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Technical Porter Vs smity's mufflers

Discussion in 'Traditional Customs' started by chasey32, Dec 6, 2016.

  1. chasey32
    Joined: Dec 6, 2016
    Posts: 28

    chasey32

    Ok guys and gals, I am the proud owner of a '62 mercury meteor with a 221 V8 and three speed auto. the drivetrain will be stock except for exhaust, I plan on doing 2" duels with H pipe but I'm stuck between which mufflers to go with!? I want a very traditional sound with little to no resonance on the inside. [​IMG]which mufflers do you guys suggest to give me that traditional custom sound porters or smithy's.


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  2. Speed Gems
    Joined: Jul 17, 2012
    Posts: 6,433

    Speed Gems
    Member

    I like the sound of Porters.
     
  3. NAES
    Joined: Dec 24, 2008
    Posts: 491

    NAES
    Member

    Either will give you the sound you are looking for. The H crossover tubing is not traditional and will affect the overall sound as well. Small diameter pipes with the mufflers as short and close to the engine as practical will give you a little rap when decelerating or coming off the throttle. I run Smithy's on the wagon in my avatar. If I had to do it again I would go with smaller diameter tubing for a little more rap.

    NAES
     
  4. Just about any exhaust will resonate inside the car if you don't run the pipe beyond the bumper.
     
    Blues4U likes this.

  5. chasey32
    Joined: Dec 6, 2016
    Posts: 28

    chasey32

    This is way I plan the exhaust to look out to the rear bumper. [​IMG]


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  6. jcmarz
    Joined: Jan 10, 2010
    Posts: 4,631

    jcmarz
    Member
    from Chino, Ca

    I've heard that the old Smitty's were steel-packed, while today's
    Smitty's are glass-packed. Porters are steel-packed. Another thing I've heard is that it's better for the muffler tubing to be perforated rather than louver, which they say actually increases back pressure.
     
  7. chasey32
    Joined: Dec 6, 2016
    Posts: 28

    chasey32

    What I've heard is that steel packs are have less resonance inside a vehicle because the steel is densely packed which absorbs more sound vibrations!?! Is this true or marketing


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  8. Brockman mellowtones are another option, I've used them for many years.
     
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  9. I go back to 1960 with Smithy mufflers, have not known them to be a "steel packed" muffler.
    If the O.P. is concerned with interior noise, the long Smithy ( 30" ) gives a nice sound when cruising, not ear drum breaking.
    Fact is, with the 30's, in vehicle conversation is easily accomplished, until you put your foot into the carpet.
    I have the 30's on one of my '51's. Nice.
     
    Kevin O'Connell likes this.
  10. You have to go with the Porters. Have a pair on my SBC powered Model A.
    Don't need no stinkin' radio.[​IMG]
    Please pardon the bags ( not airbags dummy ) I covered the electrical while washing the engine.
    Looks cheesy I know, sorry!

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    Last edited: Dec 7, 2016
  11. Truck64
    Joined: Oct 18, 2015
    Posts: 5,325

    Truck64
    Member
    from Ioway

    Try Porters or Smithys without an H pipe first and see what you think.
     
  12. NashRodMan
    Joined: Jul 8, 2004
    Posts: 1,989

    NashRodMan
    Member

    This truck is awesome is every way!
     
    -Brent- likes this.
  13. Moriarity
    Joined: Apr 11, 2001
    Posts: 30,775

    Moriarity
    SUPER MODERATOR
    Staff Member

    h pipe will make it resonate inside the car. go without the H pipe. I have porters on my 40 and I love em.

     
  14. I have used Porters since 1951.and will continue until they are no longer made.AND shitcan the "H" tube..with the "H" tube,use any kind you like,wont make any difference..
     
    Moriarity likes this.
  15. This is not true at all. Fiberglass and basalt attenuate sound MUCH better than steel. I don't have charts that show the differences handy but it is significant. Steel does have the advantage of not breaking down and getting blown out of the muffler though. Also, any sort of "glasspack" or straight through muffler like that only attenuates higher frequencies, at lower frequencies the packing has no effect.

    Louvers can raise back pressure if they are stamped toward the inside of the pipe, but that's not how they have to be oriented. Sound doesn't care, it doesn't need "scoops" to work. It will "see" louvers shaped to the outside of the pipe too. Fun fact about perfs is if the packing blows out they can cause a whistle, louvers don't do that.

    A drone in the car can be caused by a few things and what drones on a large car may not drone on a smaller one. Long pipes tend to cause issues with drones and raspy sounds so if you want to avoid that it's best to break them up with area changes at least. The abrupt change in area at the outlet of the pipe attenuates a lot of sound.

    FWIW I used to design mufflers for various automotive OEMs though the on topic cars here were before my time.
     
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  16. pgj
    Joined: Dec 24, 2010
    Posts: 147

    pgj
    Member
    from aurora co.

    I have porter's on my olds, no crossover pipe. They sound great with no resonance inside
     
  17. I like Smithy's (pronounced Smitty's), they were my Ol' Man's favorite muffler if he ran mufflers. So to me they just sound like a hot rod.
     
  18. Jimmy2car
    Joined: Nov 26, 2003
    Posts: 1,707

    Jimmy2car
    Member
    from No. Cal

    A lot of factors come into play with mufflers:
    1st car: 39 Ford coupe, stock 221 Flathead, Cherry Bomb mufflers. Pipes exit in front of rear wheels
    2nd car: 32 Ford Tudor sedan, 290 full load Flathead, Cherry Bomb mufflers. Pipes exit in front of rear wheels
    Sound:
    39 is almost as quiet as a stocker at idle. Very mellow at cruise, not loud at all under power
    32 is LOUD at idle, mellow at cruise, loud under power.
    Same mufflers on both, same diameter pipes, huge difference in sound
     
  19. 302GMC
    Joined: Dec 15, 2005
    Posts: 7,856

    302GMC
    Member
    from Idaho

    Walker Continentals. They were THE '60s glasspack, preceeding Maremont's Cherry bomb by a few years. Bullet shaped glasspacks are the '60s sound. The stamped, crimped end caps & rolled shells were gone except OEM stock & replacement. The steelpack muffler started losing ground to the fiberglass in the early '50s due many reasons, and by the mid '60s they're all but gone from catalogs.
    In the '50s & early '60s, any car with pipes automatically had "Smittys" on it, no matter what was underneath ... kinda like Fridge or Kleenex.
    H pipes are for dyno tests ...
     
    JeffB2 likes this.
  20. 49toad
    Joined: Jun 12, 2005
    Posts: 322

    49toad
    Member

    I have Brockman's mellowtones on my Olds. About 30 years old and still sound great. Also have them on my 56 Ford 312 Y-block. About 1 yr old Very happy with them. Both are steel packs.
     
    John B likes this.
  21. chasey32
    Joined: Dec 6, 2016
    Posts: 28

    chasey32

    Well guys thanks for all the info!! I'm going with Brockman mellow tone steel packs without the h pipe again thanks for the replies and all the info


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  22. falcongeorge
    Joined: Aug 26, 2010
    Posts: 18,341

    falcongeorge
    Member
    from BC

    Ditto, if you want a "sixties" (or fifties) sound, you do NOT want an h pipe.
     
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  23. RMONTY
    Joined: Jan 7, 2016
    Posts: 2,540

    RMONTY
    Member

    Just because I'm ignorant to the reasons for an H pipe, what IS the reason/reasons for an H pipe?
     
  24. chasey32
    Joined: Dec 6, 2016
    Posts: 28

    chasey32

    A h pipe is shaped like its namesake and relies on exhaust expansion to balance the cylinder banks. A small section of tubing in between the main pipes provides an area for gases to expand into during exhaust pulses. Only a small amount of exhaust flows from one stream to the other as both sides push back and forth in the center section. so gains in performance are noticed from low rpm and give the exhaust a deeper, muscle car-like tone.


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  25. Truck64
    Joined: Oct 18, 2015
    Posts: 5,325

    Truck64
    Member
    from Ioway

    That was my question after spending all of that coin on ramshorns and dual exhaust, and then some chucklehead comes along and sez I need to spend more money ta connect 'em back together. H pipe gives better scavenging? Maybe a little more power? An X pipe is supposed to give more power at the high end.
     
  26. chasey32
    Joined: Dec 6, 2016
    Posts: 28

    chasey32

    After all I've read and seen it's all about the same for the maybe a 5 horse difference between the two. It's really a toss up because what works on one car may not work on the other it all depends on what you want to do the only real difference is sound


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    bchctybob likes this.
  27. boo
    Joined: Jul 6, 2005
    Posts: 580

    boo
    Member
    from stuart,fl.

    friends and i used steel and glass in 50's, steel pks used steel wool, when we put them on then we stuck a garden hose op the exht , filled them w/water, was suposed th blow them out sooner????? nothing sounds like a 55-56 yblk ford with blown stl pks...
     
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  28. falcongeorge
    Joined: Aug 26, 2010
    Posts: 18,341

    falcongeorge
    Member
    from BC

    @moriarty we REALLY need a drive by video of your forty with good sound quality!
     
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  29. dirty old man
    Joined: Feb 2, 2008
    Posts: 8,910

    dirty old man
    Member Emeritus

    Smithy's Porters, or Brockmans, they're all good mufflers for the 50s/60s sound, and yes, put that damn "H" pipe in the scrap bin. In fact in flathead days to get the best sound required "pennies in the manifold". This was done by removing the intake manifold, taking a couple of copper pennies, flattening them out to a somewhat larger size, then filing them down carefully to an interference fit for the oval passages in the intake that carried exhaust gasses up to heat the manifiold and carb.
    This meant a "cold natured" engine, but it completely blocked all balance pasasages for exhaust from left to right bank, inducing more of a flutter to the sound.
    The larger the pipe diameter, the less "rap" and the deeper the tone. One of the best sounding(to my ear) ones I ever had was an OT '73 GMC 350 SBC 4 bbl with 2.5" pipes front to back with 30" Mitchell glasspacks.
     
  30. chopolds
    Joined: Oct 22, 2001
    Posts: 6,208

    chopolds
    Member
    from howell, nj
    1. Kustom Painters

    Brock will make you his mufflers in different lengths, and with glass, steel, or no packing. He also punches the louvers in the inside pipe in a spiral, giving his mufflers a deeper sound. Plus, he and Elaine are great people!
     
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