The Official 356Talk Forum

Does anyone know of or knows who sells original styled exhaust tailpipe j tubes? These look like they have been cast and have a ribbed seam. I'm not referring to the readily available mandrel bent versions from stoddard's. They are quite different. They maybe referred to as exit pipes. I'll try to find photos to post but are seen on a 1958 red coupe in a book about its untouched original condition.

Scott, you have the wrong nomenclature. "J" tubes are usually considered to be the exhaust manifold pipes coming off the front cylinders with the heat exchanger boxes around them. You are referring to the "S" pipes that bring the exhaust gas from the muffler to exit out the bumper guard holes. You may get more success searching for them than "J: pipes.

And yes the early S pipes were larger diameter.

The ones you want are for an A, they almost look like cast iron household plumbing parts. There was an article in the magazine maybe a year ago about someone making a couple of sets, it wasn't easy.

Hi David
Yes you're correct about the j tube but the "s" tailpipe kit comes in 4 J tube sections to make the " S" shape. Funny I know a David Jones in Melbourne Australia

Same construction of 4-cam exhaust header tubes. Has anyone seen another original set of 356 pushrod "elbows" as in Neil's Book on that '58 red Coupe?

Good luck with your hunt Scott. I too have seen pictures of the ribbed outlet pipes but have never seen them in the flesh.
The pipes that I have bought in the past have never fitted very well so if you find a source please let us know. I could use at least two sets for my "A" cars. I have a resonance is my "A" coupe that I am almost certain is a pipe contacting the body work though at rest there is plenty of clearance.

The push-rod engine w/the USA exhaust system has 38mm (1-1/2") pipe diameters on #1 & #3 and the Leistritz muffler
had the same ID to fit them; The muffler outlets are the same except the slightly enlarged slip-joints of the S-pipes using 40mm clamps .

When the Dansk became available, their inlet tubes were 40mm ID and they couldn't be clamped w/o leaking unless a thin sleeve was inserted and the larger 42mm clamp was used. Later, Dansk modified the inlets to suit, BUT their J-pipes (heater box) w/40mm pipes
became available. SO, fitment(s) between the 2 became a problem unless MFG matched! Even the S-pipes were difficult to fit and many didn't have a true 90-degree bend in both to suit the bumper guard outlets!

Finally, the original Euro exhaust system has 40mm OD exhaust pipe outlets and the S-pipes are suited to fit them w/the proper clamping.
I never had a Dansk exhaust system to install, so I'm not familiar w/it.

For clarification we’re talking about these right?

Leave it to Jack to come with such rare items! Now the question is, Why did they use such massive pipes on the outlet end of the muffler in a pushrod engine?

In the case of the 4 cam, that type of heavy tube construction is used from the cylinder head to the muffler -- where the heat is the most intense.

What do you mean “massive”?

Brad Ripley wrote:...Now the question is, Why did they use such massive pipes on the outlet end of the muffler in a pushrod engine...

Looks to me that they were stampings, seam-welded at the 'flanges', since producing such short-radius pipes was not easy or affordable at that time. Welding would have been a cheap labor 'good' in Germany at the time.
I've dead-ended a couple of designs which require bends with a radius getting close to the tube diameter; really not available at costs Pre Mat can sell.

Those have an intentional restriction at the outlet? Any idea why?

True, 4-cam exhaust pipes are 'built up' but no elbows to the bumper guards; just passing underneath the 'tail'.

In all my years of 356s from 1958, I've never seen 'built up' elbows for the push-rod engines having exhausts thru the guards or below.
Then again---

Dick

Yes, they are indeed two flanges welded together. As has been pointed out the same elbows were used on the 4-cam cars. My late friend Tim Goodrich made a stamping tool to make the flanges when he was restoring Richard Price's 58 speedster. Corey Johnson has also made them and sells them for those wanting to be exact.