got to finish painting it now.



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