Blimey, never thought I'd be able to correct
BEags on a matter of fact!
'lake pipes' meant that the car's exhaust pipes were similar to those fitted to racing hydroplanes
IIRC the "lake pipes" were an exhaust system which allowed a vent to be opened upstream of the silencer to give an open exhaust (shudder to think what it would do to the mixture).
And the lakes were the (dry) salt lakes - like Bonneville - on which speed record attempts were made.....
..... I'll try and find a link....
[edited to add links]
These are lake pipes still available, the cap secured by two bolts opens the system.
And
here they can be seen in situ in a rather tasty '54 Mercury. The capped vents can be seen just ahead of the rear wheels.
Howzat for thread creep!!
