Rick -
Someone else suspected the mixture/timing. What you'd be looking for is
mixture too rich or timing too late. Either one will leave unburned
fuel in the exhaust stream, which the catalytic converter will happily
combust (that's how a catcon gets rid of unburned hydrocarbons...). As
you might guess, this creates copious amounts of heat. I've seen them
glow better than red-hot.
Chris K.
Rick Reineman wrote:
> Just picked up a 1978 Spitfire that the previous owner had put headers
> on. That moved the catalytic converter farther down the pipe just
> under the transmission cover (it's a California car). The factory
> solution was to put the Cat right under the exhaust manifold.
>
> I had to have the thing smog checked. Since the new laws in this
> (f'ing) state require a dynamo test the car was running in place at
> around 35mph for some time. The catalytic converter got so hot it
> ignited the carpet that's over the transmission cover.
>
> I can get new carpet and the smog guys will help pay, that's not the
> problem. My question for the list is if there is some sort of
> commercial solution available? Or are there lessons learned out there
> (besides don't live in Calif.) that will save me from learning them
> the hard way myself. The flaming Spitfire was a lesson I could have
> lived without.
>
> I had intended to take it to a local muffler shop and talk to them
> about heat shields, better muffler etc. Thought I'd give the
> newsgroup a shot first though. Thanks in advance for replies.
>
> Rick
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