Thread: Mufflers

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My car is a 32 Ford roadster with built 462" Buick.
It's a touch space limited underneath.

I've run Walker's straight turbo-muff, looks like a glasspack with many dents in the body.
Way loud, it was the same as running a straight pipe in place of the muffler.
2 1/4" system.

Next up was a set of 28" glasspacks.
Sounded nice, not too loud, but like all glasspacks, two weeks down the road and it was noisy.
Still a 2 1/4" system.

Built a 2 1/2" system and installed a pair of Walker's Turbo-Muffs with glass packing.
Sounded very nice, a few weeks down the road it got louder, but not too bad.

If I would have had the room underneath, I would have run Hemi-muffs.
I've run those on other cars and they're very quiet with a nice tone.

After 5-6 years the glass packed Turbo's blew out some more and got noisy.

Installed a pair of 2 chamber FlowMasters.
Ok sound, but too loud.
After a few months I installed a 2 1/4" H-pipe on the 2 1/2" system.
(2 1/4" H-pipe makes for an easier install on 2 1/2" tubing than a 2 1/2" H-pipe does. The smaller H-pipe does not affect street performance and with a 462" engine in a 2400# car, no big deal.)

The H-pipe was installed to attenuate the loud FlowMasters.
It did help, don't set off so many car alarms now.

Recently I installed a set of three chamber FlowMasters in my 2002 SuperCrew pickup with 5.4 liter engine.
A true dual pipe system and not the one pipe into the muffler and two out deal.
These have a very nice old timey glasspack sound and the DB level is not objectionable.

I'm hoping I can get a pair of three chambers under my new project - 31 roadster on 32 rails - which also runs a 462" Buick.
From what I can see they should fit and if I have enough room it'll be a pair of Hemi-muffs.
The three chambers are only 4" longer than the two chambers. (23" vs 19" overall length and 17" vs 13" case length.)

The two chamber FM's are about the same length as the Turbo muffs fwiw.

In any event, regardless of muff installed, the 31 gets an H-pipe and straight extensions.

I pulled the straight extensions from the 32 and installed Megs.
Like you'd think, the noise level increased - more than I thought it would.

Running the pipes over the axle can be a tough job.
Especially in my cars with their long rear panhard bars and rear sway bars.

What worked well for me was to run the tailpipes under the rear axle, as high as I could - taking into consideration where the rear axle was when topped out - and almost to the rear of the body.
Turned out to be a nice way to do it.

Our exhaust.

Thanks for the replies. Tim, I haven't bought mufflers yet. The "street rod builder kit" sounds like a great deal! The "Stainless Specialties" mufflers seem to be very popular. I may go with them. C9x, the Buick brand is popular in my family. Big inch engines with huge amounts of torque. Dad bought a '55 Buick nailhead back in '57 for this very same car, and still has the thing. Were the three chamber Flowmaster mufflers you installed on the pickup the "Delta" series? Thanks for the info. SirSpeedy, Thanks for the picture. Great chassis! I really liked the master cylinder/booster and brake pedal installation. Is the brake pedal the "Deuce Factory" setup? The exhaust system looks very nice. Thanks again guys

We purchase the brake pedal mount from Horton Street Rod Products, which we modify slightly. We fabricate the arm, pushrod and booster mount ourselves.

Sirspeedy, I notice that your adjustment knobs on your coilovers are on the outside. I installed my coilovers the same way on a '29 Brookville frame but I wonder if I will be able to adjust them afer the body is on? What is the general agreement on whether the coilover adjustment knobs should be on the inside or outside?

Don Shillady
Retired Scientist/teen rodder

Don,

I am not sure how much clearance you have with the rear crossmember, but I prefer the adjusters up and out of sight. That chassis pictured has a rear sway bar, so there is actually more room to operate the adjusters on the top with that particular application.

I have purchased my mufflers for the Deuce, and was considering the stainless kit from Stainless Works that Tim suggested. Will this kit do a complete system to the back bumper? Is the stainless exhaust the way to go for a driver, and is the extra cost worth it? I have the major expense of the paint and interior yet to go. What do most of the Deuce owners that drive their cars alot usually go with? Help needed!

We build our exhaust from raw steel exhaust tubing (no aluminizing) and raw u-bends, then have the whole system ceramic coated. The standard steel tubing is much easier to work with and weld, and in the end the material cost comes out about half price.

If you can layout brake a fuel lines neatly, you can build your own exhaust from u-bends and pipe.

I did not have room to run 3 inch pipes over my rear housing so I had to go underneath. I don't mind the look. I used Dynomax Utraflows and really like the deep, throaty sound.

I asked this question before and did not get an answer. I am getting near the time for mufflers and so this thread has been helpful so far but nobody has said anything about catalytic converters. I know if you remove the cats from a late model 350 Chevy (illegal) the sound gets "better" but what effect does the use of cats have on sound? I have found "universal cats" with no air inlet for about $60 each and I would like to use cheap glass packs to save space and money on the mufflers. what do cats do to the back pressure and the sound?

Don Shillady
Retired Scientist/teen rodder

CATS didn't come out till the later part of the century.
The 32 (licensed as a 32) doesnt need em.
(flowmaster hushpowers)

Thanks for the replies everyone. I think I will go with the ceramic coated, mild steel tubing that SirSpeedy uses. Looks like it will be much easier to work with and considerably cheaper.
Rockn Rods. Will you have your Deuce at the Good Guys show this weekend?