OK, I'll admit it now after 40 years. When I was first driving my Model A to high school in 1973-74; I used to have a lot of fun manually backfiring my motor. This used to cause people to 'duck and cover' and my buddies and I would get a good laugh.
What I would do is manually advance the spark and then turn off the key when the engine reached high rpm. The unburnt fuel would then build up until I turned the ignition switch back on. The spark would then ignite all the unspent fuel (gathered in the cylinders and manifold) and cause a HUGE explosion. It sounded amazingly like a gunshot...Dirty Harry style!
One time in particular, (Spring 1974) several friends had joined me for a cruise around town and as we passed a CHP safety checkpoint, I decided it would be the perfect time to show everyone just how loud my 'Chitty' could 'Bang'! The officers standing around didn't think it was so amusing though!...When they heard the bang they all grabbed their pistols and dove for cover. (They never knew what hit them as we sputtered down the road with the exhaust going 'potato, potato) Meanwhile, we were laughing so hard I could hardly see the road through my tears of joy!
And now for the reason of bringing this up so many years later: In the accompanying photo you'll see how my exhaust manifold has a crack that only showed up after sandblasting. (It was hidden from view by the intake manifold) I could never quite locate that exhaust leak!
This could also be the reason two of the three exhaust valve seats were cracked and needed repair... Now my tears aren't tears of joy!
Oh, the follies of youth!
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