VW4X4 Posted September 11, 2022 Share Posted September 11, 2022 One thing that bothers me, every time I drive my car, is heat from the exhaust system. My Muffler is right under the pass. feet. It causes the floor to get hot to the point that any length of drive makes the ride way to hot. One of the things on my list of "to do" with my car is to install some type of a heat shield. You may want to consider this issue in your car at this point. ERIC 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Professor Posted September 11, 2022 Author Share Posted September 11, 2022 Eric, This is a great point. Like your car, my C8 gets bloody hot in the summer months, which is why I do not drive it when it is really hot out. I was thinking that I would insulate the firewall and floor areas with the sound-deadening thermal insulating pads. When I mount the exhaust today, I will take some images of how far the muffler is away from the passenger floor. On my current rusted/beat up exhaust, the muffler is pretty far away from the floorboard. Joe 1 hour ago, VW4X4 said: One thing that bothers me, every time I drive my car, is heat from the exhaust system. My Muffler is right under the pass. feet. It causes the floor to get hot to the point that any length of drive makes the ride way to hot. One of the things on my list of "to do" with my car is to install some type of a heat shield. You may want to consider this issue in your car at this point. ERIC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Professor Posted September 11, 2022 Author Share Posted September 11, 2022 By the way, does anyone have instructions on how to fold the top on a convertible airstream? I found out that I was not folding the front header back, which was causing the top to be above the body line. When another C8 owner told me that I was folding the top incorrectly, I looked closely and sure enough, I had missed two spring loaded catches that release the front header and allow it to fold forward (when the top is down) which allows the entire top to drop into the body. It looks completely different with the top folded below the body line. Three things: 1. The restoration and repaint of this car occurred in the 1970s, and the person who did the restore ALSO did not know how to fold the top, resulting in the creation of a top boot that accounted for the incorrect top storage. 2. Not knowing any better, I simply folded the top the same way the previous owner did (the boot fit this way, so why would I question it?), compounding the mistake and causing me to pay to have another top boot made. 3. Neither the owner’s manual nor the maintenance manual cover how to fold a convertible top, so I am guessing that there may have been a pamphlet covering how to stow the convertible top. I would love to get my hands on one, or even an electronic image of one. Can you imagine having a car for 2.5 years and not knowing how to properly stow the convertible top? I am embarrassed to say the least. Sheesh. Joe 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Professor Posted September 11, 2022 Author Share Posted September 11, 2022 Out with the old.... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve9 Posted September 11, 2022 Share Posted September 11, 2022 3 hours ago, Professor said: Can you imagine having a car for 2.5 years and not knowing how to properly stow the convertible top? I am embarrassed to say the least. Sheesh. Joe Well, being as how the rest of us are sitting on the outside looking in, you are still in the enviable position as owner of that fine convertible coupe! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
r1lark Posted September 11, 2022 Share Posted September 11, 2022 Wow, now I believe you when you say that your exhaust was rough!! 😳 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Professor Posted September 11, 2022 Author Share Posted September 11, 2022 And in with the new… 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Professor Posted September 11, 2022 Author Share Posted September 11, 2022 Getting ready to go on a test drive, but as you might expect, it sounds much better than the previous exhaust system. I would be remiss if I did not note how perfectly this exhaust fit right out of the box. I tried to show some of the tight twists and turns that this exhaust needed to go through to fit through the inner cross member, and it fit perfectly, with equal spacing between: The front inner frame rail (cross member) exhaust cutout. The exhaust muffler between the outer frame rail and the inner frame rail The rear axle rise between the fuel tank and the passenger side leaf springs I have seen a small handful of complaints about Waldron exhausts, and many more rave reviews… you can count this as a rave review. Chrysler made less than 250 1936 C8 Airstream convertibles, and there most certainly cannot be more than 10 or so remaining based on what I have been able to find on the Internet and adding 30% padding for those who sit silently in collections… and yet Waldron made this exhaust system fit quite literally, perfectly. The installation took about 3.5 hours taking my time and including removal of the old exhaust system, and there was absolutely no rocket science about the install. Install each part, including clamps and hangers, snug but not so snug that you cannot adjust component rotations. Rotate the components so that the exhaust system is exactly where it should be, and then tighten down everything front to rear. I tightened front to rear since the first exhaust hanger is about mid-chassis and this hangar, and the rear hanger, can be used to fine tweak component locations 1/8” to 1/4” as needed. Count me as one satisfied customer, and I am really happy I sprung for the extra stainless steel exhaust. It doesn’t really look factory, but it sure looks clean. We have a great deal of humidity here in North Carolina and It would bug the heck out of me to look at surface rust or worse, real rust inside the exhaust system. Now I need to live to 100 or so to make it actually worth the expense. 🙂 Joe 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Professor Posted September 11, 2022 Author Share Posted September 11, 2022 On a final note… I wonder if I should learn to weld stainless and get rid of the two clamps holding on the muffler? I need to look and see if the factory used clamps. I would think that they must have given the complex angles, but perhaps they could get the exhaust in during assembly quite simply. Joe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roger Zimmermann Posted September 12, 2022 Share Posted September 12, 2022 Nice experience with the exhaust installation. Nice too to have the car on its roof to show the nice tubes(!). Welding stainless steel is requiring a specific equipment if I'm right. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Professor Posted September 12, 2022 Author Share Posted September 12, 2022 Hi Roger, Yes… it was so much easier to work on the exhaust with the car rolled over on its roof! ROTFL. I think you are correct about welding stainless steel. I have a MIG welder, but I would need to purchase stainless steel wire, get the correct gas to weld it (100% argon, I think), and most importantly, purchase an air-filtration mask that can handle the byproduct fumes of welding stainless steel. I am not set up for welding stainless, and I am not certain I want to learn to weld it, but I will if it turns out that the factory exhaust was a single welded unit. Joe 3 hours ago, Roger Zimmermann said: Nice experience with the exhaust installation. Nice too to have the car on its roof to show the nice tubes(!). Welding stainless steel is requiring a specific equipment if I'm right. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve9 Posted September 12, 2022 Share Posted September 12, 2022 Use tri-mix in welding stainless steel. 98 percent helium, 7.5 percent argon, 2.5 percent carbon dioxide. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Professor Posted September 12, 2022 Author Share Posted September 12, 2022 Thanks Steve, I had a friend in the welding industry who could provide Tri-Mix to me, but he retired and is building a new home on the island of Roatan. 🙂 We do not have any welding shops close, but I will find one that sells Tri-Mix and make a purchase. Thanks for the advice! Joe 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VW4X4 Posted September 12, 2022 Share Posted September 12, 2022 3 hours ago, Professor said: Thanks Steve, I had a friend in the welding industry who could provide Tri-Mix to me, but he retired and is building a new home on the island of Roatan. 🙂 We do not have any welding shops close, but I will find one that sells Tri-Mix and make a purchase. Thanks for the advice! Joe The exhaust on the six cylinder cars were not one piece, and not welded together. They were held together with a fairly strange clamp. If, your interested, I can try to find some of them. I think I still have them... ERIC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve9 Posted September 12, 2022 Share Posted September 12, 2022 (edited) 3 hours ago, Steve9 said: Use tri-mix in welding stainless steel. 98 percent helium, 7.5 percent argon, 2.5 percent carbon dioxide. Oops, the above equals more than 100%!! Helium 90% Sorry! Nice work on the install. Edited September 12, 2022 by Steve9 (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Professor Posted September 12, 2022 Author Share Posted September 12, 2022 (edited) Hi Eric, I would love to see them! By the way, my new muffler has a good 8" (estimate) between it and the passenger floor. I lifted my passenger floor mat and felt the carpet, and it was barely warm to the touch after a 24 minute drive. How close is your muffler to the passenger floor? Do you want me to take some closeup images of my muffler location? Joe 2 hours ago, VW4X4 said: The exhaust on the six cylinder cars were not one piece, and not welded together. They were held together with a fairly strange clamp. If, your interested, I can try to find some of them. I think I still have them... ERIC Edited September 12, 2022 by Professor (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VW4X4 Posted September 12, 2022 Share Posted September 12, 2022 2 hours ago, Professor said: Hi Eric, I would love to see them! By the way, my new muffler has a good 8" (estimate) between it and the passenger floor. I lifted my passenger floor mat and felt the carpet, and it as barely warm to the touch after a 24 minute drive. How close is your muffler to the passenger floor? Do you want me to take some closeup images of my muffler location? Joe Joe, Here are a few pictures of the exhaust system clamps that were original to my car. Also, I found a very over engineered exhaust hanger that was on my car originally. These are the details, that really make a antique car original. Obviously, today its much easier to just mount the exhaust system with something from the local auto parts. As for the location of the muffler to the floor, my muffler is no more than 3 inches below the floor. If I recall the convert. has a something like a double frame, which would raise the floor, some. I wouldn't think it would be 5 inches.... I'll take a better look at mine, at some point. This is one of the things I need to revisit with my car. ERIC 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Professor Posted September 18, 2022 Author Share Posted September 18, 2022 This morning. 10 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
36 D2 Coupe Posted September 18, 2022 Share Posted September 18, 2022 These are amazing shots. Photography at its finest! Beautiful! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Randiego Posted September 18, 2022 Share Posted September 18, 2022 Joe, When I weld S.S., I usually have it "Tiged" (Tungsten Inert Gas). Same for aluminum. The torch is small and you had feed the s.s. rod at the flame. Generally, the bead is neat and uniform. On your exhaust, that may be a bit trickey going all around the seam. I was at my local welding supply house and a bottle of the special mix gas is pretty hefty. Unless you are doing a lot of s.s. welding, it may be prohibitive purchasing the gas, even in the smaller bottle. Plus the wire. The wire feed welder that I have, an ESAB, has a larger head and the envalope for the intert gas does a great job with mild steel. I have never used it for the s.s. One question; Where you are welding the seam, do you have enough room to go around the pipe, or are you removing that section from the car to weld it up, then re installing it? I would venture to say that it will be tricky to weld above the pipe where there is not a lot of room or visibility (unless that portion of the exhaust is removed from the car for better access). If it were me, I would take the Chrysler to my local muffler shop and have them weld it as they do this daily. It cannot be that expensive and it certainly would be cheaper than the investment in the spool of wire and the gas that you will need to weld the s.s. Plus, they do that daily and have plenty of experience in welding s.s. and hard to reach places. One thing about welding the pipe vs. the clamps. It will be solid and chances of leaks down the road (with clamps) are pretty negligable. And with s.s., you only have to do it once! Just saying. Randy 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Professor Posted September 18, 2022 Author Share Posted September 18, 2022 Thanks for the advice @Randiego, I think since the factory did not weld them, I will leave it as is. I am going to try and find some factory clamps though. Joe 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Professor Posted September 19, 2022 Author Share Posted September 19, 2022 Small update on the impact of the new exhaust on fuel economy. My fuel economy was 12.1, 12.18, 12.4 ——->Replaced Exhaust ——-> 13.84,13.4 In the dog days of burned valves and low compression, I saw low ranges of 6 - 8 mpg, so I am pleased with 13 mpg. Let‘s see if it stays high. Oh… one other thing… The Waldron exhaust pipe is shorter than the one I took off, leading to combustion water getting on the paint. I think I need a tailpipe extension, but I do not know if the factory used a chrome extension, or even offered an extension at all. Anyone know? I uploaded an image of the exhaust pipe and some of the black water from the tailpipe on the paint. Thanks so much in advance! Joe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Piaras Posted September 19, 2022 Share Posted September 19, 2022 Funny about the exhaust stain, as recently on Jay Leno’s show the first year Corvette had the same issue. The tips were extended a few inches and problem solved. Pierre Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VW4X4 Posted September 19, 2022 Share Posted September 19, 2022 4 hours ago, Professor said: Small update on the impact of the new exhaust on fuel economy. My fuel economy was 12.1, 12.18, 12.4 ——->Replaced Exhaust ——-> 13.84,13.4 In the dog days of burned valves and low compression, I saw low ranges of 6 - 8 mpg, so I am pleased with 13 mpg. Let‘s see if it stays high. Oh… one other thing… The Waldron exhaust pipe is shorter than the one I took off, leading to combustion water getting on the paint. I think I need a tailpipe extension, but I do not know if the factory used a chrome extension, or even offered an extension at all. Anyone know? I uploaded an image of the exhaust pipe and some of the black water from the tailpipe on the paint. Thanks so much in advance! Joe Joe, Soot like this should never come out of the exhaust of a car. This shows a very rich mixture. Some carbs., this may be on startup with the choke on, which (back in the day) may have been acceptable. Running rich like this washes the cylinder walls down removing any evidence of lubrication, then shorting the life of the engine. This was exactly what was happening with my car. I could not get the automatic choke to turn off faster , no matter what I did. I ended up installing a hand choke, to save the engine. Finding this rich mixture issue and fixing may be a better option than a tail pipe extending. ERIC 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Professor Posted September 19, 2022 Author Share Posted September 19, 2022 Thanks Eric. I will back the choke off a bit. The spark plugs look great, so this is only an issue during cold morning startups with the choke on. I will reduce the amount of choke a bit to see if I can lean up the cold start. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Professor Posted September 19, 2022 Author Share Posted September 19, 2022 All, I chased down some transmission leaks this weekend and discovered that the overdrive transmission is leaking fluid out of the driveshaft seal, the overdrive select input, and the speedometer cable output. I have read the speedometer cable output leak is relatively common due to the design. Olson Gaskets only does engine gaskets. Can anyone recommend a gasket supplier that can supply all of the gaskets and seals to rebuild my overdrive transmission? Thanks so much! Joe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VW4X4 Posted September 19, 2022 Share Posted September 19, 2022 1 hour ago, Professor said: All, I chased down some transmission leaks this weekend and discovered that the overdrive transmission is leaking fluid out of the driveshaft seal, the overdrive select input, and the speedometer cable output. I have read the speedometer cable output leak is relatively common due to the design. Olson Gaskets only does engine gaskets. Can anyone recommend a gasket supplier that can supply all of the gaskets and seals to rebuild my overdrive transmission? Thanks so much! Joe Joe, Seals like this, are not something that I would replace with original parts. My car had many seals that were hard as a rock, made of leather. There is no way these can last very long, in good shape. Seals can be purchased in many different shapes and sizes. You will have to re-engineer to get the proper fit and application. oringandmore.com has been a good source . Although, there are many other places. Orings can be used in placed were a packing type seal was normal. Shaft seals can be purchased from local bearing distributors. If I'm not mistaken I don't think the input shaft has a seal..... IF I RECALL CORRECTLY , there is some type of a housing that returns the gear oil back to the trans. I have replaced many axle, wheel and shaft seals in my airstream, with modern day double lip seals. That was in 1990-91. Unfortunately, the manufacture that I used, is gone. SOLD out to China. I still have the catalogs, and the part numbers but will do no good. IF you do re-engineer some of these seals, please keep us up to date with suppliers and part numbers... ERIC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
r1lark Posted September 19, 2022 Share Posted September 19, 2022 Eric, those part numbers would still be useful. Most any bearing/seal supplier can cross-reference them to the manufacturer they sell. Also, online searches would probably come up with cross-references to other manufacturers. I routinely cross-reference seal and bearing numbers from long gone companies for my Studebakers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve9 Posted September 20, 2022 Share Posted September 20, 2022 How about one of these from Robert’s Motor Parts?… 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Professor Posted September 21, 2022 Author Share Posted September 21, 2022 Thanks Steve! I ordered this and will install it when it arrives. I am not certain if I like the look or not, but we will see! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve9 Posted September 21, 2022 Share Posted September 21, 2022 23 minutes ago, Professor said: Thanks Steve! I ordered this and will install it when it arrives. I am not certain if I like the look or not, but we will see! If it stops your paint from being scorched it’s worth it. I had one I could’ve given you a month ago, but all that stuff is history now. Sorry. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Professor Posted September 21, 2022 Author Share Posted September 21, 2022 I don’t care as much about the current paint, but once the new paint is applied, I will care a great deal. 5 minutes ago, Steve9 said: If it stops your paint from being scorched it’s worth it. I had one I could’ve given you a month ago, but all that stuff is history now. Sorry. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Professor Posted October 1, 2022 Author Share Posted October 1, 2022 Trunk rack came in this week and I got it installed. The only part I am missing is the cloisonné Chrysler emblem. I like the Chrysler trunk a great deal, but it is an inch or so larger on each side than the actual rack that carries it and I suspect that it may not be exactly correct for my Airstream. This said, I have absolutely no idea whether it is correct or not. Regardless, the bolt holes in the rack line up with the mounting holes in the trunk, so it fits without any modifications and I will use it as-is. I have looked for the Chrysler cloisonné emblem and I cannot find it anywhere. The size of the emblem is specific to the trunk and the rack (both use the same emblem). If anyone has suggestions on how or where to find this emblem, I would love to hear them. Well… with that introduction done, here are some images for posterity: 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Professor Posted October 1, 2022 Author Share Posted October 1, 2022 More: 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Professor Posted October 1, 2022 Author Share Posted October 1, 2022 On a side note, Hurricane Ian caused a fair amount of downed branches and a bunch of foliage all over our property, but so far, I have not seen any major damage. I need to walk the property today to check. We dodged a bullet on this hurricane; we did not even lose power (so far… lol). Joe 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Piaras Posted October 1, 2022 Share Posted October 1, 2022 Cool! That trunk looks to be a two man carry even empty! Pierre Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VW4X4 Posted October 1, 2022 Share Posted October 1, 2022 (edited) 4 hours ago, Piaras said: Cool! That trunk looks to be a two man carry even empty! Pierre That trunk is a lot bigger than I've ever seen. Comparing all thirties cars with today's car they sure wasted a lot of space inside the cars, back then. I guest the truck fits well. I really like the rack. I think I would use it for a bike rack. ERIC Edited October 1, 2022 by VW4X4 (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Professor Posted October 1, 2022 Author Share Posted October 1, 2022 5 hours ago, Piaras said: Cool! That trunk looks to be a two man carry even empty! Pierre I think it is big enough to stuff two men IN the trunk. 🙂 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Piaras Posted October 1, 2022 Share Posted October 1, 2022 (edited) Was out for a test ride after adjusting the front wheel bearings, and came home with a TV antenna and a old fluid dispensing can. The trunk can hold lots of stuff or two men easily! Pierre Edited October 1, 2022 by Piaras (see edit history) 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
36 D2 Coupe Posted October 10, 2022 Share Posted October 10, 2022 On 10/1/2022 at 9:24 AM, Professor said: Trunk rack came in this week and I got it installed. The only part I am missing is the cloisonné Chrysler emblem. I like the Chrysler trunk a great deal, but it is an inch or so larger on each side than the actual rack that carries it and I suspect that it may not be exactly correct for my Airstream. This said, I have absolutely no idea whether it is correct or not. Regardless, the bolt holes in the rack line up with the mounting holes in the trunk, so it fits without any modifications and I will use it as-is. I have looked for the Chrysler cloisonné emblem and I cannot find it anywhere. The size of the emblem is specific to the trunk and the rack (both use the same emblem). If anyone has suggestions on how or where to find this emblem, I would love to hear them. Well… with that introduction done, here are some images for posterity: Thanks for the detailed photos of the trunk rack installation. It looks beautiful. It appears to be identical to the one I have for our '36 Dodge RS Coupe. It'll be a while before we get ours installed. I'll do a search and see if I can find a Chrysler emblem for you. I've seen them somewhere but can't remember where. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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