The post about Moon discs triggered some old memories about a popular Burbank muffler shop in the '50s. Muffler shops in SoCal were important players in the hot-rod movement in the early days, and I'd suspect that was probably the case in other parts of the country as well. Guys like Roy Desbrow, Duff Livingston, Dave Mitchell, Chuck Porter, Sandy Belond, Jerry Huth, et al, where hot rodders first and sharp busnessmen second. They were also innovators, providing us with such ideas as 'gl***pack mufflers, free-flowing headers, balanced systems, tuned exhaust, tidy installation methods, etc. But primarily, they were hot rodders who could relate to their hot-rod customers. My first favorite muffler shop was Burbank Muffler. They installed duals and Mitchell gl***packs on my '49 Ford coupe in 1955 and then did the same to my new '55 Chevy BelAir just a few months later. The guys at Burbank Muffler understood the mindset of young hot rodders, some of them having just graduated from those ranks, so they would clamp rather than weld your new gl***packs in place, in spite of a fully welded system being the hot setup at the time. What they understood so well was that the great majority of their young clientele would be back very soon for a retrofit of stock mufflers to satisfy an inspecion for a fix-it ticket that those wonderful new gl***packs had earned them. Then, when the authorities were satisfied that we'd learned the error of our ways and had our exhaust system restored to civilized levels, we'd head back to Burbank Mufflers and they'd reinstall our gl***packs -- which had been tagged and placed on a rack awaiting our return. We could expect some good-natured kidding from the installers, both when they removed the gl***packs and then later when they reinstalled them. I remember being asked by the installer who did all three exercises on my '55 "Are ya gonna behave yourself?" and then broke into laughter as he went about pulling off the "loaner" stock mufflers and reinstalling my hardly used Mitchells, welding them in place this time. I was a quick "comeback with the '55 Chevy. I had the duals installed on Saturday, did a couple of drive-ins Saturday night -- Bob's Van Nuys then all the way over to Eagle Rock to Van de Kamps. No problems. Then, Sunday morning I drove to my pal Bill Williams' house to share the sound with him because he'd been involved in a family do the night before and had missed "the launch." After a couple of respectful raps -- his parents and most of his neighborhood were still asleep -- I headed back home. No more than four blocks along I stood on it real hard just to enjoy the sound on a quiet Sunday morning. The little 265 made glorious noise, interrupted only by the bloos-chilling scream of an LAPD T-car siren! I hadn't got through 24 hours without getting a ticket! The guys at Burbank Mufflers knew their clientele.
On my side of the hill, it was Quincy Automotive or Lee's Speed and Muffler in Santa Monica, Lewie Shell or Porter Muffler in WLA. The muffler guy (and port & relief guy) at Quincy was Ray Alley, who later became a semi-famous wrench on TF cars. Don Porter, at Porter Muffler at Westgate and Santa Monica, was everybody's buddy at Uni High School. I think he was related to the people who manufactured the mufflers, but he was only a few years older than we were, and ran this one store, doing all the installations himself. The hot ticket then were steelpacks called, I think, "Turbopacks", which had a little stamped X-vane at one end. This was supposed to create swirling of the gases in the muffler, and mellowed the sound a bit. The ******** guys would have Don cut out the "turbos" -- the vanes -- and they were then louder and rattier sounding. Don was happy to do it any way you wanted it. Years later, Don would show up at our cl*** reunions, although he wasn't in our graduating cl*** at all. I think he had a relative in the cl***, but he was just a buddy who liked to hang out with the guys. Mufflers sounded great, too.
Good story! In '66 I was just out of high school, going to James Connally Tech (now TSTC) in Waco, Tx. Went by a speed shop one day someone had traded a quadrajet in with manifold. Bought it put on my camel hump head Duntov 097 cammed 283 in a 56 Chev. Air cleaner off the C series AFB wouldnt fit. ****er wailed. I was standing on it coming out gate (school was on old air base, not yet deactivated) local Bellmead cop hiding behind billboard stopped me ( still in 1st gear not speeding) gave me ticket loud mufflers. Found an air cleaner, went to judge, showed him my obviously not changed stock mufflers, gunned car etc. Scratched is head, mumbled something about cop must have stopped wrong car, dismissed ticket. Should have given me a loud carb ticket instead!!
With my Black Widow I'd graduated from Burbank Muffler to Magic Muffler in Canoga Park. There were four or five Magic shops at the time -- "the purple shops," referring to the signature color of their iden***y graphics. The shop truck/vehicle for the Purple Shops was a '56 Chevy 210 wagon -- I'd love to find one to restore! Magic Muffler was seriously into racing, building some very trick racecar systems in addition to all the civilian work they did. When I took my new '57 Black Widow to them for cutouts, they built new 2-1/2-inch dumps from the manifolds to the blockoffs for a clean and open drag-racing outlet. Then they stubbed the head pipes to the mufflers to the inside of the big dumps. The system worked great, the motor pulled strong and cranked to 7000 plus with ease. We got a bit more creative later on, with some limited success, but that's a story for another time . . .
atlantic muffler. 12144 Valley Blvd El Monte, CA 91732 i was only like 15,16 or 17... but my dad would follow me there in my ride to make sure i didnt get pulled over,,,open headers all they way there... they'd hook you up,,,duals,glaspacks,turn downs,turbos,super turbos, baby turbos,..sorry just thinking back on the late EIGHTIES,,,, hahaha
During the mid sixties there was Sepulveda Muffler and next door was Bob Jennings Automotive that dyno tuned vehicles. These two shops were just blocks away from Cal Automotive and Hot Rod Valley where you could purchase "Hot" hot rod parts. I think LAPD was their best customer? I had duals put on at Sepulveda Muffler for my 61 Impala with pencil tips that rapped real great. The fun thing to do was to race up to a bridge then drop one gear and coast down while going under the bridge. The rapping was louder then any of today's stereos... Well pretty close anyway. The Canoga Park Magic Muffler shop on Reseda Blvd. was also a favorite. There was a kid there by the name of Mike that did my work and the Magic Muffler shop in North Hollywood. You are absolutly correct about the Chevy station wagons back then. As time went on they started using Chevy Love trucks when they could no longer keep the wagons rolling. Thanks for jogging my memory av8 it was a sweet time back then. Especially before they put up the bright lights on Van Nuys Blvd and killed the crusing on Friday and Saturday nights along with Wednesday night that was called club night. Crusing from Fernando Bobs to Van Nuys Bobs was the thing along with a quick blast down Woodman to prove one's might. Thanks again.
In 1961 I built a '41 Ford coupe with a hot flattie. I painted it a bright red-orange, and worried that with loud pipes it would be ticket bait, so I had Porter muffler put on a pair of 30" steelpacks with turndowns right after the mufflers. It sounded healthy but was really too quiet for a hot rod. A guy gave me a pair of huge megaphones -- looked like trombone bells. I went back to Porter's and he fabbed new tailpipes that went from the mufflers over the wishbone and under the axle, then up the middle of the fuel tank, close together like an XKE, so the megs ended up right under the tailpan maybe 10" apart. The next few months were the most fun I ever had with respect to car noise, because the megaphone tailpipes completely transformed the exhaust note. It was now much louder, and had some kind of harmonic surprise to it that would cause it to bark at about 3000 RPM. I would look for tunnels, to give me an excuse to shift gears and hear the thing bark. Other guys were reluctant to race me because it sounded so ferocious, more like a 12 cylinder Ferrari than a V8. Later still, I put a back bumper on it and extended the tailpipes to the plane of the bumper. The extra 4" or so completely killed the wonderful harmonics. Too bad, so sad.
Hey Mike, Hey Shorty. Man you guys really put the grins on me with this one. I had my pipes installed on my '61 bubble top in San Fernando. Remember the name? I can't recall. This was the place in the mid '60's that would run straight pipes for ya all the way back and end with one inch pencil tips.At the same time you could have your short "clamped down"(the old j bolt method that would put your ride on the ground. Rode like hell though. Seems like every car that was painted by Bill Carter ended up there for pipes. Hey Shorty, I know you can relate to this, could have been the same night, who knows? Wednesday night Crusing from Bob's Big boy in Canoga Park down Sherman Way and Rappin those straight pipes in the Van Nuys aiport Tunnel was the thing you just had to do! Drop the Glide down to low, mash the go peddle and let off about halfway in the tunnel. Man was that loud!!! End up at Bobs on Van Nuys Blvd and scarf down a burger, and then up and down the blvd. till...... Thanks again Mike for bringing us back. --------------------------------------------------------- "OPOSSUM BENDERS" Central Missouri Chapter
Mike,MY folks had a 56 with the 283 four barrel and duel gl*** pacts.I had it out on a Friday night running everything except the big P's,I was on main st Ventura and got pulled over and cited for loud pipes.My stepdad told me you got it, you take care of it and don't take off the duels.I took the lids off of 5 galon cans and punched holes with an ice pick and stuffed them back so they couldn't be seen, the cop wasn't sure he liked the hissing sound but he signed it off anyway. After I got home I pulled the lids out and was happy to drive my A-Banger after that.--TV
I was waiting til someone got to the Burbank muffler shop that set the pace from the fifties into the sixties. Jerry Huth at Huth Mufflers was the place for custom exhaust in the valley. In the shop, multi outlet scavenger systems were hanging from the ceiling with labeled names like "The Organ" or "Rumble". Burbank PD was a rabid defender of stock exhaust. At the time as there was an open war with the world of hot cars. Jerry was working on a hydraulic bender that became his side business, supplying his bender to other shops for another decade. Jerry brought my Olds powered '40 coupe into the the current decade with a 2" gl*** pack instrument ending in front of the rear axle. Not impressive now but in 1963? Twice I had Burbank's finest come racing to my home claiming that they heard me "rev it up". Worst they could do was cite me with my stone cold car for important issures like a plate lite or a wiper blade missing. One citation went to warrant when I was in boot camp. Great Times: Fred A
^^^^ A friend's dad was related to the Huth family. Jerry's brother Bill was a fishing guide after retiring to Wisdom, Montana in the late '60s. He told us of the Plymouth & Chev 6 owners who wanted them to REALLY rap - he went out back to the alley & packed the mufflers with gravel.
This place is now run by the third generation! If anything; the place has gotten even better at working their magic! Picking my sedan delivery up from there later today. Can't wait to see the result!
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