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]

Originally Posted by 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

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]

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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]

Originally Posted by flatford8

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-Ex...-/172157284948

[A bones]

Originally Posted by Flathead Fever

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]

Originally Posted by 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.

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.

[rotorwrench]

A lot of folks mention the H-pipe. They are used in a lot of dual exhaust systems to balance out the pulses between one side and the other. The firing order of a V8 can cause some uneven pulses if there is nothing to balance them out. The little passage in the block that provides heat for the intake manifold will do the trick in some cases but some folks put pennies in there or there can sometimes be carbon blockage.

The cars of the fathead era were not well designed for a cross over pipe so it's not all that easy to incorporate one. The sound is smoothed out a lot with good balance. Even some header back systems on later cars with OHV & OHC V8 engines incorporate a cross over just for that purpose.

[fortyonerag]

Originally Posted by 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.

Let us know how it goes. I'm about to put a pair of 22" Smithies on the 41 'vert and don't want it too loud.

Is there a generic/universal muffler close to stock?

[adileo]

My 52 F1 with duals and smitys was loud. Then I insulated the whole interior and it’s now it’s fine

[Ricosan]

I used 22” Smittys on the first dual exhaust setup. I was disappointed with the sound. Sound was restricted and didn’t have any of the chactoristic flathead V8 sound. In defense of Smittys, it may have been a product of a poor pipe installation. Not loud and no drone but not a good sound.

The new system with the Monotones has a clear, crisp sound that really amplifies what I call a “corkscrew” sound of the Ford flathead. I love this sound. I just need it to be a little less so that my wife will enjoy it too.

Ricosan

[A bones]

My choice, shows up on post 19. Not sure? Find a Harley biker that has been around for awhile.

Good Luck

[fourtydlx]

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Originally Posted by 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.

If they end under car they will be loud,add to rear bumper wiil be a lot quieter.

[FL&WVMIKE]

Dad put headers and Smithys on the Phaeton, and I don't think it's loud at all. (no H pipe) Actually sounds pretty good! Does your car have the exhaust run all the way out the back? If it exits under the car, it will resonate and sound a LOT louder from inside the car.

The LONGER the an absorption type muffler is (glass pack) the quieter it will be. If you have a choice between shorter and longer mufflers, choose the longer one if you want it to be quiet. It's surprising just how much of a difference it will make.

[Tinker]

Originally Posted by 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.

Just a little too street rod looking for me. Better then the boyracers coffee cans though.

[40cpe]

Street rod?

[Tinker]

Your cars not, your exhaust tips??? maybe?



Just my opinion. or 2cents, probably owe you a dime.

Nice ride.

[1oldtimer]

MY '47, stock motor, fentons, 1 3/4" pipe, 16" generic glass packs.....sounds good to me and you can talk just find inside. The engine is cold also.


Maybe 2 small resonators for your '34.



https://youtu.be/KN4vtJlOOHQ

[Lawson Cox]

I like the sound of a plain old gutted muffler on a flathead. Quiet and mellow.

[Mart]

My 33 coupe has just a resonator on each side. It had a lot of reverb inside when the pipes ended short underneath. I extended them back to just in front of the rear wheels and it sounds pretty nice now.

Mart.

[JSeery]

If you really want quiet, why not revert back to the single exhaust system? The crossover pipe serves a similar function to an H pipe in dual exhaust. And, there is really no difference in the HP between single and dual exhaust until you get into the larger cubic inchers and higher rpms.

[Ricosan]

UPDATE

Well, I don’t know what to say. I took my wife out for lunch. I had the back window unzipped as the temperature was warm and you can’t see anything out back with the window zipped closed.

I tried to keep the engine as quiet as possible
as we left the house. I braced myself for the coming tirade about the loud exhaust. I got down the street and around the first corner. Nothing from my wife. After about five minutes still nothing. We did the entire ride (about 15miles) with no complaints.

I love the sound I have now and my wife isn’t complaining! I think that secretly she likes it!

Ricosan

[40cpe]

I can't find anything on "Monotone" mufflers. Who makes or sells them?

[1oldtimer]

Originally Posted by 40cpe

I can't find anything on "Monotone" mufflers. Who makes or sells them?

Brockman mellowtones.

http://www.brockmancustomparts.com/

I’ve been using Porter mufflers on the last few cars.

https://portermufflers.com/

But I think I like just plain old generic glasspacks.

[JSeery]

Originally Posted by Ricosan

UPDATE

Well, I don’t know what to say. I took my wife out for lunch. I had the back window unzipped as the temperature was warm and you can’t see anything out back with the window zipped closed.

I tried to keep the engine as quiet as possible
as we left the house. I braced myself for the coming tirade about the loud exhaust. I got down the street and around the first corner. Nothing from my wife. After about five minutes still nothing. We did the entire ride (about 15miles) with no complaints.

I love the sound I have now and my wife isn’t complaining! I think that secretly she likes it!

Ricosan

Sounds like good news!

[Tinker]

Glad it worked out!


I'm not one of those; if it's too loud, you're too old. Lots of quiet-ish cars out there that can rip a hyundai/ford/etc with a coffee can or straight pipe. Loud doesn't always make a car fast on the street



I do like some rumble though. Always.... run what you like!!!

[Tinker]

Originally Posted by JSeery

If you really want quiet, why not revert back to the single exhaust system? The crossover pipe serves a similar function to an H pipe in dual exhaust. And, there is really no difference in the HP between single and dual exhaust until you get into the larger cubic inchers and higher rpms.

I agree. My only thought on dual exhaust is heat removal.

[philipswanson]

Ordered a 22" Magna Flo from Summit. 2" outlets. Stainless steel. Lifetime guarantee. Going for single exhaust in stainless all the way.

[Fourdy]

My 2 1/2" pipes to Supertrapps while I had all of the baffles off. In other words straight pipes. For driving I like the baffles better

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qj-W-7g5rcE

Fourdy

[philipswanson]

Baffles only are too loud for me. I prefer low and mellow.

[jrvariel48]

Just got my 12" Mellow Tones! I'm planning on running the exhaust out under the floor boards in front of the rear tires.

[TJ]

Originally Posted by Ricosan

UPDATE

Well, I don’t know what to say. I took my wife out for lunch. I had the back window unzipped as the temperature was warm and you can’t see anything out back with the window zipped closed.

I tried to keep the engine as quiet as possible
as we left the house. I braced myself for the coming tirade about the loud exhaust. I got down the street and around the first corner. Nothing from my wife. After about five minutes still nothing. We did the entire ride (about 15miles) with no complaints.

I love the sound I have now and my wife isn’t complaining! I think that secretly she likes it!

Ricosan

Maybe she decided her complaints were "falling on deaf ears" and she gave up.

[philipswanson]

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No, they don't give up.

[Bored&Stroked]

Here is what my "mufflers" sounds like . . . . whoopsie . . . where did they go???? LOL

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p8ay3IkefVw

[Bored&Stroked]

I think they put a flathead in this Corsair . . . sounds pretty similar! LOL

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WMIQoQCD1jo

The startup of that engine - just about as good as it gets!

[blucar]

For many years I used my '36 Ford coupe for daily transportation, which at times required a lot of highway driving. I have driven the car over 94 k during the years I have owned it.
For many years I had twice pipes on the car with Douglas mufflers. Finally got tired of all the noise, cops stopping me etc., I put stock type mufflers on the Ford in '56, have replaced them twice, the last time with 2" pipes on stock manifolds... Quiet is nice.
On an idle you can hear the cam overlap, Weber F-1, a little throaty, then the pipes quiet right down.

[fortyonerag]

Originally Posted by philipswanson

No, they don't give up.

Never. Not. Ever.