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  • #4598
    reivertom
    Participant

      US Member

      Would a discolored exhaust cover (half brown) keep you from paying a premium price for an otherwise pristine mid 50s 5.5? If it were a typical condition motor for a cheap price, I wouldn’t hesitate. When you shell out a little more green for a basement queen, what would be the deal killer for you , other than no compression?

      #39054
      jeff-register
      Participant

        US Member - 2 Years

        Been overheated!

        #39055
        fisherman6
        Participant

          US Member - 2 Years

          Hold on!
          The 50’S 5.5s do NOT have a baffle plate under the exhaust cover. The cover you are looking at is all there is. Some paint discoloration is completely normal on those engines. As long as it is only some discoloration on that cover that is no cause for alarm. If the block is discolored then you have evidence of an overheat. At the point I’d price it like parts.
          -Ben

          OldJohnnyRude on YouTube

          #39056
          frankr
          Participant

            US Member

            Those exhaust covers burned the paint during the first five minutes they ran, right out of the box. And boy, did that stuff ever stink!!

            #39060
            reivertom
            Participant

              US Member

              I know this has probably been discussed before, but I couldn’t find it. I have some average motors with this coloration, but I didn’t spend much for them and it was worth the risk. I just never really owned a "pristine" specimen, so I didn’t know for sure. Is this one of those subjects that has a million opinions, or is it pretty well settled?

              #39062
              beerman57
              Participant

                Just look up the exhaust cover on your motors and see if they have the inner plate. No inner plate = discolored exhaust cover.
                Went to pick up a pizza several months ago and parked next to this motorcycle, you could tell it was brand new by the way the pipes/muffler smelled.

                #39065
                frankr
                Participant

                  US Member
                  quote beerman57:

                  Just look up the exhaust cover on your motors and see if they have the inner plate. No inner plate = discolored exhaust cover.

                  That is a pretty reliable method. Or think of it this way. If it is a 5.5 without a thermostat, or a 3hp Lightwin/JW series, the paint is going to be singed on the exhaust cover.

                  #39066
                  1946zephyr
                  Participant

                    The 7.5 had the inner exhaust plate, but the 5.5 typically didn’t I was thinking about designing a bunch of these and having them made like I did for the 7.5

                    #39072
                    reivertom
                    Participant

                      US Member

                      Sounds like it must be a usual occurrence and not from misuse or neglect. I knew I had not seen it on every motor…..even some with a lot of use, it makes sense now. Thanks for the info.

                      #39082
                      theodore
                      Participant

                        Can’t you fit the later stainless plate, or plate and cover, to the earlier engines?

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