S/S Exhaust System

Choosing the "right" exhaust system was something that evolved for me over the past two years.  Early on I decided on stainless steel, but ,should I stay with the original design, or go with a more sporty system? The issue got settled in my mind when Bob,one of the 6-Pack members from NY state, posted pictures of his "Bell Sport" system!

All S/S construction and slash cut tips ! 

The Bell Exhausts are made in England and imported by Engel Imports located in Kalamazoo, MI.  For several months, the system that I wanted was on back order, but then in February 2012 the system became available, and I pulled the trigger on my order... less than a week later, it was in my shop!




Of course the primary goal of a exhaust system is to allow the engine to breath freely with out excessive noise. The stock exhaust manifold is considered my many to be a very good design, but dyno testing has proven a well designed / constructed exhaust header will free up more horse power.
 Richard Good of "Good Parts" has been making the TR6 handle better and produce more power for over 20 years, so when he came out with his 6 into 1 header, I knew I had found the final piece to my exhaust system design. Richard hand makes these headers and then sends them off to be "Jet Hot" coated inside and out.

 The Jet Hot coating not only looks terrific but will keep its shine, and it also lowers the temperature under the hood.

 This adapter allows the header to work with a dual exhaust system 

While just the rolling chassis was in my shop for the engine installation, I "rough" fitted the exhaust while I had easy access to the frame. When I pulled the exhaust off, I laid the various parts on the floor one at a time and marked all the pipes left / right, front  / rear, etc.

During the initial fitting, I discovered that due to the length of the header, I needed to cut approx. 6" off the front pipes.

Also during the initial fitting, I decided to wrap the pipe closest to the fuel line / brake line with exhaust wrap to help keep the temperature in check.

 The initial fitting also showed me I'd need to create an extra bracket to hang the mufflers.

Several 6-Pack members had reported having problems getting the S/S pipes to seal at the joints.The fix was reported to be the use of a high temp gasket maker in the joints along with wide S/S band clamps.  The clamps will also allow for the removal of the exhaust if ever needed.

Getting the mufflers to hang correctly took quite a bit of measuring  and fiddling !

I wanted the exhaust tips to match...there's nothing that shouts "amateur" like uneven pipes !

I'm discovering that when you rebuild a car from the ground up, there is a lot of "waiting" time. I'd love to hear how this exhaust sounds and if the joints are sealed up correctly, but I have a long way to go before firing up the engine for the first time, so I just keep plugging away.

Putting Those Parts Back Together !

When rebuilding a car from the ground up, you quickly come to realize that there are A LOT of small pieces and parts! Falling in this category with those small parts you take for granted are the windshield wipers

 The wipers on a TR6 work via a cable that slides back and forth in metal tubes buried in the scuttle above the firewall. If that sounds hard to imagine, you're right, and it's even harder to install !


The wiper wheel assembly holds the tubes for the cable to ride in, allowing the cable to engage the teeth of the wheel.  The other side of the assembly sticks up through the body work for attaching the wiper arm.

Yeah, just grease up the parts then try and put them together in a little 2" X 3" opening ! 

This is the end of the wiper cable that will attach to the wiper motor...the pull on this cable has to be less than 6 lbs. so as not to burn up the motor!

Once the cable, tubes, and wiper wheel assemblies are in place and operating smoothly, you seal up the openings.

All ready for the wiper arms.

Moving on...when you're taking parts off the car, the sequence of removal isn't too important, but guess what, when you're putting them back on, the sequence becomes VERY important !

I give you exhibit "A" ... the pipe that returns coolant from the heater back to the water pump and is tucked in next to the block... 

Once the exhaust manifold and carburetors are installed, it's almost impossible to slide that pipe into position...don't you wonder how I found that out?  Yep, the hard way ! 

Make sure you put the throttle pedal in before you put in the pedal box. I got this right the first time !

The brake/clutch pedals need to be installed in the pedal box before the box is mounted in the car, and be careful not to reverse the two pedals. Thanks to a recent 6-Pack thread, I also got this right the first time !

The brake and clutch master cylinders go on after the pedal box is installed...I thought they went on awfully easy the first time. )-:  Got it right the second time !