31-03-2023, 10:27 AM
(This post was last modified: 01-04-2023, 02:17 PM by Colin Morgan.)
Hi,
Over the years, I have noticed that the tailpipe on a Ruby always sticks out a long way – as shown by this totally original one. It goes way past the rear bumper.
Ruby tailpipe.jpg (Size: 118.62 KB / Downloads: 249)
Is this really necessary? Perhaps it’s to ensure fumes don’t get sucked back into the car?
Wondering about air quality inside the car, I put a carbon monoxide (CO) detector in my Ruby glovebox. This life-saving device had been tested by holding it in the car’s exhaust smoke and, as there is no catalyst on a Seven, it went off almost straight away. What a racket – about 90 decibels – and it wouldn’t switch off until I took the batteries out – it must have really over-dosed on CO.
But since then the detector hasn’t ever gone off whilst driving - even when travelling with all the doors and windows tight shut in a following wind or at the traffic lights – therefore, I am pretty sure exhaust fumes don’t generally get inside the Ruby.
So, I decided to do a cunning test to see if such a long exhaust is really needed. I cut two inches off my tailpipe with a hacksaw, so it stuck out only 4” from the rear bodywork. Then drove five miles against the wind and five miles back (with the wind behind me) – with all the doors and windows shut. The CO monitor did not go off – not one peep, though I did get a bit of a headache.
So, I cut another 2” off the tailpipe and drove the same ten miles there and back. No CO alarm, though I did have a headache and double vision for a while afterwards.
So, off came another 2”, meaning that the exhaust tailpipe was now flush with the body. Another run still gave no CO alarm, though whilst driving I had a headache, blurred vision and trouble staying awake.
I didn’t want to cut off another 2” because access was getting hard – so I gave up hacksawing, loosened the clamp at the rear of the silencer and pushed the tailpipe forward 2” so the end was now 2” under the body. Ten miles later, the alarm still hadn’t gone off – so far as I know – I had a worse headache, tunnel vision and I seemed to black out on and off on the way back, but I can’t really remember. (Good job the car knew the way back by then.)
So, my question is – why do we have such a long tailpipe fitted on the Ruby if it is not needed? Austin weren’t ones to waste one iota of steel – they would even drill out a drain plug to weigh-in the scrap! Is this one that got away from them?
Colin
Over the years, I have noticed that the tailpipe on a Ruby always sticks out a long way – as shown by this totally original one. It goes way past the rear bumper.
Ruby tailpipe.jpg (Size: 118.62 KB / Downloads: 249)
Is this really necessary? Perhaps it’s to ensure fumes don’t get sucked back into the car?
Wondering about air quality inside the car, I put a carbon monoxide (CO) detector in my Ruby glovebox. This life-saving device had been tested by holding it in the car’s exhaust smoke and, as there is no catalyst on a Seven, it went off almost straight away. What a racket – about 90 decibels – and it wouldn’t switch off until I took the batteries out – it must have really over-dosed on CO.
But since then the detector hasn’t ever gone off whilst driving - even when travelling with all the doors and windows tight shut in a following wind or at the traffic lights – therefore, I am pretty sure exhaust fumes don’t generally get inside the Ruby.
So, I decided to do a cunning test to see if such a long exhaust is really needed. I cut two inches off my tailpipe with a hacksaw, so it stuck out only 4” from the rear bodywork. Then drove five miles against the wind and five miles back (with the wind behind me) – with all the doors and windows shut. The CO monitor did not go off – not one peep, though I did get a bit of a headache.
So, I cut another 2” off the tailpipe and drove the same ten miles there and back. No CO alarm, though I did have a headache and double vision for a while afterwards.
So, off came another 2”, meaning that the exhaust tailpipe was now flush with the body. Another run still gave no CO alarm, though whilst driving I had a headache, blurred vision and trouble staying awake.
I didn’t want to cut off another 2” because access was getting hard – so I gave up hacksawing, loosened the clamp at the rear of the silencer and pushed the tailpipe forward 2” so the end was now 2” under the body. Ten miles later, the alarm still hadn’t gone off – so far as I know – I had a worse headache, tunnel vision and I seemed to black out on and off on the way back, but I can’t really remember. (Good job the car knew the way back by then.)
So, my question is – why do we have such a long tailpipe fitted on the Ruby if it is not needed? Austin weren’t ones to waste one iota of steel – they would even drill out a drain plug to weigh-in the scrap! Is this one that got away from them?
Colin