I'm a little reluctant to ask this, since this is a "hot rod" forum, but this won't be the first time I've embarrassed myself in public. Think 3rd grade P.E., dodge ball... Anyway, I'm getting closer to taking my project truck to a muffler shop to have a custom exhaust fabricated for it, and I'm wondering how to get a decent sound from a stock Chevy inline six with a single exhaust. Stock manifold, no split manifold or dual exhaust (at least not yet). Manifold is 2" outlet, header pipe about 7' long to muffler area, tail pipe to exit behind LR fender. I've thought about glass pack, Thrush "turbo" muffler, home made resonator made from well casing, and straight pipe. I'm looking for a somewhat deeper tone that won't sound like a wet fart. Have any of you guys had a similar desire? Or would you admit it if you did?
Exhaust modifications enhance performance a little. There is no need to be embarrassed. This is what I think you need to do.... options.... Long glass pack....single exit out back... Long glass pack...Y split the pipes duals out the back... Straight pipe...Y split the pipes, duals with short glasspacks right at the tailpipes. I'm not big fan of turbo mufflers....
I haven’t heard anything bad yet about Brockman Mellow Tones - https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/brockman-mellowtone.793027/ Straight 6 with a single exhaust pipe:
One thing I learned long ago was not to go too big on pipe diameter. Had an OT Japanese sports car back in the 70's, wanted to open up the exhaust because that's what you do to make power. This car had a 170 CID six with EFI. I installed a 2 1/2 "turbo exhaust". The original pipe diameter was 1 3/4 IIRC. After that the car seemed down on low end power but I didn't want to believe that the exhaust might be to blame because conventional wisdom is that big pipes make big power. The turbo exhaust was also loud and irritating on the highway and I got tired of it after a while. Put on another aftermarket system tailored to the car with stock diameter pipe and there was a noticeable difference in low end power and drivability. I think the turbo system may have had a slight edge in the high RPM range but how much time do you spend at 6000 RPMs? Looking back, I think the problem had to do with the primitive EFI this car was equipped with. It wasn't able to compensate for modifications. While this may have nothing to do with your situation due to the differences in engines and fuel systems, it is something to consider. One thing you might see if you make a big change is a need to rejet the carb to compensate. There are so many variables you can't always go by rule of thumb. And yeah, that turbo system sounded like a wet fart.
Deep guttural sound. Roundtract mufflers. https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/mufflers-resonators-and-flatheads.1242020/
You want REALLY sound advice ? Quit wasting money on automobiles ! Put that money in a tax free annuity ! You'll thank yourself when you're old !
Only sound advice I’ll give here is use the well casing for fence posts, by the time you’d invest in mating exhaust tubing to it and hanging a heavy pipe securely, you’d be well(no pun) ahead buying a muffler to tune your sound.
You folks mentioning “turbo system “. Are you referring to the “Corvair Turbo”’style mufflers? I used to use them because they were quiet and (in the 70’s ) was told they were pretty free flowing.
Just go ahead and split the manifold and put dual glasspacks on it. you won't be happy with a single system on a six.....
Compare this to the sound of a turbo muffler w/ 2" diameter pipe, Skip ahead to about 6:30 Some other guys described the sound as a wet fart, really? Sounds pretty good to me, I like it better than the glass pack. Here's dual straight pipes:
I'd put a stock muffler on it, and enjoy the quiet ride. Loud exhaust on a car with a low HP engine seems kind of silly to me....
I call those "gamblers". Like a box of chocolates, you never know what you are gonna get. Split that manifold, Porters and twice pipes.
Always a little difficult to tell in videos, especially on a cell phone. My str8 six sounds terrible on a cell video, but amazing in person.
Low horsepower is ok. You really don't want a lot of horsepower pushing a wet fart. Single straight pipe. Whaaaa... You'll be amazed at the funny sounds it makes.
Sound advice: put a good audio system in the car, and a whole mess of sound deadening. Crank up the tunes and drive!
I'm sure everyone will think this is strange . The best sounding 6 cylinder I've ever been around was an early 70's , 165 h.p. 250" mercruiser( chev) I O my BIL had ( yes , in a boat). I've no idea how you'd duplicate that sound but it was really pleasant to listen to !
There's not difference in sound any dual exhaust on any 6 six cylinder (inline or V), they are all 'rappy', which I find annoying (although for some reason, Mopar sixes sound better than Chev or Ford to me). Having said that, I don't think I've ever heard one with a cross-over/balance tube, so that might be better. I've also thought that a two-into-one muffler would make sense on a split manifold or headers (to get rid of the annoying 'rap'). My vote would be a stock set up if you're not hopping up the engine to the point that better breathing becomes an issue.
^^^^ Huh? I beg to differ. A split exhaust on an inline 6 is enough to have you turn your head and look. Kinda like when a FH V8 goes by. Much different than when in stock form. A V6? Who cares?
In my opinion, there is a sweet sound from a Chevrolet 6 cylinder with dual exhaust. Nothing like it.
I loved the sound of Lee Pratt's 51 Chevy, stick shift car, running around the Leadsled in Springfield OH, back in 1984, that I chose to put a 292, 5 speed, in my 47 Chevy coupe! Real duals, Brockman steel pack mufflers.
We work on a lot of inline sixes in our shop, mostly big Healeys, Jags, Triumphs. Most of them sound pretty darn good, I think. The best ones are usually equipped with smaller pipes, usually not more than 2" diameter, with two short, straight thru mufflers similar to glasspacks. The ones that sound like ass are the ones with big 2 1/2" pipes and just a single muffler of any type. The worst was one with a 3" flowmaster......
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