Loud exhaust

[Ricosan]

Hey guys,

About a month ago I had dual exhaust put on my ‘34 cabriolet. 1 3/4” pipe with 22” Smittys glasspacks. It turned out terrible. It was just a bunch of noise coming from the car, from somewhere. Very disappointing.

Last week I took it to another muffler shop. I had it redone. This time I used I used “melotones” from Van Pelts. The sound is fantastic! It captures perfectly that iconic “corkscrew” sound of the flathead V8.

Although I love the sound, my wife doesn’t. I have to admit, it is loud.

What would you recommend to tone down the sound just a tad?

Ricosan

 

[flatford8]

Have your wife wear ear plugs.........Mark

 

[Phil Gillespie]

Hey guys,

About a month ago I had dual exhaust put on my ‘34 cabriolet. 1 3/4” pipe with 22” Smittys glasspacks. It turned out terrible. It was just a bunch of noise coming from the car, from somewhere. Very disappointing.

Last week I took it to another muffler shop. I had it redone. This time I used I used “melotones” from Van Pelts. The sound is fantastic! It captures perfectly that iconic “corkscrew” sound of the flathead V8.

Although I love the sound, my wife doesn’t. I have to admit, it is loud.

What would you recommend to tone down the sound just a tad?

Ricosan

Perhaps a set of ear plugs for your wife?
Have a 38 PU and when I got it the twin pipes finished up underneath the deck about 1/2 way . This gave a real drumming vibration inside cab.
had then run out to back at rear tailgate and all was good.
Phil NZ

 

[BW]

Maybe a H Pipe

 

[aussie merc]

if its too loud your too old

 

[34PKUP]

Seeing that even you think that it is too loud, add a couple of short resonators or go to stock type mufflers.
Or buy 2 sets of ear plugs.

 

[D. Jones]

My hearing is compromised and I don't want it to get worse so when I had the exhaust system built for my truck the guy, he's very young, asked what I wanted it to sound like. I said, "I want it to be like a BMW motorcycle, you see it go by but you don't hear it". A friend calls it my stealth truck. When I'm sitting at a stop sign with the clutch in you can just hear the throwout bearing going around but you have to listen carefully.

I can hear the wife while we're driving and that pays big dividends.

 

[JSeery]

I'm an open exhaust kind of guy, so can't help much! Flatheads are quiet compared to OHV engines so it's hard to believe it's that loud with two muffles. If you want to get it dead quiet put on stock type mufflers. If you want it as quiet as a modern car/truck you will most likely need to add an H pipe.

 

[fordwife]

It's all a matter of preference. How much volume and what sound are you looking for?

 

[RalphM]

Have your wife wear ear plugs.........Mark

LOL!

Let’s hear it running! I’m thinking my hot rod with Smitys is not loud enough. I might have to switch to your setup.

 

[Flathead Fever]

Since were talking about mufflers, this gives me an opportunity to sneak these photos in. This my little pickup. First hot rod to ever have glass packs. The first hot rod to ever be road tested in a magazine. One of they first hot ros to have an overhead engine. It was built by Dave Mitchell. He was the first one to manufacture glass packs in the USA. Before he invented the glass pack he built and sold steel pack mufflers. I have one of those originals and it is really heavy. The are packed with metal lathe shavings.

Photo, Dave Mitchell and Duffy Livingston setting up at the 1951 Oakland Roadster Show. Duffy helped Mitchell change the roadster over from the flathead drivetrain to the Oldsmobile. Later on Duffy started Go-Kart. The championship Go-Kart trophy is now called the Duffy. Duffy was Mitchells first employee. He also was a very successful sports car racer. Here he is in 1959 in his home made #184 roadster beating a mega-dollar Ferrari. You got to love it.


Another shot of the pickup at the Muffler Shop on Route 66 in Pasadena. Behind Mitchell's pickup is another employees hot rod, Roy Desbrow's chopped '32 pickup. Voted one of top 50 all time '32 Ford hot rods. It was built at Mitchell's shop. The pickup has never been found. The address in the ad is Mitchells Muffler Shop

A photo of my daughter and me at the Pasadena reliability Run. It was one of just a few of the original entries that showed up. It won one year and came in second the next year.

A photo at the Hot Rod Magazine Home Coming Show. The only time I've ever taken a car to any car event.

Photo of the Mitchell sign I bought on eBay. If it was up to me I'd take down the painting on the wall and hang this sign in the house's entry! It was an absolute miracle this sign survived. Its painted on some kind of 1/8" hard board.

Photo of Duffy and Dave changing the pickup over to Olds power and repainting it black


I was able to buy sveral original Mitchell mufflers. These are the second generation ones with the blowout proof ends. He was the first to paint glass packs blue.

The bottom two photos are the underside of Roy Desbrow's '32 pickup. I was able to copy the original 8"X10" photos that were used to make the cutaway drawing of this pick up in the 1952 Hot Rod Magazine. Those on the early version of the Mitchell Mufflers. Those welded ends and other manufacturers that crimp them in are the ones that could blowout with a backfire.

 

[RalphG]

I am actually surprised your flathead is loud. I have a single straight pipe to the rear bumper on my 52 Merc and don't consider it loud at all. Sounds great outside. Inside it not that noticeable and I think it would be even quieter if I had a headliner and floor mats in the car. If you rode along on any of my in car videos I find the exhaust sound not excessive inside.

 

[russcc]

Thank you for the great old time photos. I have used Mellowtones from Mac on 2 cars, and they are what I call reasonable, and that is a personal thing. But you try using some sound mat on the floor to cut down the "noise".

 

[Tinker]

Since you already have the muffler and pipes done. You could try a set Harley baffle at the outlet. Probably won't change the in cab sound much though. More in the back of the vehicle. They are cheap however and maybe worth a try.


bunch of different lengths...
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Straight-E...ipe-Louvered-Baffles-for-Harley-/172157284948

 

[A bones]

Since were talking about mufflers, this gives me an opportunity to sneak these photos in. .

No cause to sneak. Historical coverage, nice pics, memorable truck. Next time you find some, just start a thread.

Thanks.

 

[Jay in Mass]

No need to alter anything on the exhaust. Stuff some steel wool into
the exhaust pipes when your wife is with you. It will quiet the exhaust down . After a while it blows out on it's own. That's what we did in the 50's when it was inspection time.

 

[Tinker]

You can also wrap the harley baffles with steel wool and it'll stay put.


Great car and pictures Flathead Fever!

 

[Tinker]

My hearing is compromised and I don't want it to get worse so when I had the exhaust system built for my truck the guy, he's very young, asked what I wanted it to sound like. I said, "I want it to be like a BMW motorcycle, you see it go by but you don't hear it. A friend calls it my stealth truck. When I'm sitting at a stop sign with the clutch in you can just hear the throwout bearing going around but you have to listen carefully.

I can hear the wife while we're driving and that pays big dividends.

I have tinnitus. Too many times not wearing hearing protection gives me a forever ring. Don't want to make it louder either. I can pin-point the time it started. I was pressure washing inside a garage without ear protection. Ears usually ran after concerts, etc... but usually went away after a few days. But after the pressure wash (gas motor in a confined environment) that the ringing never went away. That was maybe 20yrs ago. Loud noises now can be quite bothersome now. You young bucks, protect your hearing!


That's my spring plan to stealth out my 38 a bit. Even with my duals it'd be nice to cut it in half of the resonators I have. Plenty of flow with fentons exhaust manifolds and dual pipes on my flathead so a good muffler isn't going to hurt that.

 

[40cpe]

I had quiet glasspacks on my '38 when I put the flathead in it. I couldn't hear them in the car, so I just removed the mufflers. The straight exhaust had a harsh sound. I found these Hedman Hot Tips with built-in resonators. They take the sharp, harsh sound out.

 

[Ricosan]

Thanks everyone,

Lots of good suggestions. I think I’ll start with the resonators if I can find one small enough to fit in somewhere in the system.