[VintageLambo] Smelly Espada

To everyone interested. A number of Espada owners have complained about exhaust smell in the cabin, which in my view rightfully has been traced to the aerodynamics of the car creating a slight vacuum in the cabin when the windows are open. When asking for a solution there have been some reasonable suggestion such as (airtight) sealing of the car"s back-end, run the ventilation fan on high speed and opening the rear windows both to overcome the vacuum. Unfortunately I have not heard anyone declare success, meaning having fully overcome the smelly problem. It is particularly the hydrocarbons, that are a nuisance and certainly makes me physically uncomfortable (unnatural sweating) after prolonged exposure. Well, here finally is a success story. I just installed new catalytic converters (the old ones installed in mid 1990"s had become non-functional in a prior feeble attempt to recover from a failed engine rebuilt with various fluids) and the car actually emits breathable exhaust. Try to briefly sniff the exhaust from a late model car with well functioning cat"s and compare that to the smell of the Espada exhaust. It now is a pleasure to drive from an olfactory (I just had to try that word) standpoint as well. The cats I use are a 94000 series pair from http://www.car-sound.com/04product/04universal.htm (each rated for a 5.9 liter engine displacement), which can just be squeezed in behind the gearbox. Since the gasses are hotter, the exhaust sound changes a bit as well, in my view for the better. Thermal coating of the exhaust is always a good idea and in this case will reduce the heat exchanged to the cabin through the floor. A word of caution though, cat"s become overly active in a prolonged fuel rich environment, to the extent, that they can melt the ceramic honeycomb and become very restrictive. So if this solution is pursued, it is important that the carburetors (in my case fuel injection) provide close to the right mixture. A common belief seems to be that cats are restrictive. This was the case for the first iterations, but now they merely, from a flow standpoint, act as a small volume muffler. As a side-note I do suspect, and it visually appears, that "high-flow" cats are merely a marketing gimmick to overcome the perception of a restriction and boost profit. Laust