'56 Exhaust Deflectors

[AdamD]

Hello Everyone,

I have recently inherited a '56 Thunderbird that has been passed through the family on my mom's side since 1962 and I am about to do some work to it in order to get it back in show quality condition for my wedding come up this summer. The car had an off the frame restoration sometime in the 80's and had several things redone on it, including the exhaust. For whatever reason, my grandfather decided that putting glass packs under the car would be far better than standard mufflers and replaced everything going to the back of the car. Currently, the exhaust comes out under the rear of the car in some bent stainless steel tips. The places in the bumper are just empty holes right now. Before the wedding, I'm taking the glass packs out and replacing them with standard mufflers so that when we drive away, it isn't so loud and would like to restore as much as I can to its original conditions.

So my questions:
When looking at the exhaust deflectors that attach to the bumper, I've noticed that many of the aftermarket deflectors have a slot cut out on the bottom and the exhaust is rerouted through that hole versus through the bumper itself. My concern, which I'm not sure is valid, is if I reattach the exhaust to the bumper like it came from the factory, it will rust out the bumper. Is this a valid concern? If so, will the aftermarket exhaust deflectors like this one ( http://www.macsautoparts.com/ford_thunderbird/ford-thunderbird-exhaust-deflector-left-1956.html ) prevent rusting of the bumper and does it deflect the exhaust in the same way that I mentioned?

 

[eboose7]

The bumper deflector you show is of the original type. There is an opening at the bottom of the deflector. Exhaust is partially deflected by the bumper, and yes, the exhaust will discolor the chrome on the bumper, if left unattended. I polish the bumper outlets following each use of the car and protect the chrome by applying a paint sealant. That is why some have chosen to bypass the bumper outlets by exiting the exhaust straight out the back of the car. Early 1956 Thunderbirds had only two mufflers causing resonance inside the car. Later cars switched to quad mufflers solving the problem. Hill's Thunderbird Center has everything you will need to install a correct exhaust system on your '56 Bird.