You can trust Laker Tire & Service with your classic or vintage car. All of our service is performed and verified by an ASE Certified Master Technician. Don't trust your vintage vehicle to anyone but the best! This week, we had the pleasure of working on this beauty, a 1967 Pontiac Firebird. 

This classic car has been well taken care of by its owner, but it was time for a laundry list of services and upgrades.  We are in the process of repairing leaks and rebuilding the motor, as well as replacing bearings, seals and rings. Also, we converted the front drum brakes to power disc brakes while replacing brake lines, shocks, front coil springs, repairing the exhaust manifold, restoring the intakes, and rebuilding the carburetor. We'll also replace the tires and wheels.  

This Firebird will roll out of here feeling and looking brand new!  If you have a classic or vintage car that you'd like the best in the business to take a look at, give us a call or stop in today to see what we can do for you!

In the all-new Ford 5.2-liter V8, the connecting rods attach to the flat-plane crankshaft at aligned 180-degree intervals – creating what looks like a flat line of counterweights when viewed down the axis of the crankshaft. This crankshaft configuration improves cylinder exhaust-pulse separation, improving airflow and increasing power.

When the phrase “bundle of snakes” is uttered about an exhaust system, two cars come to mind: the Ford GT40 and Lotus 38. These were not the first vehicles to use this type of exhaust configuration, but they were the first to be called a “bundle of snakes” and make exhaust systems look more like art than science. These complex exhaust systems were created as a solution to the problem caused by the use of a flat-plane crankshaft.

Most engines use a cross-plane crankshaft. On this type of V8, the crankshaft fires every 90 degrees, and two pistons in a bank are always at the top and firing. This is good for scavenging exhaust gases because the exhaust pulses and the cylinder to be scavenged are on the same bank if using a four-into-one exhaust collector. But, a cross-plane crank does not rev as quickly due to the weight of the rotating mass caused by the counter weights.

A flat-plane crankshaft is lighter due to the lack of counter weights. But, the exhaust pulse needed to help scavenge a cylinder is 180 degrees apart and now on the opposite bank of the engine due to the crankshaft configuration and firing order. This is what the “bundle of snakes” solves.

The bundle of snakes uses two four-into-one collectors. The equal-length exhaust runners crisscross so the appropriate runners are positioned next to each other in the collector to create the scavenging effect.