I haven’t made any more progress on the bay this week, but I’ve picked up some new parts.
The top picture shows the new corrugated exhaust pipe compared to the old spiral style. Although the old one is still in decent shape and doesn’t show any visible leaks when shaken, it’s quite loose. The new pipe, which is 60 inches long with end collars welded to my specs, cost $65.
The new pipe is much more flexible than the spiral one and can bend to a tighter radius with ease.
The insulation has also arrived. I’ll glue it and screw it in place, but screwing into it is tricky—like trying to screw into carpet. I was advised to use a long small punch heated up to melt pilot holes first, or to pre-drill with the drill in reverse.
Jim, thanks for the tip on the light bar. I’ll try it out. I plan to hook it directly to the bar across the top of the bay opening using the 24-volt power already there from the micro switch that currently powers the existing lights. If it works well, I might use it in the engine compartment too.