Removing exhaust flanges

Chris,
Your picture did come through. Sory but for some reason I didn't pick up that it was yours.

Getting the tank out as mentioned isn't a big deal. The fill hose, the vent line, the fuel supply and the wires to the gauge sender. On the fill hose, the easy way is to pull the deck fitting as most of the fill hoses are "close coupled".

Once the tank is out, I feel you'll have plenty of room to drop the SS tubing into the cavity. If not, use Tim's suggestion of cutting the small cross member. I too feel it really doesn't do much. You're going to end up having to do a stringer job sooner or later anyway!

Chris,
Post a picture. Tim's method of cutting the cross member is easy. Also, no matter which way you go, the tank has got to come out. The hole in the transom isn't large enough to get the hose through - just the through hull tips.

nautique5454 wrote: If I were to remove the flanges, is there anything I should keep in mind?

I would keep in mind that the flanges and through hulls are NOT connected, and getting the through hulls out and back in should be avoided at all costs! Not a fun job if you want to reuse them, as it will take a hammer to get them out.

If I remember correctly, we cut the horizontal braces on my sister's '69 when she replaced her exhaust (with copper pipe), as they were mostly rotten anyways.

If you dont want to cut yours, I would look for another way to sneak the pipes in there. Removing the gas tank is a 10 minute job, by the way- and I would be inspecting those rear hoses very closely while youre in there.

No foam in the cavities. The previous owner had a newer engine installed so that could have been removed in that process. See the picture below...I like the idea of cutting the piece out as long is it won't affect strength/structure. I also wanted to get new rubbber hose onto the flanges but haven't thought of a way to do so without moving the gas tank, which I want to avoid. That is why I thought removing the flanges and assembling outside of the boat would be the easiest solution.

Chris,
I wouldn't mess with the transom exhaust tips. It's a method but I feel more work than's needed. Think about using the bottle jack trick under the engine manifolds. Tilt the aft of the engine up and install the exhaust forward from the transom. When you get to the engine, slowly drop the engine so the hose slides onto the manifolds.