Anyone have pics of cars w/torque tube headers? I wanna make a pair for the Beater and juat need some reference pictures.
I've read about these for years but never understood why you'd use something that heavy. Use a torque tube as a form to roll some sheetmetal same gauge as your U bends.
AV8Paul took this picture at York. I talked with the builder. He copied and made his own torquetube flange and block off. He used the common exhaust cones. It sure looked the part. He claimed that the real tube was just too heavy. It made sense to me.
I think the true meaning has been lost in translation. The headers weren't made from the torque tube but from the 35/36 driveshaft itself. Hard to find nowadays. Check the new RnC for an article on doing this job.
Yes...that's right. I have two inside driveshafts. The torque tubes themselves would weigh aton and sag over time.
If'n you do want to make a pair of "lakes style" headers from a torque tube you might look into a pair of Crosley torque tubes. They're little bitty boogers. Look like they'd be just right for a main tube. JH
....Hard to find nowadays.... Oops, I may be wrong. Mac's Auto has them listed in my catalog at $77 each. Don't know if they are NOS Ford or repros.
the reason to use a drive shaft is that the resonant characteristics are much better than those of a traditional exhaust pipe. next time you build an exhaust smack the pipe your are going to use and see if it rings... attached is a speedster with a model T torque tube as the exhaust pipe. (i like to use organ pipe for my exhaust tubing, though it usually works for the end of the exhaust, rather than really close to the engine)
Heres a couple shots that may be what your looking for. The picture is a 35/36 inner driveshaft cut in half. They taper from the middle out to each end. Nice thickness to work with. I was always afraid to try and make my own headers.......the big mystery thing and the what ifs. Its really quite easy and fun. Mine turned out OK for a first try I think. If I could weld better they would turn out even better. My welds help keep them looking homemade and not a 1 800 item. I think the more parts a rodder can make himself along the build the more personal the car will be. The hardest part is finding the parts. Steve
Steve, Thanks for posting that '36 inner driveshaft photo. I never knew that Ford used anything other than the solid shaft.
I'm planning to do the same on my 24T modified this winter Pete - sliced round the weld holding the bungs in on a 36 torque tube inner. Cutting one in half puts the exit just in front of the doors. They may be a rare sight - but I have two of the suckers myself!
Here's my new exhaust system I made for my roadster using a '36 hollow driveshaft. I cut it in half and welded some pipes to connect to the headers. I'm now working on end caps to divert the exhaust under the car to the straight tailpipes.
According to Mike's and Vern's book, they used 33-34 torque tube, not the driveshaft. Other model years are too heavy. If you're using 35-36, then you would use the hollow driveshaft.
I want mine to go further back so I'm gonna try a full one on each side. If it looks gay, I'll cut 'em.
Sometimes the "store-bought" cones ain't what you need. If anybody wants to roll their own cones, give me the small end diameter, the large end diameter, and the overall length and I'll give you a simple sketch that you can use to do the layout on the flat sheet metal.
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