Thanks to @jnaki , it's always good to hear from the guys that were there and witnessed it first hand.
My off topic car back in 73 had dual Cadillac muflers from their biggest engined cars, which BTW ran single exhaust. Yes, it was a lot of work getting them under the car. And making the pipes to the rear bumper in the large size going over the axle was a gas welding learning experience. As well as the expense getting u-bends. But man that car was quiet! Which was the whole point. Don't give away what was under the hood before the terms had been agreed upon. We're talking sleeper as the car was even in gray primer, and the steel wheels and baby moons were purposely a little rusty... So much fun!
Flowmaster makes a lot of different mufflers - but most only bought the cheapest / loudest one. Walker makes dynomax and thrush. I run Walker on everything I put exhaust on. Again - many models to choose from. I'll never run a glass pack.
I put a Thrush hush muffler on my coupe years ago because I remembered how much I used to like the sound of them back in the 70s & 80s. Single exhaust, with a tail pipe. Can't hardly hear the motor running. I was pretty disappointed. The dumb thing is 13 years old and still sounds the same. It has lasted a very long time though... I put a Continental glass pack on the "new" truck, I like how it sounds right now, it may be interesting to how long it lasts. Back in the 70s, I made a lot of money cutting perfectly good mufflers off the other guy's cars and putting glass packs on them, when I worked nights at the gas station. My boss actually stocked a few glass packs and muffler clamps. My boss and I had a great relationship.
I put sneaker pipes on mine. That’s what I grew up calling them. Mine were an attempt to copy how my dad ran them
All the Hamb era cars I have found, 1950 to 59 with period exhaust still intact have had small dual pipes, 1 3/4 or 2 inch, full length, with glasspaks or long, skinny mufflers. The best sounding I ever owned was my 55 Stude 259 with Cherry bombs in the mid 90s, with 1 7/8 pipes. Of all the shows I went to, I gotta say the cars that turned my head every time were stock Y blocks with 2 inch pipes, and flatheads with small pipes and glasspaks. My dumbass teenage mind thought my 66 C10 with header mufflers sounded good. My ears are still ringing. The later Hamb era cars I have had were limited to a 62 Impala, with glass packs, and a 63 Catalina with the long, skinny style mufflers.
My neighbor down the street in 1963-4 had “cut-outs” or “Lakes Plugs” on his ‘56 Chevy. Sometimes he would uncap them and make a run down La Tijera or Airport Blvd then dash into his Mom’s garage and close the door. When I recreated his ‘56 a few years ago, I had to include the cut-outs.
Yeah - I had 2 cherry bombs first, than two Flowmasters - I don't like the dirty trash can sound of them anymore ether - especially on my inline 6, they are on my nerves while cruising. The older I get, the more I want something that still sounds wild(ish) when I rev her up, but way more mellow and low end at idle/cruising.
When customers insisted that I install Flowmasters, I often installed Dynomax bullets farther back as resonators. They still had that Flowmaster sound but somewhat less “tinny”.
Flowmaster's remind me of 1990 Pro Street bullshit. I can't lie... I do like the sound... sometimes... The rest of the time I like Dynomax Turbo Muffler's!
Not to split hairs but that sounds to me like boost creep. Common in tibo applications when you increase exhaust flow after the wastegate causing air to not move through the gate thus creating a creeping boost after the wastegate setting.
I'm curious why no one has ever used balance pipes on a flathead? I know that they have a different firing pattern than modern v8s but it seems like it would iffere the same benefits that it offers on other engines. Maybe it comes down to tradition and sound.
I had Flowmaster 40's I ran on the BBC in my '63 Falcon gasser, and I really liked the sound at idle. But get up around 2500 rpm's or higher, and the noise level was annoying. On the open highway it was just irritating after a short time, and I had to put ear plugs in if I was going very far. I have good quality glass packs on my old Austin A8 sedan with a SBC and they're great throughout the rpm ranges, and Turbo mufflers on my '39 Chev coupe, and they also sound good at any rpm's.
Porters, Smithys or regular glass packs, depending on budget, usually 2" and whatever length fits space or desired sound (noise) level dictates.
30/40's no muffler, 50/60's steelpacks/glasspacks/sidepipes, 70's and up turbo mufflers, all thru the years "Cutouts" / lake plugs for racing and just making noise. There you have it in a sentence.
The fact is that the block is the biggest producer of backpressure. Porting can only get one so far, and headers do nothing for performance without hot camshaft grinds. The best reward for power is to either, raise the C.R., or supercharge.
I've read all about the flathead design and it's issues with power. I'm not sure that really would effect scavenging all that much. Maybe it would but I just found it interesting that even 2 cylinder Harleys find ways to scavenge the exhaust and everyother hotrod part of the culture but never on flatheads
Alright apologies of jacking the thread, but first.... We all know how the HD V-twin is unbalanced in regards to 360 degrees of crank rotation. (Referred to as the "Dislocated Shuffle" by some ) And we should not forget that Chevy ( + other GM 8s ) has the #5 and #7 cyls. popping within elbow room of each other. These arrangements make for the use of a balance tube to be of benefit. Otherwise, it's just extra material and welding
I found this and thought someone here might be interested in a source for exact reproduction of the original turbo muffler: https://ssl.corvair.com/user-cgi/catalog.cgi?show_page=42
Glass packs and Porter steel packs were the thing way back then... We used to wind it up in a low gear and "let 'er rap" down the hill that led into town. My ol' ears have changed and now it sounds obnoxious. I've evolved to where I like the deep tone without the rap. I use Jones' Turbo Tubes now for that very reason. They look like a big baloney glass pack but have turbo style baffle inside... and a deep rich mellow tone.
I remember: Thrush, Cherry Bomb, Smitty and Purple Hornie, which was my favorite because they had a built in turn out and a flange on the other end to bolt directly to the header
This a pic of the exhaust going through the bumper ends on my Merc back in the mid 50s. The former owner said he was running glass packs. Unfortunately this bumper was gone when I got the Merc. I'm doing a my rear bumper similar to that and I'm going run Porter mufflers.
The Jalopy Journal
