I'm going to be just running a small block chevy, but I wanted to know what lengths you guys think sound the best on something like that. My car is about 17 feet long, and I'll be running them all the way to the back... what size seems to sound the best? I'm not too concerned about being to loud. I know they come in 22 to 30 inch.. what would sound good for a set up like mind? Secondly, someone told me a trick that they used a 22 inch and a 30 inch smithy on their dual exhast, and it got an interesting effect in that you heard a nicer idle with the shorter muffler, and a deeper sound with the longer one. Anyone tried this?
I own a muffler shop and I bought the Smittys just to get the name. They were too quiet for me. Get the shortest ones you can if you want to hear 'em. I'm down to 12" generic gl*** packs and I might just eliminate them.
On my 55 F-100 with a sbf I have the shortest Smithy's you can get....They are located about right under my feet, and the tail pipe ends and is angled out just in front of the rear tires/fender..... it idles nice and mellow....but when I jump on it...they start to bark...Smithy's arnt made to be loud, their trademark is that mellow sound... if you get them you probably wont be dissappointed....the longer the muffler the more quiet and mellow the exhaust will be....I think I would say get the short or medium ones and use a small...1 3/2...or so pipe....and mount the mufflers up close to the engine....but i know next to nothing about exhaust systems...
I'm running 26" Smithy's centered between the engine and the rear of the car. I gotta admit, I was hoping for something a little more irreverent. If your cars that long, I'd consider straight pipes or start with the shortest and work my way up. If I was going to do it again, I'd opt for the Cherry Bombs Krager has in the barrell. Don't know anything about the combo, but if you wanted to go longer or shorter, you'd only end buying 3 and not 4 if you tried that. 30.00 bucks is 30.00 bucks. Goodluck and let us know what you find out.
Tommy - I'm at the same point as you. I have had a set of 12" Blue Streaks for a couple of years on the Y-block and there mostly blown out now. Thinking about straight pipe when I load the new motor.
[ QUOTE ] I own a muffler shop and I bought the Smittys just to get the name. They were too quiet for me. Get the shortest ones you can if you want to hear 'em. I'm down to 12" generic gl*** packs and I might just eliminate them. [/ QUOTE ] I agree all the way . . . Smithy's **** IMO . I would either use Cherry Bombs , or the shorty 12 incher generic jobbies at the muffler shop . . . or nothing at all . It isnt THAT loud at the bumper , especialy with you in the drivers seat .
<font color="green"> Mama's 59 came to us with Smitty's. They seem to be about 2 foot long, are mounted up in the X of the frame and are installed backwards. It is real quiet at idle but has a cool rap to it when she gets on it. Interesting thought on the two lengths. </font>
BB is right try Brockmans they are real good people. Smittys are not steel pack like the were they are gl*** packs. Brock sells steel and gl*** packs, give them a call they can give you all the info.
I've got 26 inchers behind the Cad in my 'A', with a short pair of turndowns dumping just in front of the rear axle. Three years old, and sound good so far. Plenty noisy for this old codger. Over the years I've found that the noisy **** gets tiring after a while.
I'm not going for a really lout noise... just that cool old rapping sound when I hit on it. I loved how they sound on my friend's '56 Chevy. I'll be setting them up with functional lake pipes if I really want some sound. Looks like if anything I'll go with the shortest... no one's heard of using two different sizes? Perhaps I'll just test the theory and see what happens...
I ran 30" ones on my flathead, you couldn't even hear it running. So about 3 weeks of getting **** from eveyone I threw them away and am running straight pipes now.
I had a pair of 25" steel-packs on my malibu, behind a 350. Sounded greats, a little deeper tone than gl***packs, and they didn't burn out.
Call Brock, at Brockman. He'll make you short (12 - 18") mufflers, with NO packing, instead of steel or gl***. Great sound, kinda loud, but not obnoxious.
Dont mean to hijack, but I was thinking of using smithys inside a set of side pipes on my 30 pickup, what is the outside diameter of these mufflers? I was going to make the pipes out of 3 tube and have the smithys slide inside. Can not get away with loud exhaust over here.
I with Tommy too. I started with 22" cherrybombs and could hardly hear my pipes. I went with some 12" and I can still hear my wife at 65MPH. Straight pipes are on the way.
I have a 283 with Hedman Hedders in a 55 chevy, what length brockman for a nice cruising sound and also sounds good when i hammer it?? Any 5-6-7 guy's using these and liking em? I was going to go with Smithy's but am thinking Brockmans after reading this post? .... xtralow . ...
my buddy used one Gl***pack and one steelpack to give it a different sound. it sound cool at idle then when he stepped on it, it sounded good. another buddy had Smitty's on his 64 Galaxie. everyone ragged on him for it. basicly he just bought them for the name brand. the sound was to low. i ran Thrush gl***packs on my 78 jeep cherokee with an AMC 360. man when i stepped on it. it sounded like a ****in machine gun. that was the best sounding rig i ever had. i'm going to buy the same ones again for mt 58 Ford F100.
THRUSH rocks! I had a set on the Fairlane and they sound goooood. I've got a set of header mounted "purple Hornies" (dumb *** name) on the Fairlane now. I painted them red though....the whole purple thing just ain't me... ****** SuperComps...Purple Hornies...and 2 1/4" pipe from the hornies to right in front of the rear wheels. rumbly at idle and ****IN' obnoxious when the pedal is down. Had the thing out on the interstate for about an hour last weekend. When I got home I was almost deaf. I need a set of earplugs to ride in it.....
I always build my own exhaust systems on every vehicle I've owned. Usually I scavenge the local muffler shops for bends by digging through their mistakes piles and offering a cold 6-pack of cerveza. I like to make the exhausts systems in pieces by using flanges & gaskets. It makes it alot easier to adjust sound levels, and easier to access certain parts when working on your vehicle. Alot depends on what size exhaust tubing you use. I know the Smithy's only come in 1 inlet & outlet size. But the size of pipe before & after the mufflers makes a difference. I used Smithy's 22" behind a SBC 350 in my old chevy truck. With stock manifolds, 2.5" pipe before & after, the truck sounded good, but didn't have the grunt I wanted. I installed long tube headers with 3" collectors, 3" exhaust reduced before the muffler, then 3" after, and the sound was there. Another trick I've used to make em "pop" is to remove the tubing after the muffler (temporarily), drive around for about 30 minutes and let them get good & hot, then pour water into the mufflers. You'll hear them pop like popcorn. Reinstall the pipes and they'll cackle & pop when you let off the throttle. Makes them sound pretty good at cruising speeds too. This sounds best with smaller 2.25" or 2.5" tubing. You can do the same with Cherry Bombs, or Thrush's packs. Planning to do the same when I throw the 302 Ford in my '54.
When I was a kid we used to pour gas in the new gl***packs and light them on fire. Burnt them out BEFORE we put them on. It was then, for all practical purposes, a straight pipe but if a cop checked he could see mufflers under there.
I put 26" Smithys on my '39 pickup with a 302. Even with no tail pipe, it's way too quiet now, but then I ran it for two years with 24" straight pipes. At least it doesn't sound like all the flowmaster cars around here. When I get that far on the tudor it will get straight pipes.
You can also pour some oil into the muffler before you clamp it in place, and then get it good and hot, and let it run that way for 15 minutes or so. It'll burn out some of the gl***... and smoke like a son of a *****. I just did it a little at a time until I got the exact sound I wanted. I used the 28" or so long thrush mufflers with 3" tubing out of the 454 in my he****... it sounds awesome. Or you could just burn all the gl*** out so it *looks* like you have mufflers when you check under the car
You just like the stickers as for Smithy's I like them, decently quite at idle, good rasp when you get on it, ran on my Henry J and have them for my Buick and the roadster. I usually get the short ones so I don't have to worry as much if they'll fit or not...
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