Cut-outs on your exhaust

Did anyone ever use cut-outs on their exhaust system?

I had them welded on my first car and on several I've owned since. Of course I would open them at the dragstrip but also back in the 60's I would open them when I would head out on a road trip. That was back before a lot of the interstates were built so running out in the country on a two lane road was common. There was nothing like the sound of open pipes on the open road.

Todays low restriction mufflers make the cut-outs obsolete but it was cool back in the day to uncap your pipes. Just another example of new technology replacing old ways of having fun.

 

Hell yeah! I had a pair welded on the '49 and I love openin em up. Don't get me wrong, she is loud with a full exhaust, but nothin beats open exhaust. I only took one drive with open exhaust in the city, from my friends house to the local booze barn a half mile down the road. Good times!

I am now say that everything should have exhaust cut-outs.

 

As cool as cut-outs are, low restriction mufflers will never make them obsolete.

 

hell yeah!

 

I love cutouts ... but I think my Pontiac straight-eight actually sounds better muffled. Call me crazy.

 

Its not an exhaust system unless you have em.

 

In the real "waye baque olden dayz" we had them that we could open with a choke cable.

 

Haven't had a set for over 30 years. Scanning Ebay awhile back I stole a set less than the shipping to get them here. An impulse buy, no doubt, but the urge pull the cable and make some noise landed the possibility of being pulled over for excessive noise right at my doorstep. I've got two possible uses for them so maybe we'll be under arrest by spring.

Frank

 

Yep !!
I still have bran new cast one in the original box in my garage somewhere !!

 

They are still cast and sold today, same casting, from the usual parts places for 2" pipes.

 

never had actual cut-outs, but i've uncorked the headers on occasion...

 

I put several cable actuated cutouts on customer cars over the years...everyone leaked and sounded like you needed your exhaust fixed. Not cool just ratty.



I put lakes plugs on most all my cars.



An Ebay find, these cast aluminum spin off caps are my favorite. (I've never seen another set) I leave them open more than I should but I think the Harley guys have desensitized the police around here. It's nothing like it used to be. I've never had an officer say a word about the open pipes. I usually cap them up going and coming from the shows but open 'em up as soon as possible when I get there.

 

I have had'em on every car I had, just fun makin noise and love'm on road trips. Going thru some excess baggage this very day I found a set I forgot I had. Hope they will be on my blown six shooter in the Ranch Wagon soon. ~Sololobo~

 

I kept hearing that from a few guys.
That and the tricky brazing cast iron to steel pipes.
I had an original 50s Hollywood cutout pair in their boxes for years, but sold it eventually.

Now I just have straight pipes on one ride and short custom made steelpacks on the other.

 

I've got them and they will open with cables. They work and really sound good. Mine are capped with fuel filler caps that have asbestos gaskets in the caps

 

I originally used the plumbing cap type. I always carried a spare cap as they would sometimes come loose and I would lose one. On other cars I used the 4-bolt type with flat plates. It was cool to remove the gaskets and space the caps back with washers letting them leak just a little. One Sunday afternoon cruising the drive-ins with the "leakers", a guy accused me of putting in a bigger cam. I never did tell him any difference, I just let him think what he wanted.

One night back in the 60's, a friend and I were capping the plumbing pipe cut-outs back up after a street race. About that time a cop car came down the road. My friend got his side spun on but I had trouble with mine. As the cop got near I told my buddy to open the hood and pull the coil wire out. The cops stopped and asked what was wrong. I told them that the car had quit running but just before it quit I had heard a funny noise under the left side. While the cops shined their flashlights on the engine, I laid down and quietly spun the other cap back on. Finally one cop noticed the coil wire was out of the coil. He put the coil wire back in and I started the car right up. We thanked the cops for stopping and they went on their way happy that they had helped a couple of stranded teenagers.

 

my '51 project came with home made functional lake pipes that exited through a hole in front fender with very short resonators (like very short muffler) that had a terrible sound and were very hot. So, had exhaust system with mufflers run out just before rearend.
As long as holes were there I had tubes run out with Moon ribbed caps as cut outs. have seen some small book pics of customs with exhaust cut outs done like this.

 

I run 2" black iron pipe on my 6cyl it has a 4 way welded to the exhaust pipe and dumps out both sides. You can just hang out the door and screw the caps off at a stoplight and run loud. I run em open around town and at shows but throw em on when its time to hit the highway. The Fairlane has a factory style exhaust thats as quiet as a new car.

 

Remember when ? The year is 1964 and that is me underneath the 56 Vette bolting the caps back on after a glorius ride from Norwalk in SoCal past Vegas and through the mile long tunnel in Zion National Park with the cut outs open cruisin' to Richfield with my buddy Tom Medlock. The yellow sign just ahead, located a just east of Panguitch, Utah, on Highway 89 says " EXCESSIVE MUFFLER NOISE & CUT OUTS PROHIBITED" ! Ah-h-h, the memories.........Obviously we obeyed.



I now live in Utah and the sign is gone ! And so is the Vette. Got $880.00 for it as I recall and that included the beefed Phils hydro and BOTH tops. But then, thats another story.

Happy Cruisin'..............

Burly Burlile

 

My dad has electric cutouts on his stude. Look at the bottom of the front fender.

 

I had a cable operated cutout on my '56 Chevy 235 back in the early 60's. The cable pull was located on the floor between the driver's side door & the seat. I let a buddy borrow the car during a lunch hour break and when he returned it, he told me he was sitting at a light, noticed the cable and pulled it. Unfortunately, he pulled it out too far and the cut-out stuck open.........and there was a cop, two cars behind him. When the light turned, he started up and, of course, the noise was ungodly loud.

The cop pulled him over and gave him a "noise" ticket. Told him if he got it fixed by that time the next day, he'd tear the ticket up up. We unjammed it after work and drove to the station where the cop was just getting off duty. He listened and tore up the ticket as promised.

I'd kinda forgotten about that until it thread - thanks for the memory jogging.

 

heck yaha. got them on 2 cars!!

 

That looks like that price for only one side in that auction.

 

I made these for NITROFC (Al)

http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=531405


I would be more then happy to make more

 

I just bought them for my 56 Fairlane with a 302. They are electric so I will be able to open or close them from inside the car. Cost about $250 from a friend. I should have the motor in and running in a few weeks. Gonna set off a few alarms at the mall.

 

Yup, have them on all that I have built from the first one to the last one. Current build is a 29 model A with sprint car style OPEN headers on an FE. Can't help it, I love a loud hotrod. Comes from growing up at the race track with my dad, watching him race the roundy rounds on Friday and Saturday nights then to the strips on Sunday. Cops around here don't say anything as long as you don't get too carried away.

 

I decided to go with cut outs on my 38 Dodge truck. They'll be tucked under the large front fenders.

 

FWIW a buddy of mine has the butterfly valve electric cutouts. They never seal fully so the exhaust is always going out both sets of pipes. Sounds funny.