Thread: lakester headers

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Just found you all and hope this topic hasn't been worn out.

I'd like to put "lakester headers" on my roadster, but do not want to run blocked off and into the exhaust pipe. I don't want to end up as "jail-bait" or arrive after a 4 hour drive with a boomin' migrain, either.

Has anyone figger'd a way to have their cake and eat it too on this subject?

Thanks in advance

Originally posted by techinspector1
I've seen guys do this before with a baffle/baffles in the pipe, sort of like a big flat washer with a hole in it. Personally, I'd be thinkin' about packing 'em with steel wool as well. No, let me take that back, I wouldn't do this in the first place 'cause I don't think it's a good idea.

You don't think running lakester headers would be a good idea or the baffles/steelwool idea?

I talked to a guy that makes 'em and that is what he was saying
(steelwool and drilled baffle plates), but said most run them (headers) wide open. I don't think that would be a good idea.

Visit the world of motorcycle accessories/exhaust..............lot's of nice baffles there, various sizes, various tones.

Here's some humor showing I can laugh at myself and maybe give a message at the same time. Back in my Dune Buggy days I had a beautiful set of chromed headers on a 1600cc VW engine in a gold metalflake Sand Rover. One morning I got stopped by a patrol car and issued only a warning by an officer who liked the car but noted that the exhaust was not "stock" and that I better quiet it down ASAP! So that very day I cut the bottoms out of two aluminum beer cans, noting that they would hide in the ends of the header bell throats and drilled three holes in each header outlet at about 120 degrees apart. Then I stuck a Brillo pad inside each header bell and bolted on the beer can bottoms and drilled about ten 1/4" holes in the beer can bottoms. That quieted it down nicely and I was very pleased with my innovation. About three days later I noted the noise was back and there were threads from the Brillo pads streaming out the holes in the beer can bottoms. Upon taking off the beer can bottoms I found there was almost nothing left of the Brillo pads (in just three days driving)!. The moral of the story is that any packing material whether steel or fiberglass has to be held by some sort of internal structure and that the actual pressure of the exhaust is quite high! So maybe some sort of washer welded in or some sort of "Trapp-type" spiral baffle might work, but it has to be sturdy to handle the heat and pressure of the exhaust. Soon thereafter I was rear-ended in traffic and the headers were destroyed but the insurance replaced them with a very heavy gauge Swedish set of headers which had some sort of sturdy baffles and the sound from the new headers was really just music to the ear! Sooo, beer can ends might fit but I have proved they don't do the job right! For me that's a LOL! For what it's worth, I recall that after the Brillo pads were gone the perforated beer can ends were on the car about nine months before I got the new headers and the beer can baffles even survived state inspection, but surely the purpose of headers is improved flow so it seems silly to deliberately block them and maybe a spiral insert is the best answer.

Don Shillady
Retired Scientist/teen rodder

How about putting a set of Super-Trapp's on the end of the collector???

Hey 32 " We're all getting warmer, Don and Dave have it real close, Is it possible to take the Gut's out of a Super Trapp and install them in the Lakes Collector, so the Trapp wouldn't be sticking out ? Never messed with the trapps but they've been around a long time now. Maybe someone who's ran Trapps can tell you .

I've run super trapps for many years and if you want to take baffles out of the super trappp muffler, all it will be is most likely a straight through muffler which it looks like your trying to get away from. The noise would be mighty loud. Try stainless specialties. They make alot of different mufflers and will make almost anything you ask for at a reasonable price.

I've ran Super Trapps on a few cars. The best part of them is if you get a repair ticket for "excessive noise", all you have to do is make the appropriate adjustments, and get the ticket signed off. We had to use them drag racing on a 1/8 mile track they had in Sioux Falls (closed now) to meet the 90 db rule. They worked so good there I started using them on the street.

Chevy 37,
I'm sorry I maybe didn't explain it good enough, I was talking about taking all of the plates out of the Super Trapp and installing them inside the Lakester Header Collector , that way 32 Skidoo could adjust the sound to his liking, but I was not sure of what the inside of the Trapp looked like ie. the mounting system for the plates. If you mounted the Trapp to the Lakester Headers it seems like to me that it would defeat the Look that 32 is trying to acheve.

Thanks to all who responded. You all were hitting on target with the disadvantages that I'm thinking will develop by trying to run them as the only exhaust.

I've run across one company that says that they are planning on coming out with a series of inserts and discs that will mount in the
cone of a lakester header, but they do not know when they will be bringing them out.

I just got a new Summit catalog and note on their page 68 they show "Supertrapp Replacement Components" as Muffler cores such as SUP-400-1140 but they don't give the diameter or length so you would need to call the folks at Trapp. I note with considerable amusement that on the same page they show "SuperTrapp Muffler Endcaps" such as SUP-402-3046 which look a LOT like what I used when I cut the bottoms off of aluminum beer cans!

Don Shillady
Retired Scientist/teen rodder

Originally posted by Don Shillady
I note with considerable amusement that on the same page they show "SuperTrapp Muffler Endcaps" such as SUP-402-3046 which look a LOT like what I used when I cut the bottoms off of aluminum beer cans!

Don Shillady
Retired Scientist/teen rodder

With all due respect to my buddies here that statement pretty much says all you need to know a bout the esthetics of Super trapps Don!!

Bob, very well said! If I were doing it I would just add the lakes plugs and put the pipes under the frame. The "Trapp-adapt" is just going to plug up the headers worse than a simple glasspack. I just thought it was interesting that I was able to adapt the beer can ends and get essentially the same result as the high buck approach as well as dispose of the liquid in a biological way. Your comments are very valuable and tone up the Forum considerably!

Don Shillady
Retired Scientist/teen rodder

I have lakster type headers on my 32 roadster with a 401 Buick. I used a 4" kit from Speedway Motors to build my headers. I took a pair of 12" glasspacks with a 3" diameter and cut off about 1/2 of the outside case so they would push up into the cone of the headers. I welded the muffler to a plate with a 2" hole in it. The plate replaces the block-off plate the used to be between the header cone and the turnouts. I just shove the muffler in and bolt the turnout back on with the muffler plate between headerand the turnout. I have driven it quite a bit and have never been stopped for it being too loud. It is kind of loud under acceleration but at cruising speed it isn't bad as the wind noise kind of takes over.
Tim

Originally posted by IBUILDM
I have driven it quite a bit and have never been stopped for it being too loud. It is kind of loud under acceleration but at cruising speed it isn't bad as the wind noise kind of takes over.
Tim

Sounds promising. Do you have to use "turn-outs"?