I am in the market for a stainless exhaust system for the XK140 roadster. I see two options the standard systems and the “big boar” with 2 inch pipes and “free flow” mufflers. There isn’t much difference in the price and I am interested in the latter, but don’t want to have a loud drone sound at highway speed. Would appreciate hearing from a member that has the bigger system and what you think about it. Thanks in advance.
Big bore is a mistake. Note that Jaguar reduced the diameter, not increased it, from 140 to 150. They also realized the big ports were a mistake and reduced them from the C to B head. You want velocity not volume for better torque in the lower ranges.
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Mr.Ford is spot on. Bigger not always better. When Jag went smaller, horsepower reading at the real wheel took a slight bump to the positive. Besides, with a beautiful roadster on a sunny day, do you really want the additional noise ? Na !! LOL
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Friends here have bought Stainless systems from UK and have not been happy with the quality. in terms of accuracy and fit
Unfortunately with Stainless , one can’t just give it a warm and tweak the alignment.
Stainless is often light gauge and so more resonance. And while some might make a case for longer life, i doubt that the engine pipes end in mild steel would corrode out in the lifetime of current owners…
there is only one system to buy in my very humble opinion. The stainless system from Classic fabs. here in the UK. the quality is first class and the fit is perfect. I have bought three systems for different cars.
I have NO association with this company
Mild steel systems are by far the best. They will last >25 yrs which is good enough for me, but most of all: they sound just right, rather than the very loud, harsh noise with too much resonance that the s/s systems give.
Peder
I have a very old mild steel exhaust system on my XK120 that was likely installed in the late 1960s or early 1970s. It is still very solid. Because the car is driven mostly on warm or hot days, I suspect that little condensation forms inside the system to feed corrosion. The heavy gauge mild steel pipes produce a very mellow sound.
Thanks for all the comments. I’ve purchased the Bell stainless system standard/stock size. I had some good feedback on this system. I’ll let you know how I like it once the car is running some weeks or months from now.
Hi All:
I first must say I don’t have affiliation with Classic Fab from GB… I just received my complete 2" polished stainless steel exhaust system with long tube headers. It am in awe with the workmanship. James Stewart & wife Rhona sent me pictures of the final fitting. They have a XK 150 chassis complete with engine and hang the system to make sure it fits. I have pictures of the system right after unpacking, but i don’t know how to upload them to this site. If you email me directly i’ll send them to you.
Denny Broughel
1958 XK 150S OTS (IN RESTORATION)
S831031DN
VS1142-9
Hi Denny
Re: Classic Fabs Co UK, thanks for sharing info and photos 140FHC058 at FREE dot FR
Best
Herve
just for the record…see the ad on inside front of JCNA magazines…now and then for true repro of E type exhaust from Jaguar Classic that promotes the true correct sweet sound of original mild steel exhaust of correct size and shape. That said beauty in sound is also in the ear of the beholder. As to diameters, dual or single, exhausts like intakes, are tuned (or should be) to be optimal for the engine and desired performance. In most cases dual exhaust is an improvement IF it is warranted due to the intake, displacement etc. Not too many fast cars with a small single tube. Jaguar like the dual exhaust on the xk120 SE and 140…using the single on later 120 dropheads "probably " due to owner complaints of “noise”…similar to the closer valve clearance change “probably” but not so stated, after more complaints of engine clatter than they wanted to deal with.
On my 120 SE which DPO had a single skinny pipe, when I went to a 2.5 diam and no muffler (resonator only) I went up hills accelerating still in 4th, that had prior required a downshift to 3rd. And plugs were no longer black… Just sayin…
Nick
Hi:
restored my '57 (yes very early) XK150 OTS in the early 1990 and little choice in exhausts. AT the time “SS” exhausts from England were available (I believe these were 1¾"). I replaced the mild steel 2" with these and was ever so pleased with the sound. A deeper, audible but not irritating, burbling at idle and lovely exhaust note up and beyond the 3500 rpm (beyond which ‘there be dragons’, and no sense to go further anyway). It comes closest to reminding me of my old 6 cyl Healy (which always sounded fabulous). I found the previous mild steel version too constricting and car sounded like a sedan. There was an issue with fit with these early SS versions, as the tail pipes would not exit at the rear in a geometrically parallel fashion. This took some fiddling. My E-type ('64) has a large 2" bore stainless system by Bell. I remain unhappy with the sewing machine quality of the sound. It is hard to distinguish it from a passing warmed-over rice rocket (read Suburu here.). That is a topic for a later thread as I will be looking to replace this with something that makes the E-type sound like a inline-6.
The SS exhaust, on my E, is by Falcon. NLA far as I know. I bought and installed it 30 years ago. The steel used in construction is the same guage as the OEM mild steel system but I detected a slight increase in volume and tone vs stock. Not objectionable, but mild steel would be my preference. What’s already sourced for my 120 project.
Anthony. In my opinion this is a hard one to address and the only real way to “test the sound” is to be in around a bunch of Jags and to listen and compare the sounds of several cars. In my case I currently have three Jags. The two XKs have the stock exhaust manifold and the Bell stainless exhaust with standard diameter. They sound very nice to me - deep and smooth - but I wouldn’t mind if they were a little louder. My 67 E-type has a stainless header and stock exhaust pipes. It sounds fine, except for the back popping when I let off of the accelerator at a higher R
PM. I don’t like this and would certainly not do this setup again. I had another E-type with mild steel headers and stock exhaust and it was wonderful. Also, some months ago I found a video of a rally in Europe with an XK on YouTube and loved the way that car sounded, but there was no way to tell what system it had. I think if you take the time and find Jag owners who will let you listen to their engines or search YouTube you will find the system you want. Like everything else, to get it right will take desire, time and effort. Good luck.