37 Pontiac 6 Touring tailpipe installation

[kookie1]

If you look at this photo of the pictures I took long ago when I got this car it shows the tailpipe in a view from the front wheel.  It's the only shot I took back then that shows what I wanted to know now to install the new one but doesn't help me much.

 

It looks like the tailpipe was incorrectly installed.  On the tailpipe section with the short bend near one end, is that the section the goes into the muffler or is it the straight portion of the other section that goes into the muffler?  It looks to me, by the bend in the pix, that the short bend went into the muffler in this installation.  If you put the straight section into the muffler that straight part just barely misses the side of the frame's oval-like cutout and passes very close (fractions of an inch) to the shock absorber.  This can't be good with excessive heat so close to the shock, or is it?  If the car still had the final tailpipe section after the hanger I would have figured it out.  As you can see in the second pix, that shot didn't help me either.

 

If you look at the advertized muffler parts I copied off Ebay, in the third pix below, the seller has the short bend going into the muffler, that's if his layout is in the correct alignment.

 

I'm sure it's an easy answer for anyone with a '37.  Could someone give me a hint?   Thanks!

 

[john hess]

I think your layout is correct.... I had purchased a new stainless exhaust for my 53 pontiac and had to have 2 bends increased slightly by a local muffler shop to make them fit proper. Another member purchased from same supplier, same issue... You might need to have same done to eliminate "off" tolerance issues.

[kookie1]

Thanks John for chiming in but I think I could get it to fit in either position, short 7" long end bend into muffler first or long straight section.   I just don't know the way it's supposed to go together like it did originally.

 

Maybe my previous post was a bit too detailed and not very clear so I thought I better try again for a '37 Pontiac owner.  They've probably replaced their system long ago and can't remember right off hand.   If you take a quick peek under your rear bumper of a '37 Pontiac 6 or 8, is there a bend in the tailpipe about 7" from the bumper end?   That would tell me all I need to know.

 

The after market maker of the Ebay exhausts tells me one way, and by looking at my old pix of the muffler tell me something different.  My question is what way are the tailpipes installed on currently running 37 Pontiacs?

 

Thanks for taking a look!

 

 

 

[jdshott]

Sorry to have been so tardy in seeing this ... I haven't checked in for some time but was in NM until recently and my car is in CA.  Now that I am back in CA and have seen this message, I can send you a photo.

 

Note: this car is not currently running and last ran in 1968.  Does it still have the original muffler and tail pipe?  I'm not sure ... but it is sufficiently rusted and nasty that it may be original.

 

In any event, this is the photo taken from roughly the center of the rear bumber from below the bumper looking back along the tail pipe.  I think that is what you were asking for.  As you can see, the tailpipe is straight and seems to clear the bumper from underneath by less than an inch.

 

Let me know if this is not the photo you need and I'll try again.

 

John

 

[kookie1]

Thanks for the pix John but another isn't necessary.  I'll have to agree with you in that your tailpipe arrangement may not be original based on the position of the hanger but I could be wrong.  If I put my new sections together like that the 7" bend would have to go into the muffler.  I was hoping some others with a 37 would drop in with a yes or no.  At least a consensus would eliminate the guesswork.  With over 100 views of this tread, surely there are a few 37 owners here that know how their system is setup.  I suppose you could say if it goes together at all then why does it matter and I suppose you have a point.  I just want to put it together like it was designed.  Maybe I'm being a bit too particular.

 

If I assemble my tailpipe like yours is setup and using the original hanger, the tailpipe aims directly into the open, front side of the bumper's vertical attached piece (not sure what that's called), which doesn't seem to make any sense.  In your pix, John, it looks as if that isn't a problem at all but maybe it's the result of the wire hanger offset.   If I put the 7" bend at the bumper end instead, the tailpipe turns right-after the hanger connection so the exhaust blast exits to the side of the vertical bumper piece.  That does make some sense although it seems to be kind of a design band-aid or after thought.

 

Anyway, I hope others will post their thoughts on the configuration.

[Bloo]

Unfortunately the illustration of the chassis in my 1937 parts book is of a 1935 8cyl chassis. Anyone got a 1938 Parts book? Maybe a 1937 or 1938 shop manual? There's usually a picture of the chassis in the lubrication section.

 

[jdshott]

 

23 minutes ago, Bloo said:

Unfortunately the illustration of the chassis in my 1937 parts book is of a 1935 8cyl chassis. Anyone got a 1938 Parts book? Maybe a 1937 or 1938 shop manual? There's usually a picture of the chassis in the lubrication section.

 

Ooooh ... good thought.  Here is the picture in my 1937 shop manual on the lubrication page.  Hopefully, this will help solve the mystery.

 

 

Stay safe!

 

John

[Bloo]

That looks like a 37 chassis!

 

 

[kookie1]

Thanks guys for chiming in.  Actually I have the manual diagram and the Lubrication Chart which I've studied in-depth before starting this post.  Neither told me what I was searching to find out.    I was hoping a '37 owner with plenty of history would know.

 

In my experience diagrams don't tend to be extremely accurate with the detail in line drawings since they're usually simplified to begin with.  By examining both of these diagrams you can't tell where the 7" bend, at the end of one tailpipe section, is located.  If that 7" bend is at the rear of the muffler it would be located directly under the cross-member of the chassis which is solid black and therefore the bend would be hidden.  If it is at the bumper end it would not appear straight like the diagram indicates, but angled, which could result from the lack of detail, hence still undetermined.  In summary I can't really trust these diagrams for their accuracy which is why I started asking for help on how current '37 tailpipes are installed.

 

Maybe I should be asking, did original 1937 Pontiac 6 & 8s always have a 7" long bend on one end of  their tailpipes or is this a modern reproduction addition?