Hello;
I am in need of some more information from you fellows on a 57.
1/ Does the exhaust actually come thru the bumper or is that a
dummy with the pipe exiting under the bumper?
2/ Does a 57/98 Convertable have a spacer between the spring
and the axle mounting pad? This would cause the car to sit
lower.
Thanks in advance for any insight or old guy memories.
Ken Joseph

 

Going solely on recollection, the exhaust really does come through the bumper. It did originally, up until the point in time the system needed repair/replacement.

 

Often the replacement exhaust pipe is directed down just before it reaches the bumper, this keeps the bumper from getting discolored and slows down rust issues.....Tedd

 

The exhaust pipe did not connect to the bumper. those cut outs with the sheet metal grills are for looks only

 

You are saying that I recollect wrongly?

I can see our '57 in the drive with the exhaust exiting through the bumper on a cold day. Must be my imagination?

 

I have 3 - 1957 De Sotos and their exhaust went right through the exhaust ports in the bumpers... during that era, that was thought to be "cool".
Many years later, while we spend a lot of money to keep these cars original, well, let's just say that none of my De Sotos' exhaust systems go through the bumpers anymore.... those bumpers are too expensive to keep re-chroming.
If I were a betting man, I'd believe Olds did the same thing... it was "cool".

 

Didn't say that at all. Just said they didn't come from the factory that way.
The exhaust turned down in line with bumper ports. I would guess that some people did modify them to exit thru the ports. yours might be one of those.