MG Midget Madness (i.e. It was either this or kill it with fire)

[GySgtFrank]

Originally Posted by TitaniumTT

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Looks great Gunny!

So the FC is making the trek to DGRR this year?

If I can get out of here it will. That's why I haven't touched it all winter. That way it's not in a pile of parts if I get a chance to go. I seem to have a problem that way.

[TitaniumTT]

I have no idea what you're talking about

[GySgtFrank]

Originally Posted by TitaniumTT

I have no idea what you're talking about

Yeah riiight! My bullshit-o-meter just snapped off the needle.

[TitaniumTT]

Butt seriously, I haven't touched any of my rotaries for about a year now! But they're all broken right now

[GySgtFrank]

... and done with the midpipe ... finally. I got the welds smoothed out, primered and painted. Bolted into final installed position. Now on to creating a really screwy muffler that fits in front of the rear axle, in the little bit of space that I have. Then I have to go over the axle with the pipe and connect it to the rear section and muffler I already did. The things we won't go through to ensure a relatively free flowing exhaust that has a chance of surviving backfires.

midpipe painted by Kevin Frank, on Flickr


midpipe final install by Kevin Frank, on Flickr

[GySgtFrank]

Finally got the middle muffler cut, bent, and tacked with the TIG. The thin wall perforated pipe is a stone cold b***** to try and TIG. Ugly, but it's going to get wrapped in steel wool and closed up in a case so ... meh.

middle muffler (guts) by Kevin Frank, on Flickr

in other news, The latest snow has mostly melted off and I broke out the FC today. Zipped it around for a bit to get everything lubed and let the battery come back to a full charge. It's nice to be driving something fun for a change.

[chibikougan]

Woohooo!

[FC Zach]

That's freaking cool man! Kudos to you for making your own muffler! I guess you have no choice but to.

[RXtacy]

Originally Posted by GySgtFrank

Finally got the middle muffler cut, bent, and tacked with the TIG. The thin wall perforated pipe is a stone cold b***** to try and TIG. Ugly, but it's going to get wrapped in steel wool and closed up in a case so ... meh.
middle muffler (guts) by Kevin Frank, on Flickr

in other news, The latest snow has mostly melted off and I broke out the FC today. Zipped it around for a bit to get everything lubed and let the battery come back to a full charge. It's nice to be driving something fun for a change.

Cool. I'm curious why the muffler has to be such a complicated shape? It looks like there are lots of straight sections in the exhaust that could have housed a muffler?

[GySgtFrank]

Originally Posted by FC Zach

That's freaking cool man! Kudos to you for making your own muffler! I guess you have no choice but to.

Thanks, yeah off the shelf stuff wasn't going to work. So, I have to make something that I can stuff into whatever space is available.

Originally Posted by RXtacy

Cool. I'm curious why the muffler has to be such a complicated shape? It looks like there are lots of straight sections in the exhaust that could have housed a muffler?

After looking at what is used by the factory, and others, I need around 24" of pre-silencer. Which is why I went with two mufflers before the main muffler. This one has to fit in front of the rear axle with around 12 inches of length and still allow me to get the pipes up over the axle. The car only has 2 to 3 inches of ground clearance from the pipe I used, which was part of the reason for using such heavy pipe. I was afraid that if I tried to build a muffler in those sections I would tear it up trying to get in and out of parking lots. It already scrapes on the aftermarket swaybar mounts up front. I do worry about the front muffler, but I plan to build a skidplate to tie my front rails together more solidly and protect the oil pan and muffler a bit. I'm hoping that will be enough. That's my thinking anyway. I may be full of shit, but it's mine.

[GySgtFrank]

New tool to get the outer case bent for the muffler from hell. This is going to be one of the most expensive little mufflers in history I'm afraid.

sheet metal brake by Kevin Frank, on Flickr

Getting the core wrap around all the bends has been a painful experience. My fingers have been poked so many times with wire from the screen and wool that they will be hurting for a week.

muffler wrap 1 by Kevin Frank, on Flickr

[chibikougan]

I'll Poke you So many Times....

[GySgtFrank]

such a tease you are.

[GySgtFrank]

Middle muffler is fabricated, packing in, and tacked together.

middle muffler 1 by Kevin Frank, on Flickr

middle muffler 2 by Kevin Frank, on Flickr

middle muffler 3 by Kevin Frank, on Flickr

middle muffler 4 by Kevin Frank, on Flickr

[GySgtFrank]

Muffler is welded and cleaned up ready to install. My TIG welding skills are even worse than my MIG skills. It's going to take a lot of practice to get the hang of TIG.

Pre-cleanup ....

middle muffler - welded (pre-clean up) 1 by Kevin Frank, on Flickr

middle muffler - welded (pre-clean up) 2 by Kevin Frank, on Flickr

Quite ugly, but it's together in spite of myself. Had to grind them off a few times and redo welds a couple of times.


Post-Cleanup ...

middle muffler - welded (post -clean up) 1 by Kevin Frank, on Flickr

middle muffler - welded (post -clean up) 2 by Kevin Frank, on Flickr

Ground the welds down a bit to smooth them out some, but mainly looking for pin holes. Only had a couple that I could find. I'm sure more will show up once it's running. Folding would be better, however the oddball shape precluded that.