Model A Exhaust/Muffler Options

kcav8or

kcav8or

Member
What are some good options for exhaust and muffler replacement on a '31 Model A? I see that Snyder's has a reproduction part for around $200, but I'm not necessarily interested in an exact replacement if there are other options that work as well for much less. A reproduction is nice, but this isn't a show car. What have others done?
 
I bought the stainless dented seconds at a lower price. The small dent doesn't matter much as it isn't seen and being stainless it should last for my lifetime.
 
If you've got the old muffler and exhaust pipe, Take it to a shop with a pipe bender and have them copy the head pipe and tail pipe. You can buy a straight through glass pack muffler at a fairly low price and either weld or clamp the made up head and tail pipes to the glass pack muffler. The straight through muffler will have less back pressure whiuch should give a little extra power. The glass pack muffler, though straight through with less back pressure will be quiter but won't sound quite the same as a tapered style model A muffler. This is the least expensive way to go. I bought up a few of the old repro mufflers before they went off the market. The old repros were way TOO restrictive. I removed the end cones and completely gutted the repro muffler. The gutted repro was only slightly louder but still had the model A ring as far as I was conserned. The gutted repro gave a noticeable improvement over an unmodified repro. I've had people that really should know better try and tell me that gutting the repro muffler would make no improvement. The gutted repro muffler doesn't have the mandril bent pipes that the over two hundred dollar muffler has but still has way less backpressure than the old unmodified repro, that most of us have used at one time or another, if they owned model A's long enough. I learned as a teenager that less backpressure increases power whether the pipes are mandril bent or otherwise.
 
I know its a lot of money, but the Aries muffler will fit better, and sound better than anything else you will find and likely have more power. If you drop the money and get the Aries muffler you won't regret it. I went with the plain steel as henry built it. :cool:
 
Yes, bite the bullet and get an Aries made to Ford print muffler. Cheapest direct from their website. After some undesirable experiences with the stainless version, I'd opt for the painted steel. If you do go stainless, you need a special rear clamp. Al in NY has the best solution for that, made from a rubber strap type standard parts store exhaust pipe hangar, bent as shown in this thread: LINK
 
Purdy Swoft said:
If you've got the old muffler and exhaust pipe, Take it to a shop with a pipe bender and have them copy the head pipe and tail pipe. You can buy a straight through glass pack muffler at a fairly low price and either weld or clamp the made up head and tail pipes to the glass pack muffler. The straight through muffler will have less back pressure whiuch should give a little extra power. The glass pack muffler, though straight through with less back pressure will be quiter but won't sound quite the same as a tapered style model A muffler. QUOTE]

That's a great idea but I can't quite imagine what an A would sound like with a glass pack? Was it anything like the traditional model A sound?
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Actually the glass pack was quieter and not traditional sound. It did serve the purpose at a low cost. If the head and tail pipes are still good they may could be used. The good thing about having new pipes bent is that you can use larger diameter pipe for better flow and fit at the manifold. The best for most is bite the bullet and buy the new muffler.
 
So how much does the typical muffler shop charge to do the custom bending and glass pack combo? And what should you look for to determine whether the manifold is salvageable?
 
Aries makes a great product at a reasonable price. I don't think you will leave a muffler shop any cheaper or better.
41plym
 
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Mitch//pa said:
does the paint on the aries muffy's hold up ?
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Yes and no.

The black does turn somewhat grey over time. The hotter areas turn lighter color. However, the paint does not come off.

The stainless and painted steel Aries mufflers sound different. The stainless has a slight "ring" to it while the steel is a little quieter.

With the Tudor idling at 250 RPM, you couldn't even tell it was running when standing behind it after going with the Aries steel muffler. Very nice to not have to yell at passengers in order to converse while at highway speed.
 
P.S. said:
Yes and no.

The black does turn somewhat grey over time. The hotter areas turn lighter color. However, the paint does not come off.

The stainless and painted steel Aries mufflers sound different. The stainless has a slight "ring" to it while the steel is a little quieter.

With the Tudor idling at 250 RPM, you couldn't even tell it was running when standing behind it after going with the Aries steel muffler. Very nice to not have to yell at passengers in order to converse while at highway speed.
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thanks P.S.
 
kcav8or said:
So how much does the typical muffler shop charge to do the custom bending and glass pack combo? And what should you look for to determine whether the manifold is salvageable?
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I had the front pipe made using a stock Model a muffler for a pattern. The front pipe cost me $30 for material and having it bent. I also used a cherry bomb muffler with no tailpipe. The shop said if I wanted a tailpipe they could copy my Model a muffler and make me one. I opted for just the front pipe as it is on a speedster I am putting together. Had this made last summer. Afordman31
 

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On Minerva, I ran a straight tube, way back, a 12" glasspack, a smooth curved pipe to a NASCAR lookin' tip, peeking out under the rear of the running board. Sounded superb & DIDN'T sound typical Model A. Cost was $150.
Bill W.
 

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