Technical Tip for those who have electric cut-outs

I know some of you all don't like the electric cutout thing but here's something to keep them healthy if you have them. Leave them open when you get back to the shop especially if the system hasn't completely warmed up. I hardly ever open mine and sometimes I crank up just to show off the car for short periods of time. Well they got corroded and locked up in the closed position. Of course a squirt of silicone lubricant or WD-40 and a few taps will fix it but it's still a pain.

 

What kind do you have? Do they leak any when closed ?

 

When I was a child I spoke as a child, drove as a child and installed electric gates. But when I became a man I put away childish ways...well that and a head gasket leak warped the hell out of my gates so I took them off the 442.

Good tip though, excessive moisture and heat are a bad combination for cutouts.

 

Well, to be frank, I don't remember who the manufacturer was, but maybe you can tell from the pictures in this link. I don't think it has anything to do with who made them, as they worked fine for about 4 years. And yes, they close off tight when closed, however I found that if you use a regular momentary toggle switch, they won't close correctly, due to some design of the switch that was part of the kit, which must have some sort of resistor or something inside it that holds them closed. I tried a regular switch just so my switch panel would look better, but thought for a while there was something wrong with the motor/linkage/fitment of the assembly, but I was wrong, as soon as I wired it in with the ugly switch, they worked just fine.

This has nothing to do with the current "stuck" problem, it was to correct a problem with "scraping the highway" when hitting dips in the road or other clearance issue:
https://49fordcoupe.smugmug.com/Fixing-Exhaust-Cutouts/

And as for mister macho bandit billy boy's childish comments (yes, HIS comments are the childish ones), it's simply astounding how a supposedly grown man can think the way he does. I'd surely hate to be a member of his family.

See, you have to be a MAN, to stop your rod, get out with a wrench, lay on your back beside the road (even more MACHO if it's at night), unbolt the caps, get back up, get back in the car, and drive off. THEN, if for some reason the NOISE of his rattle trap might bother some folks or the police department, he does the same thing in reverse. HOW MACHO is that??!?!?

Apparently, he has no idea what some of us call "convenience" ... Electric cut outs, as any fool knows, allows the driver to open or close his cutouts not only going down the highway at 80, or at 20, but at ANYTIME he chooses, whether to respect the "listeners" or to not attract toooo much attention. So the bottom line is; WHERE THE "H" do you get the idea that electrical "ANYTHING" is a childish thing???.. by the way, and I'm sure it infuriate you, but The Judge is air conditioned, 700R4, electric windows, power steering, power brakes, tilt steering wheel, perfect leather interior, O2 sensor/gauge, solenoid door openers, electronic cruise control, electronic radar actuated security system 383 stroker. It drives as stable and easy as my Escalade. And I built it completely by myself (including painting it), except for the interior. I'm 76 years old, and a retired registered professional engineer. I ain't no kid. What are your credentials, besides having learned to read and write?

 

^^Wow. Let ‘er rip.

 

Bandit was making fun of himself as much as anything. No need to get all bound up.

 

Watch that blood pressure!

 

A hooligan friend of mine had a blown small block in a 32 Roadster, with springs on his cutouts. At WOT the doors would open, and close when he backed off the throttle.

 

It's traditional to lay in the gravel with a box wrench and a socket.

 

It's not laying on the ground that's a problem,.........It's getting back up!

 

I'd say that Billy and I have seen the same "Pro Fairground" cruisers at the same events from different angles. The guys who think that they have to open the headers and cruise the Puyallup fair grounds every hour on the hour during a Good guys event.

 

Oh hell yes!,

 

that is a cool idea!!!!

 

1958 Down tube exhaust cut outs from the stock headers. Capped up, it was completely legal in all stock car drag racing classes, capped up during eliminations, of course.


https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/scavenger-pipes.33004/page-2#post-13296671 exhaust cut outs


Hello,

From the time my brother had our local welding/muffler shop install some down tubes for cut outs, the job of opening and closing them was left to “guess who,” when I was old enough. But until I was, my brother did the same thing when the chips were down. There were many teenagers during the 1956-65 time period in our local Bixby Knolls area that had down tube exhaust cut outs.

In his days of driving and racing the 1958 Impala, there were many times that he would crawl under the car to open the down tube cut outs. He had to unbolt one, loosen the other and move the cap over to one side. Then tighten the remaining nut so as not to lose any during the upcoming encounter. This was a standard operating procedure for most teenagers that had any kind of exhaust cut outs back then. It was a hassle, but it was a fix-it ticket at the very least from the CHP.

With the next generation of teenagers taking over the cruising hot rod scene, changes had to be made. One time on Cherry Avenue, the CHP broke up a race and chased a lot of teenagers all over the area. Luckily, my friend lived just around the block from the cemetery and told me to pull into the cul-de-sac near a low growing tree. He knew this spot was perfect for hiding. We had to jump out and cap up the exhaust cut out caps in case we were given the once over from the chasing CHP cruiser. Using an open end wrench or box wrench was not the fastest, but the only way to get the caps back in place, in silence.

We obviously were on our backs, upside down, removing one nut, loosening the other, swinging the cap over, installing the loose nut and tightening both as if it was never open. It was time consuming and exciting at the same time.

Downward exhaust outlet flange with wingnuts for quick opening/closing and removal.

Then one day hanging around my friend’s house, we figured out a way to make the opening and closing of the down tube exhaust cut outs so much easier and faster. A small slit on one side of the exhaust cap end fitting. Wingnuts (with Loctite or some solution) instead of an ordinary nuts. That way, a small tap is all that is necessary to tighten and loosen the cap for that extra power and sound. The reverse was easy, as the cap just swings back over the opening and the wingnut gets the tightening. Problem solved.

Jnaki

So, the process is not just a waste of time, being macho or anything, but just something that was necessary for added sound and power. From this standpoint, we also found out that scavenger pipes did nothing to make the car faster. It was added weight and looks underneath the car that made it popular. The sound from those long pipes was a little funny, too.

From the 1959-60 standard exhaust cut outs to the electric cut outs is a long way apart. If we had those devices, it would have made it simple. But, not the true teenage ideas that made it fun and exciting while experiencing growing up. Cuts outs are Traditional, but electric cut outs are way beyond the timeline cut off dates.

1959 lions 58 Impala entrance, pits, staging.

 

Dave Kindig uses them any time he gets the chance. I've thought about using cutouts. I just don't want to do the install and I don't want to pay anyone to do it.
I'm a turtle once I get on the ground...

 

My dad used to have exhaust dumps behind the front wheels back in the day. Used to put three flat washers behind the blockoff plates. Looked like they were capped off, but would really bark when you stood on it.

 

Ah, the internet. Where knowledge, satire and irony are no substitute for a good .02 cent rant. I think I will log on to facebook and see how the clean folk live.

 

Ha ha ha ha. Sometimes context doesn’t translate through the internet. I am reminded of this on a regular basis. Sometimes it doesn’t even translate to my wife......on a regular basis! Lol


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True that ^^^^ friend. I even put in a damn smiley with sun glasses. What a waste of a cool emoji! Hey, if keyboards had blow tube interlocks we'd have no fun at all.

 

Dang, all I wanted to do was to help out some other guys.

 

In the rain with 4" of snow on the ground.

 

quite sure he was being humorous, so can we let it go? anywho
the placement of the cutout- electric or bolted is important as to sound quality-- we had the cut outs in the 50's a short piece of tubing welded to the side of the exhaust -remove cap make noise. and that is all that it was and did!
to get the sound of the engine the cut out should exit in line with the exhaust- like a collector does. you wouldn't mount a collector on the side of the pipe perpendicular to the exhaust flow would you?
well maybe Mister Macho Billy Bandit Boy would~~ (kidding, )I got your drift and I'm 79

 

You're close but the use of the English Mr. or Mister before the Spanish adjectives is awkward.
El (Sp. Masc.) Macho Bandito Guillermo (Sp. William) es un muy buen nombre!

 

I call those Fairground cruisers with open cut outs Posers. Could there possibly be another term used to describe it better?

 

How Pontiac did it. Just add cut out.


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Actually, Mister, Macho is an accepted english adaptation of mexican/spanish word, so you are once again, wrong. Can ya google?

 

So besides spending money on those nice electric cut-outs...do ya think ya made your car faster/quicker?

I think you made it louder.

 

Would yall cut it out.

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