Which exhaust?

[mgtony]

Can anyone reccommend an exhaust for the B?
Done about 150 miles today around the Kent coast with no problems, a few miles from home it started to blow and knock. Nursed it home and looked underneath to see this:



Time for a new stainless system, want it to sound a bit fruity! Slimline? Bomb box? Tube size?




(Nigel, please let me know if this info is available in the handbook!)

[na]

Tony it looks like your exhaust broke because of vehicle storage - i.e. lack of use!

I'd caution you about having a very noisy sports exhaust great for odd blasts but no good for regular use as it get tiring especially if you've got a headache, also no good for country roads as they literally frighten the horses, sound stupidly loud when doing only 20 or 30 mph through quiet villages

The B has a nice and distinctive sound I’d suggest keeping to original size and design especially if you’ve got the original type manifold

Match the rest of the exhaust for size and type with the manifold

Some stainless exhausts seem to last for xx,000 miles or or xx years before they suddenly go very nastily noisy (baffle rattle?) – wont worry you with your low annual mileage(?)

I’ve got a Maniflow ss LCB manifold on my Midget it has great really released the trapped power, not sure of the make of the rest of the system except it’s ss with single rear box and is about standard size it gives a nice rasp but is a bit louder and boomier than I’d really prefer

Tony now the bit you’ll like – same new ss sports exhaust on two different Bs one owned by an engineer that looked after the car himself the other by a guy that was very particular about his car (not me) and looked after it well with regular full servicing and maintenance - one sounded overloud and used to set off car alarms on vehicles parked well off the road (I witnessed this more than once) the other sounded good and quite quiet for a sports exhaust – I’ll leave you to work out which was which

[mgtony]

Thanks Nigel, Decisions decisions! Looked at Brown and Gammons website, was giong to go standard off the original manifold but now tempted to replace that aswell. What do you think out of this lot:

http://www.ukmgparts.com/browse.aspx?CID=a06aab03-...

Are they all stainless? Am tempted by the 11 13 9 set up, bit load?

[na]

Tony as if I'd know ! funny it doesn't say

the 11 certainly (of course it would mean fitting those K&N and stub stacks) but from Maniflow, 3 and 6 (12 and 4?) if possible from Maniflow

Talk to Tony (Hotchkiss) ask him to check with his B expert and Maniflow - you can metion my name (with Midget) if you want as I'll probably be seeing him soon (er than I want) and could do with any good will going

as soon as you go off standard fittings don't line up (not that the exhaust systems do anyway)

once fitted (and car fully serviced of course) I can thoroughly and strongly recommend you take it to Peter Burgess for an excellent and fixed price RR tune-up - http://www.mgcars.org.uk/peterburgess/

Nice guy too, i think you'd get along, don't expect the Ritz though

(and I can suggest another one not to bother with, unless I just got him on an off days and three times (yes 3) for same work with poor results

[na]

I meant to also add - not all stainless steel is the same (or even stainless)

different grades and thicnesses of metal on exhausts - I had to have a bit of s/s added to my previous Midget exhaust (more sad stories, don't ask) and the short piece I got almost weighted as much as the rest of the exhaust if I could have afforded it I'd have the entire exhust made out of it

[mgtony]

If I replace everything, it's going to mean removing the carbs. Tempted now just to go with a standard system onto the existing manifold for the time being. I've been happy with it up till now. I had the middle slimline box on my old car, besides the clearance advantage, is there any other difference do you know?

[na]

mgtony said:

If I replace everything, it's going to mean removing the carbs.

oh yes

mgtony said:

Tempted now just to go with a standard system onto the existing manifold for the time being. I've been happy with it up till now. I had the middle slimline box on my old car, besides the clearance advantage, is there any other difference do you know?

glad you put difference, yes the sound

and what clearance problems would you have with a R/B

but if you roodyboy lika it - oh I don't know modern slang - if you liked it before then stick with it but don't bother with big bore or even bigger than standard

after you've fitted the new exhaust get used to it and then fit those old K&Ns stuck in your kitchen (or bathroom?) to see hear the diffence then obviously take them back off and safely store in their box

it's been a long time since I had my BGT but you can bet it had a S/S standard exhaust before I sold it

save your money Toney you could repair that with bandage and/or gum

EFS

[Mr Recovery]

I have a good servicable stainless exhaust - pm sent

[alfa pint]

My first B had a standard MGOC freeflow exhaust and LCB manifold fitted. Being stainless steel, it never rotted, but I finally had to replace it after clobbering the centre silencer leaving a field after an event.

Replaced it with another stainless steel MGOC offering - this time a freeflow, centre bomb type with 2 tailpipes leaving the rear silencer. It set off car alarms on streets, made people's head's turn, I had folk asking if it was a V8 on more than one occasion. It was never ever discrete. Small boys would wet themselves as you drove past. As the car was fitted with a stage 2 cam, it did get even louder above 80mph, but was ok below that.

Current B has freeflow club exhaust fitted, but there's a small hole in the centre section and it'll need replaced soon. Missus wants me to get a similar loud exhaust to the previous car, so she clearly didn't mind!

If your car is mildly tuned up at all e.g. K+Ns, any head work, then a good exhaust and manifold will help make it breathe better and improve economy and performance.

There's bound to be some clips of Bs with varying exhausts on You Tube if you want to see what sort of noise they can make and then decide what you want to live with.

[mgtony]

Managed to get it sorted last week thanks to Mr Recovery. Replaced with a standard stainless system which was the same as what was on there. Sounds much quieter, probably as the old one was blowing for a while!
Have a pair of K&N air filters and stub stacks waiting to go on, and AAA needles to fit, Will get done when I have time, although the car's running fine as it is.

[na]

Ooooooh, Tony, shiney bits

put the K&Ns on the car to hear the difference in sound, gowan, gowan, gowan, it's only a 10 minute job, you don't need to change the needles, you can always change back

oh, no, better still fully service the car take it, the K&Ns, stub stacks and needles to Peter Burgess and make use and fully enjoy what you already have

you can keep the empty K&N boxes in the kitchen or bathroom if you want something to look at

ETA: http://www.mgcars.org.uk/peterburgess/ and - make time!

Edited by na on Tuesday 5th July 21:05

[mgtony]

To fit the K&N's I know I need bolts, do you know what size? The car sounded rather loud when I drove it onto my ramps with no exhaust on, apparantly I woke the baby up opposite
I'll post a pic of my ramps I made, they were for getting the car a bit higher when I get round to spraying the spoiler, but came in handy for doing the exhaust.
One of the other club members had his car sorted on a rolling road a few weeks back by a guy somewhere in Cambridge. He's very impressed with the improvements considering he thought his car was running pretty well before he took it there. I'll ask him the name of where he had it done and pm you to see if you've heard of them.
Are you still away next weekend and not at Kimbolton?

[perdu]

Do

Really do

Go to Peter Burgess

gowon gowon gowon

Really

Nigel had a great experience with him a few weeks ago and I and many mates have had similarly great times by going there

And you WILL be amazed at how little it costs you compared with many of the rip-offers that may be around, but better still you will meet one of the finest men in the UK tuning game. (He does an evil line in B series cylinder heads too, rather well renowned for them.)

Go on

You deserve it, so does the B.

[mgtony]

Once I've got the filters and needles fitted I'll see how it runs and maybe get it sorted on a rolling road. Peter Burgess is a fair way from me, perhaps I could make it part of a couple days away

My new ramps, shallow angle to clear the spoiler:

[na]

I could do with those ramps just to get the jack under the front of my car, infact I use 3" blocks my mate lent me

PM that name as I'm guessing it's the guy I went to previuosly that charged me three times (X3!) as much as Peter Burgess and I was never confident with the work plus I'm sure he charged me for the 20 mins he was dealing with another customer - perhaps he had an off day but after setting up and test runs Peter Burgess swap the needles that had been profiled by the previous chap and I could hear the difference

I've had three rolling road tune-ups at three different places with my present Midget and Peter Burgess was by far the best and excellent value

for your bolts to fix K&Ns if you can identify the present bolt number you can get it's size and thread off the following table and then just work out the length required allowing for thicknesses of washers, stub stack, filter plate, gasket and carb - http://www.mgb-stuff.org.uk/partnos.htm#descriptio...

Edited by na on Wednesday 6th July 12:06

[mgtony]

Should there be any gasket between the stubstack/filter or the filter/carbs? All these questions are why I normally get someone else to sort things on the car!

[na]

mgtony said:

Should there be any gasket between the stubstack/filter or the filter/carbs? All these questions are why I normally get someone else to sort things on the car!

no problem Tony as you know I don't know much but what little I do know I like to share

I'm going to put one between the stub stacks and K&N back plate as dirty has got behind there so it looks like it needs it

I smooothed my rough cast stub stack a bit only to find they may be best rough, mind you the cast is that rough they're not exactly polished even now

there should be a gasket between filter and carb, mime's got thick corks ones that I'm swapping with the 4 thin ones I got as the cork are well squashed anyway

when putting the gaskets and stub stacks in make you you fit them correctly and don't cover the (air relief?) hole - you'll see them, it's one of the extra two holes in the stub stacks

as for bolts - are your carbs HIF4? your Handbook will tell you