frenchyd said:
In reply to volvoclearinghouse :
Depends on how much noise you are willing to tolerate. My favorite is resonators only , its authoritarian sounding but not annoying. Mufflers only leave that resonance. As a luxury Sedan you might want to go for both.
If you do the factory 2 into 2 followed by the resonators works better than individual mufflers. Plus the resonators.
Thanks. I'm wondering if the "2 into 2" acts as sort of an X pipe? That actually might be kindof cool- do an X pipe in place of the factory 2 into 2, then run just resonators.
It is a "luxury sedan", but having driven it with the hole-y exhaust and hearing a bit of that sweet 6 song, I don't want to lose it....completely.
Perhaps "Ratty Luxury Sports Sedan" would be a more appropriate description. 
In reply to volvoclearinghouse :
That transmission can be very reliable. They used it all the way to 1987. But change fluid not on miles but time. 3 years!
volvoclearinghouse said:
frenchyd said:
In reply to volvoclearinghouse :
Depends on how much noise you are willing to tolerate. My favorite is resonators only , its authoritarian sounding but not annoying. Mufflers only leave that resonance. As a luxury Sedan you might want to go for both.
If you do the factory 2 into 2 followed by the resonators works better than individual mufflers. Plus the resonators.
Thanks. I'm wondering if the "2 into 2" acts as sort of an X pipe? That actually might be kindof cool- do an X pipe in place of the factory 2 into 2, then run just resonators.
It is a "luxury sedan", but having driven it with the hole-y exhaust and hearing a bit of that sweet 6 song, I don't want to lose it....completely.
Perhaps "Ratty Luxury Sports Sedan" would be a more appropriate description.
It’s still way cool and you should have s lot of fun with it
Since you know what you’re doing it will be shockingly reliable.
Oh, over fill the oil by 1/2 a quart. And keep checking the level That long stroke (4.17 ) 6 uses oil freely.
In reply to frenchyd :
it's in malibuguy's capable hands now. Looking forward to hearing the results. We discussed the layout and worked up the following plan:
In place of the factory 2-2 primary muffler, there's going to be a sort of open-chamber combination thing, that will work sort of like an X pipe but without the higher frequency noise associated with it.
The two stock mufflers will be replaced with turbo mufflers, smallest size that can be sourced. The stock exhaust is 1-3/4" pipe, and the smallest turbo may be a 2", but he said he can expand and contract the pipe going to/ from the mufflers and they'll fit fine- actually they'll be smaller than the stock ones. Which is good, because those things are gigantic.
The two resonators in the back will be going away. They were so small that they were probably not doing much, especially at lower frequencies. Also, the newer turbo mufflers have some packing that helps elimnate higher frequencies, basically an incorporated resonator it sounds like. Plus the stock resonators were sort of visibile from the back of the car, and looked fugly.
The exhaust will be tucked up under the car tidily, and follow the stock routing more or less. Some new style hangers may be needed, which is fine- not really a stickler on originality. Also, the pipe that crosses under the driveshaft will be made removable, in case the driveshaft or transmission ever needs to come out. That way I won't have to cut the whole exhaust out.
SIn reply to volvoclearinghouse :
That sounds good, I’m not sure how it will sound because they will be different mufflers with different resonance etc. Hopefully that arrangement will eliminate the need for resonators.
In the past I’ve heard a variety of muffler/ muffler delete, etc. but the universal agreement regarding not only in the 3.8/3.4/2.4 but also in the bigger MK7,8,9 seems to be the need for some sort of muffling ( resonator) at the back end.
The sweetest sound came when the resonators were replaced by a pair of mufflers from a BSA441Victor motorcycle. Yes I know the 441 is a single cylinder and probably as rare as hens teeth.
Knowing how Cheap Sir Lyons was I’m sure if he could have eliminated the resonators he would have found a way.
Speaking of Cheap, you are aware the according to rumor Sir Lyons deliberately cut out the carpet under the front seat since nobody would ever see it. It is thought Lyons had a plan on how to use those scraps. However the big Factory Fire that burned up the supply of DTypes the factory had planned on converting to street cars that fire started where all those scraps of carpet had been stored.
In reply to frenchyd :
Interesting history lesson. ;-) Appreciate it.
If the lack of resonators turns out to be an issue, it should be relatively easy to piece something in there, being in the back part. At this point, I'm more concerne with the exhaust not having holes in it. It was like swiss cheese when I brought it to the shop. Mufflers were missing big chunks.
One other issue- one carb (I think the back one) seems to get loaded up and spit fuel out the overflow tube ocassionally. My fix for this is to turn off the fuel pumps and run the carbs dry, then flick them back on. Sometimes this works. I've played with SU carbs on my Volvos but never had as much of an issue with them spitting fuel. Wonder if the float level is set too high.
Pic for the Facebook challenged.
If you are on the 'Book, go like malibuguy's page.
Can't wait to hear it. 
One other issue- one carb (I think the back one) seems to get loaded up and spit fuel out the overflow tube ocassionally. My fix for this is to turn off the fuel pumps and run the carbs dry, then flick them back on. Sometimes this works. I've played with SU carbs on my Volvos but never had as much of an issue with them spitting fuel. Wonder if the float level is set too high.
That or perhaps a leaking needle and/or seat in one or both float bowls. Seems like if it were a problem with a leaking needle/seat it would show itself as fuel flow (or spitting) out of the vent tubing at idle rather than at a more open throttle positions.
In any case, needles and seats are cheap and relatively easy to change.
In reply to volvoclearinghouse : SU’s at worst are a morning dawdle issue. Start after morning coffee and putting on a couple of records. You’ll be done in plenty of time to clean up for lunch. A couple of screws and disconnect the fuel line . Now it’s in your hand and It’s not hard to replace the needle and seat plus check the float’s not leaking. Then do the other one. Now all that’s left is synchronize them and you’re done.
I've been messing around with SUs for 15 years or so. I like them, but they always seem to need a little love. They are very simple, though.
The gas spitting does occur most at idle, which makes me suspect the float, though the needle/ seat could be leaking. Easy enough to check, once I get her back with the fresh pipes.
In reply to volvoclearinghouse :
Spitting as in backfiring? Or gas overflowing?
If it’s the former then it’s lean. Is the starting carburetor not working? (Reasonably sure the 3.8 used a starting carb and not a manual choke)
I'd also check the fuel pressure. I remember you're running a Carter in-line fuel pump that maxes out at 4 psi. Don't know if that is enough to over power the float's upward pressure trying to keep the needle on seat in the float chamber, but while you're looking it couldn't hurt to consider it. With all the tank cleaning and fuel line issues you've experienced thus far it also wouldn't be beyond plausible that you may have a bit of trash in your needle/seat assembly. Good luck...
Gasoline overflowing at the carbs.
The 3.8 does have a starting carburetor, and it's disconnected (wire). So starting is always a bit...challenging.
Good point on the trash. The float bowl can be removed independent of the carbs and takes about 2 minutes each. Will check.
In reply to volvoclearinghouse :
The SU carbs do not like more than 2&1/2 PSI which is another reason to go back to the original SU fuel pump.
That and the sound. Thunk Thunk think until the fuel bowls fill then an occasional thunk as they top it off. It took me a while to realize that with just a tiny bit of regular points cleaning the electric pump lasts for decades.
Not sure, but I think you must have HD6 SUs on your S Type. I've never messed with those. I have the HD8s on the 420 and you don't have to remove the whole float bowl to access the needle/seat and float - just one banjo bolt on the top of the chamber that is also the vent pipe. I had similar fuel issues and with the number of times my float chamber cover came on and off I just had to have a handful of the fiber banjo bolt gaskets (they don't like to be compressed more than a few times).
I think they're 6's, they seem to be the same size as the HF6s I'm used to on my Volvo 122s. The Volvo carbs are slanted; the jag carbs are straight side-to-side.
I had put a pressure regulator and gauge on the Carter electric pump, but realized I didn't need it; even cranked all the way up it was never getting over 3 psi right before the glass fuel bowl. So I doubt that's the problem.
Both SU have the fuel overflow tube, but the only one that ever spits out raw gasoline is the rear one. So I'm thinking it must be a problem peculiar to that carb.
In reply to volvoclearinghouse :
That starting carb will take a little bit to figure out but it really makes a cold start easy. If you want you can replace those 1&3/4 SUs with HD8’s ( 2 inch) they have a simple mechanical choke that lowers the jet down so a cold start is nice and rich.
There is a slight power increase as well but requires a little adapting.
Both SU have the fuel overflow tube, but the only one that ever spits out raw gasoline is the rear one. So I'm thinking it must be a problem peculiar to that carb.
May want to look at the float itself to make sure it hasn’t developed a leak and filled with gasoline. Happens sometimes.
HundredDollarCar said:
Both SU have the fuel overflow tube, but the only one that ever spits out raw gasoline is the rear one. So I'm thinking it must be a problem peculiar to that carb.
May want to look at the float itself to make sure it hasn’t developed a leak and filled with gasoline. Happens sometimes.
Aye, I will. I already soldered the float in the right rear petrol tank sending unit.
In reply to malibuguy :
Yep, totally different animal back there. But same engine.
frenchyd said:
The sweetest sound came when the resonators were replaced by a pair of mufflers from a BSA441Victor motorcycle. Yes I know the 441 is a single cylinder and probably as rare as hens teeth.
Fun fact: Those are still available in the aftermarket world. It's actually a sort of common model worldwide and parts still exist. British motorcycles were pretty dang popular then. I've got a 67 Victor Special and I have no problem finding just about anything.
In reply to crankwalk :
Are they still in production in India? A few years ago I almost bought one of the made in India version until I looked closely at the rather poor recreations.
