[Fot] TR3 exhaust...revisited...

[Larry Young]

Bill,
My brother had almost the same car. His was a '50 Ford convertible with 
a flathead V8 and 3 on the tree, no continental kit . Not sure what 
mufflers he had, but it sure sounded sweet. Your lack of power probably 
had more to do with that Fordomatic  tranny than the motor. I was 
brainwashed on Fords, but broke the mold when I bought my TR250. I still 
love flathead Fords. I've got a '41 pickup project - Merc crank, 2 
deuces, finned aluminum heads and Smithy dual exhaust, of course.
  - Larry

On 4/27/2018 2:26 PM, Bill Dentinger via Fot wrote:
> Amici...
>
> This is a Long Story for the FOT, but directed mostly at old farts who 
> were actually around in the mid-20th century.  These are people who 
> might actually understand how the 'Smitty Flow Through' glasspac 
> attempted to provide proof to the local police that your car actually 
> had a muffler back in the day.  "See, officer.  There it is.  That's 
> my muffler."  Newbees, who can't relate, might want to hit their 
> Delete Key now.
>
> Back in 1957, when I was a senior in High School, my paternal 
> Grandmother (God Rest Her Soul), who was also my God-mother, had given 
> me $350 as a graduation present.  $350 was the most money that I knew 
> existed back then.  I did not know that my Grandmother had $350, much 
> less that she might consider giving it to me.  And it was a good five 
> months before I was scheduled to graduate.  Talk about opportunity 
> based on an Act of Faith.  Anyway, I took the money and I bought a 
> very,very used, but very nice looking 1951 Ford convertible.  It was 
> powder blue, and had an extended rear deck and continental tire kit.  
> I shaved the front deck, added eye lids to the headlights, and blue 
> dot lenses (illegal) to the tail lights.  I added fender skirts and I 
> replaced the rag top's rear window (several times).  I also lowered 
> the rear end about two inches (to a point where that extended rear 
> deck would drag on driveway ramps).  Out on the West Coast they were 
> lowering the front ends.  Here in the Midwest...we were lowering the 
> rear ends.  But that car looked GOOD!  It looked like a Classic Lead 
> Sled.  It was fantastic, and in my pre-Triumph, Bebopper days, 
> duck-tailed Hollywood haircut...the whole nine yards.  This is the car 
> I used to court Shirley Jean.  Her long pony tail used to flop in the 
> breeze as we tooled down the street with the top down.
>
> That's all the Good News about that car.  There is some  Bad News 
> too.  This car had a Ford six cylinder engine and Fordamatic.  It was 
> so slow, that Roger Bannister broke the four minute mile before it 
> did.  And it only broke the four minute mile once, going down a steep 
> hill.  But that wimpy drive train probably saved me millions in 
> exposure to speeding tickets, etc. Another issue was the fact that the 
> car used more oil than gasoline.  Talk about 'blow-by', the engine was 
> shot...and made pretty blue smoke.  How did I deal with that wimpy 
> drive train on such a great looking car? Well, I always was more into 
> Presentation than Performance, and what I did was add 'fake headers' 
> to mimic a duel exhaust system.  They looked great coming out of that 
> extended rear deck.  I also installed a 'Smitty Glass Pack', and 
> BINGO!  The car sounded like a screamer.  I'd hold the car in low 
> gear, working the transmission against the engine cruising down even a 
> slight incline...and that car sounded like it was capable of 200-210 
> mph.  I had lots of offers for a drag race, but always was careful to 
> say, "No thank you...I need to save these rear tires...".
>
> Sad to say, I do not even have a picture of that car.  I do not know 
> what happened to it.  When I graduated from High School in 1957, young 
> men still had an eight year military obligation, which I decided to 
> address.  I joined the Navy two months after graduating.  I was gone 
> for four years (Plankowner, USS SPRINGFIELD CLG-7).  Shirley Jean 
> waited.  The car didn't.  I suspect my brother Ron ended up with it, 
> and it probably died.
>
> Pity, but make a note that the 'Smitty Glass Pack' is a hero in this 
> story...it helped make me and that car appear to be more than we 
> deserved...and I still got Shirley Jean.
>
> Bill Dentinger
>
>
>
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