Going nuts over my exhaust!

[imported_n/a]

Can anyone tell me how the exhaust is assembled on a 74 Penton 250 hare scrambler? I am in the process of reviving this bike it's my first Penton and have a question or two about the exhaust. My pipe looks in good shape just one small stress crack, until you take the muffler end off! My exhaust has the stainless piece with the threaded rod through the center. Ok here's the nuts part. The previous owner told me that the bike's top end was off for a few years in his garage, and that chipmunks had stored nuts inside he thought he got them all out reassembled the top end started the bike, but it didn't run well and soon quit in the woods behind his house, frustrated at that point sold it on e-bay where I bought it.

I took the muffler end off, all the fiberglass packing was JAMMED and I mean jammed way down in, what a mess there is so much oily guck in the pipe any discription wouldn't do it justice. I dug out the fiberglass with a coat hanger started pushing the coat hanger down the small center tube only to find resistance eventually I dislodged an acorn that was like it was a manufactured plug, then I was able to shake out some pieces of other nuts also?
I'm sure this was a big part of his statement "it just didn't run right" probably lodged up there when he was in the woods. When I shake the exhaust I can't hear anything lose or rattling?

My questions:

Is the center "small tube" open to the main body of the exhaust, In other words should I be able to push a rod all the way through? Cause I can't.

Also where the packing goes is that sealed from the main body of the muffler?

Last how can I get all that oily mess out of the pipe? Is dousing the inside with kerosene and lighting it off "safely" in an open area and letting it burn a good plan? Don't tell Al Gore>>>>

Signed Nuts!
AKA Cappy

[Big Mac]

a) the center small tube is the stinger, perforated throughout to "let" the noise out...it is open all the way in through the body of the pipe. Maybe you need to pressurize the other end and blow another nut-plug out.
b) the shroud around the stinger is just a long cone, welded to the pipe body on the front end, where the pipe's fat body and shrouds cone body are the same size.
c) usually fine if you just dig out all the old packing and rinse with some solvent, but if it was plugged it may be unusually spoogy. I've heard of guys building a hot barrel fire and dropping the pipe in to fire out all the gunk that's collected on the inside. Have never tried it.

Hope this helps.

Jon McLean
Lake Grove, OR

[john durrill]

AKA,
 We use a barrel to burn the pipe out. If you have an old garbage can it should work. Knock some holes in the sides just above the bottom 5 or 6 should do. Use scrap lumber if you have it for the fire. Build one so the flames come about 3/4 up the can. Suspend the pipe with some coat hangar and a steel rod ( rebar) or pipe. Don't let the pipe lay in the coals ( you dont want to heat the metal enough it gets soft and bends). It will take some time. You should see some nasty yellowish smoke come out. When it just about stops reverse the pipe in the barrel. Keep that up till you see no more smoke from the pipe. You can use a piece of old drive chain to loosen up the carbon left. Nuts and bolts will work or pea gravel. Something abrasive . Rattle that back and forth , up and down  till you get no more carbon out of the engine end of the pipe.
 After the pipe cools down clean the outside with a de-greaser and a wire brush . The heat the pipe with a propane torch as best you can ( 200 or so Degs) and spray with a good brand of VHT paint. The heat will keep the paint on the header a lot longer.
 I can't tell from my 74/75 book if the stud that holds the end cap on the pipe is attached to the out side of the perforated stinger or to something in the middle of it. So I don't know if you have a ( baffle) inside the stinger or not. If the block is organic the fire should turn it to ashes. The chain or nuts and bolts should loosen any carbon up and you can shake it out the header end of the pipe.
 We have used this method a long time ( since 61) on 2 stroke pipes that are painted and it works well.
Hope this is some help,
 John D.

[imported_n/a]

Thanks!
Jon M. and John D
Maybe I can break this Nut with your help?
I kinda figured that the small tube was a stinger and I must still have a blockage but wanted to hear it from someone else. (Thanks) Sure don't want to damage my Penton want to ride her! I am going try a coat hanger again tonight, But I had another revalation, I have a 12" drill extention, a rod with a connection and set screws to hold a bit I may attach a bit and see if I'm drilling something organic if still blocked, also I'm going get a small wire brush attachment to fit inside the stinger and run it through after I burn her out. You know like a miniture chimney sweep, or like my old shotgun cleaning kit. I want her to run as good as her Kip Kern rebuilt engine looks setting on my bench!
Just note I never burnt-out a pipe in my past 35 + years of riding and wrenching bikes the trick we did in the past, before everyone owned powerwashers, was to go to the local self serve carwash with pipe in hand and silencer off and blast the s%$# out of the pipe. Good to plan for a hot day. But I never remember seeing any pipe this gunked up. Again don't tell Al Gore please! That stuff ended up going somewhere?

Cappy
Ps, the riding itch is at full fledged Rash stage can't wait to her that sweet pop pop pop of a two stroke again and smell that good ole two stroke oil in the air fregrance. The thought of four stroke and water cooled engines in dirt make me ill! Oh no! I gotta scratch this itch to ride soon!!!