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Re: Gaskets

To: spitfires@autox.team.net
Subject: Re: Gaskets
From: Michael Hargreave Mawson <OC@46thFoot.com>
Date: Sat, 22 Feb 2003 20:37:40 +0000
On Sat, 22 Feb 2003, at around 18:13:27 local time, William Davies 
<bill@rarebits4classics.co.uk> wrote:
>
>----- Original Message -----
>From: Michael Hargreave Mawson <OC@46thFoot.com>
>>
>> About 400
>> miles into the trip, I blew the gasket between the exhaust manifold and
>> the down-pipe, and subsequently had this replaced by a back-street
>> garage in Somerset.   100 miles later, I blew the same damn gasket.
>
>We often sell these gakets in pairs - one for the manifold, one to go 
>in the glovebox for next time.....

<g>
>
>> Is this gasket the one that various people recommend omitting
>> altogether?   If so, I'll just take it out, and screw everything back up
>> as tight as I can...
>
>Many people leave out the gasket but I've never been convinced. The 
>same manifold arrangement is used on the Dolomite 1500 and I used to 
>change ours every 3 months/1500 miles at best.

Dammit, I'm not prepared to do that!

> After being obsessed with making the exhaust mountings as rigid as 
>possible to avoid flex, I read an article in an old copy of The Courier 
>from the mid 1980s. It was suggested to mount the exhaust fairly 
>loosely, omitting any brackets from the gearbox forward altogether. 
>This prevents the downpipe joint from becoming a fulcrum point as the 
>whole system moves together.

Hmm.   Sneaky.   I like it.

> I tried it, and the same gasket was on the car when we sold it after 
>about 3000 miles. I don't know how much longer it would have lasted, 
>but it was a very drastic improvement,

So, how about combining both approaches - remove forward brackets *and* 
gasket?   Suicidal, or a recipe for trouble-free motoring, do you 
suppose?

ATB
-- 
Mike
Ellie  - 1963 White Herald 1200 Convertible GA125624 CV
Connie - 1968 Conifer Herald 1200 Saloon GA237511 DL
Carly  - 1977 Inca Yellow Spitfire 1500 FH105671

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