Exhaust System Design -63 Tbird

[MN63Tbird]

Its time this spring to change out the exhaust system on my 63 to something closer to the original design. The car has a dual exhaust system with glass packs mounted underneath in the center of the car. It has a 1 3/4 H pipe and 1 3/4' tubing from the exit of the glass packs to the bumper. The glass packs make a nice sound but I am ready to have a quieter car and also be in a better scoring position at the regional convention judging this summer. This is a late 63 that would have come with dual exhaust as standard equipment.

From what I have read there are 2 types of muffler setups on the aftermarket to fit my system. The first is the 61 and 62-63 Tripower which has 2" pipes and 2" inlet muffler and 1 3/4" exit. The other is the dual exhaust 62 system with 1 3/4" inlet and outlet Mufflers plus resonators. Each system has a right and left muffler which are slightly different design from each other.

I want to preserve my H pipe and rebuild back from there. I am thinking of going to the 2" system and putting the adapter from 1 3/4" to 2" just past the H pipe and running 2 inch line from there to the mufflers that would be mounted on the outside of each rear spring closer to the rear bumper. I was thinking of expanding to 2" at the H pipe instead of at the muffler to give less back pressure from the 6-8 feet of having a smaller line and therefore provide slightly more power. The 2 inch inlet 1 3/4 outlet muffler was also closer in size to what the original car had.

The straight 1 3/4" system of the 62s I am thinking would provide less power since it has more constriction than a 2" pipe. I don't know if the resonator is necessary but I guess it would help on cutting down some sound frequencies. I also don't know how to get one that would be tuned for the frequency that the exhaust on the 63 produces. There dont seem to be any aftermarket ones matched with the 62 mufflers.

Does this 2 inch design make sense or am I missing something. I am not an exhaust expert just going by what I have read.

MN63

[ICON 1956]

You should PM Alan Tast about the different exhaust's style at that time that Ford produced for that year of your car....

[Jim Wulf]

This is a late 63 that would have come with dual exhaust as standard equipment.
MN63

Why try to preserve the present 1 3/4 inch H pipe if you want to go to a 2 inch system?

What is the build date of your Thunderbird? My '63 convertible has a late June 22nd build date and came stock with a single exhaust system.

Here's a thread you may find helpful that discusses the 2" conversion system using the stock '63 bevelled flange manifolds that use donut gaskets instead of the M Code or '62 style flat flange manifolds that use flat gaskets.

https://www.vintagethunderbirdclub.net/ ... on+exhaust

[MN63Tbird]

Jim, I was keeping the current H pipe to save a couple hundred dollars in parts/labor. Its also only has about 4000 miles of use with it. The link does show a nice flare to go to a 2" pipe that would cut some turbulence at the joint. My car was built on June 26th. Both our cars are on the last few weeks of production.

Regarding references for exhaust systems: my VTCI book on Factory Specs has a blank page marking for future release describing the various exhaust options. I have another book Thunderbird Restoration Guide 1958-1966 that Alan had also contributed to. It indicated that after March/April that most '63 cars had dual exhausts. It sounds like the rationale was to use up the inventory of dual exhaust components that had been targeted for the 6 barrel 390s. Since it said most cars that would mean that there were still some cars with single exhausts. I would like to keep the dual exhaust option to increase power.

MN63

[Jim Wulf]

Jim, I was keeping the current H pipe to save a couple hundred dollars in parts/labor. Its also only has about 4000 miles of use with it. The link does show a nice flare to go to a 2" pipe that would cut some turbulence at the joint. My car was built on June 26th. Both our cars are on the last few weeks of production.

Regarding references for exhaust systems: my VTCI book on Factory Specs has a blank page marking for future release describing the various exhaust options. I have another book Thunderbird Restoration Guide 1958-1966 that Alan had also contributed to. It indicated that after March/April that most '63 cars had dual exhausts. It sounds like the rationale was to use up the inventory of dual exhaust components that had been targeted for the 6 barrel 390s. Since it said most cars that would mean that there were still some cars with single exhausts. I would like to keep the dual exhaust option to increase power.

MN63

If your car has the bevelled C3SE manifolds that use donut gaskets, it was a originally a single exhaust car. I'm aware of the possible dual exhaust configuration on later '63's, but I've personally never seen one. I know others will jump in here and say their cars have it, but that's just my personal experience. I'm sure they're out there somewhere. I agree that a 2" dual exhaust system is preferable to a single exhaust, and that's exactly what I'm doing with my convertible, using the "conversion" exhaust system, as discussed in the other thread.

I'm not sure where you're seeing a flare in the pipe I show in that photo. That's a 2 inch H Pipe, which mates with (slips inside) 2 inch exhaust pipes. You'll need an adapter to get up to two inch exhaust pipes from your 1 3/4" H pipe. Not a big deal.

BTW, don't take everything you read in the Thunderbird Restoration Guide as gospel. There are mistakes that have been uncovered since that was written. It's a great book, but not infallible.