Hey Guys, I'm planning on purchasing a set of Smitty's real soon, but I have a question. Is there a difference in sound tone from the different lengths by Smitty's? About a week ago at work I heard this loud car ('67 Impala) on the far end of the parking lot that had Smitty's installed on it. He kept reving the engine through the parking lot, which put a big smile on my face. Now I really want them. The plan is to run new pipe from the headers into a "X" pipe, then into the Smitty's which will be mounted directly underneith the cab, and have the exhaust exit right before the rear wheels. What do you guys think? TIA, David
I think Smitty's come in 12" to 30" lengths with 26" being pretty popular Basicallly the length determines how loud and raspy their gonna get with higher rpms. Shorter is louder Some like to turn them around against the flow for more growl.
I run some 24" on my flathead powered dry lakes modified and they are very quiet, which i have been told they should be louder for what the car is??. Guess my ears are giving out, as they are fine for me, but what the hell do i know??. Having grey hair and ringing in my ears, i can't tell the difference, except when really loud, which my 48 merc is now with spin tech mufflers, so i'm adding more mufflers so i can hear my new radio sound system??.WTF??
I ran 26" Smithys on my 50 Pontiac with a mild 283. Had them up the front of the car with 2" through. Sounded quiet on idle but had a nice note when you stood on it. I think alot depends on your pipe diameter and placement of mufflers.
I Had Smittys On Me Flathead, So Quite I Could Hear An Ant Pissing On The Tires. Them Smittys Went Into The Trash And Now I Run "no-masters"!! Just A Straight Pipe-now That Flatty Is Sweet!! Jmo
If you like "rapping", mount the mufflers closer to the engine and make the tailpipes as long as is pratical. The guys that say no x pipe are right; it just makes it quieter.
QUICK TECH,Smitty muffler will slow a flathead car down in 1/4 run.I did head to head test runs at drag strip.
For loudest sound out of a Smithy go with the shortest, and run it closest to the motor as possible. No X pipe. I run them on a 390 powered '61 F100 like that and they are very mellow at idle. They growl when I rev them. If you want really loud, burn out the insulation and let her rip.
i ran a 36" on straight 6 chivy for a while...kinda quiet, but i actually liked it. there was a nice rap when you stood on it too. after running straight pipes and no mufflers the ears enjoyed the break.
Aren't Smittys more about looks than anything else? If you can't see them, you can probably get better performance for less dinero. They do look cool.
Thanks for the tip, I'm looking for a new exhaust for my stovebolt, and was wondering if smitty's were worth it.
I had 24" smittys on my 49 coupe with a 302, mounted about under the front seat, and they were WAY TOO quiet for my taste.. so I ran the lakes pipes open all the time.. and it was perfect..burbly at idle and loud when I stood on it.. I plan on straight pipes all the way to the bumper for my flathead powered 50 sedan...Ive heard a few and I loved the tone..2 1/4" pipe maybe?...we'll see what works..
You also might want to consider Brockman Mellowtones. My opinion is they have a deeper, throatier sound than Smitty's.
I sell them. Always called "Smitty" mufflers but the real name was (and still is) Smithy. Available in 22", 26", and 30" long. They are glass packed. Still a nice sound, but it noise is what you want, try the car without any mufflers. These will be somewhat quiet when idling, but you'll hear 'em when you hit it. The best sound, as the others have suggested, is achieved if you keep the mufflers closer to the engine and keep long tail pipes. You get a better "rap" if you don't go too large on the pipe ID. The Smithy mufflers all come with 2" inlet/outlet, so you need to adapt to the size pipe you're running on your car or truck. Here's a link for them.............. Mac VP http://www.vanpeltsales.com/FH_web/flathead_speed-smithy.htm
I have 26'(I think....) SMITHY'S on my Olds and the older they get, the better they sound!!! Another old trick is to soak them in kerosene over night, then throw a match in there. Burns out the packing quick for that worn in sound......
I've heard only a small handful of cars with an x-pipe, but when we swapped one into my brother's truck, it gave it a nicer, raspy tone. With just the duals, it sounded loud, but it wasn't a great tone. That was with Holley Aerochambers for reference. I'm not sure how X-pipes sound with any sort of glass pack.
I picked up a tip about Heartthrob Performance Mufflers . They sell em in JCWitless. They look like aluminized glasspacks but don't have the drone inherent in the 'packs. They are baffled and available in different lengths and blanks. A little more $ than glasspacks but still cheap. Ad says " performs like a TURBO muffler", I wonder if Turbo Muffler is copyrighted name or something?. I have Hooker dual out headers on the Six Cylinder Comet road rod. After the collectors there are SS flex pipes that go to the mufflers, then a Y pipe combiner. After that there is a cable operated dump valve that exits out the side. Closed, the exhaust goes to the rear through a glasspack in the original muffler position. Throaty rumble out the side or subdued low freq''s out the back. - - Powerband
Uhhhhh... whatever dude... you need to give us more info than that. You really didn't tell us anything worth while, let alone tech.... Maybe the specs on the engine, weather, timing, there are a lot of variables that need to be addressed to take this seriously... by the way I like their sound. I don't want an obnoxiously loud car, just a pleasing tone....
Thanks for the replies guys. Shortest Smithy's it is. Now just got to make a list, and do some shopping. Many thanks, David
I just tossed on a set of 24" aluminized glasspacks on my '64 Chevy C-10 Daily Driver. It's got a 350/3spd, headers, 2.5" duals, and the packs are under the cab. The pipes end at the rear bumper and sound killer. Very raspy and loud as shit when you stand on the go pedal but you can keep the noise under control when driving "normal". Nice tone at highway speeds, and I haven't heard any popping when decellerating. In my opinion, Smithy's are too quiet and I've seen them rust out. H & X-pipes make the exhaust sound like shit unless you've got lopey cam. Flowmasters sound like an drowned outboard motor and the annoying drone when driving. Turbo mufflers are too quiet and rob power. Glasspacks are where its at. Just my $.02
I'd venture a guess only the 50+ year old members here can remember how a steelpacked Smithy made in the mid 50's sounded. Steelpacked mufflers have a deceleration rap that can't be duplicated by any muffler sold today. Plymouth 6s and Chevy 6s running these mufflers are louder than straight pipes. The glasspack "Smithy'' sold today shares only the name of the original. You can't beat the red "Cherry Bomb" type glasspacks usually found in the barrel by the front door of Checker/Kragen/Schucks a for decent price and good sound. The balance tube or "X" pipe adds power, but takes the bark out. As the previous posts recommend, short mufflers as far up front as possible hooked to 1 3/4" or 1 7/8" tailpipes under the bumper is as close to the way it used to be as you can get. By the way, I've tried 4 pairs of Brockmans in the last 10+ years. I have all good things to say about the quality and service from them, but the sound quality just isn't what I'm looking for. 302
Mama's 59 has the 22's on it and I like the sound of them so much that I just bought a pair for the Hel Camino from Gary at NightProwlers. $57. for the pair. Of course I plan on running dumps for when I just need a headache.
I just as well chime in, get them good and hot and stick a garden hose in them and let the cold water crystalize the packing. they'll get louder alot quicker. the key is to not to carried away and let the water get to the engine!!! very very important, also no warrantee with this procedure!! good luck
Info is good ,how does the otherthings effect mufflers.I was testing mufflers that day.I anit writting a novel.
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