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Projects Getting that Exhaust Sound Just Right

Discussion in 'The Hokey Ass Message Board' started by 53CHKustom, Sep 21, 2014.

  1. chopolds
    Joined: Oct 22, 2001
    Posts: 6,208

    chopolds
    Member
    from howell, nj
    1. Kustom Painters

    Geeez, what do you want it to soundlike, a Mustang? A 50's style customs SHOULD sound like a Chris Craft! That's what glasspacks SHOULD do! The only thing you need to do is switch over to 2" pipes all throughout. NO H or X pipe for God's sake! No Flowmasters, either. A 50's style car shoudl sound like one, NOT a modern Stang or 69 Camaro!
    You've got Brockman's, and that's a great start, just put in 2" pipes and you'll be fine. It will sound correct for what it is. I had the exact set-up on my 54 CHevy (with a 350) and it was perfect!
     
  2. 53CHKustom
    Joined: Jun 24, 2014
    Posts: 1,433

    53CHKustom
    Member

    Thanks those are great points! I'm going to do exactly this since I have the parts. The only thing I don't like when it sounds super lopey like Scotts 51 Chevy in the youtube video I referenced earlier. I set my idle a little higher since the video showing my 53 Chevy so I'm guessing 2" pipes and the 22" brockmans will work just fine.

    Thanks again and I'll start there and report back.
     
  3. So I asked a few buddies to listen to your clips but I didnt let them see, just listen. Granted sound clips and speakers dont always work so good. Major gear heads too. This is the visual they got just from listening and had no idea what was making the sound.

    They thought the 53 sounded like a old farm tractor or a rusty old work van that needed a muffler & pulling a heavy load.

    They thought the Chevy sedan sounded like a nice street car with higher compression engine probably a 327.

    They thought the pickup sounded like an old traditional hot rod.

    They thought the 51 sounded like a typical smog motor with too much cam and not enough compression. (thumper cam was mentioned)

    Close your eyes and listen.
     
  4. 53CHKustom
    Joined: Jun 24, 2014
    Posts: 1,433

    53CHKustom
    Member

    Thanks! I also think that c-10 pickup sounds so great and wish I had a higher compression engine to get that sound. I'm not surprised they think mine sounds like an old farm tractor.
     
  5. That's why we are going to help you fix it :)
     
  6. pitman
    Joined: May 14, 2006
    Posts: 5,148

    pitman

    I found that increasing diameter (slightly) as the pipes ended helped to lower the note.
    Hence our fav: fart-can epithet!
     
  7. arkiehotrods
    Joined: Mar 9, 2006
    Posts: 6,803

    arkiehotrods
    Member

    The video of your car sounds to me like there is an exhaust leak, maybe the manifold to exhaust pipe gasket or something. I would check to see if there are any leaks in system and if there are, repair those and see how it sounds.
    My Nomad had a leak between exhaust manifold and exhaust pipe (not donut, but original 2-hole flat gasket) and it sounded terrible. Replaced gasket and it sounds just right.
     
  8. 53CHKustom
    Joined: Jun 24, 2014
    Posts: 1,433

    53CHKustom
    Member

    Yea I think so too, I bet its underneath from where the pipes were all scraped up. Getting to know this car more, I wouldn't be surprised if those pipes came from another project and were put in that car already banged around. It does sound like an exhaust leak from the pipe when I heard underneath and had it running but I'm not much of an expert. I did tighten the manifold bolts though.
     
  9. 53CHKustom
    Joined: Jun 24, 2014
    Posts: 1,433

    53CHKustom
    Member

    Another fellow HAMB'er came by yesterday evening and we fired it up. Indeed there is an exhaust leak on the pipes near where they were crushed/scraped. At least it's clear what needs to be done to get rid of the smell getting in the car.
     
  10. 53CHKustom
    Joined: Jun 24, 2014
    Posts: 1,433

    53CHKustom
    Member

    Sorry to beat a dead horse here but I spoke with a muffler shop today and they said maybe I should consider Magnaflows. Should I stay clear of that?

    I am stuck with a lopey sound due to the cam and have no plans to rebuild the motor or do any major engine work.

    I absolutely love the 66 C-10 sound in the youtube video. It sounds nice and quietish/mellow at idle and that glasspack bark and response when stepped and let off the pedal is awesome. Someone said it sounds like a traditional hot rod sound and that's exactly what I thought. I realize I have a 350 motor with god only knows what compression and with that RV cam creating lopey sound. I don't necessarily want a Mustang muscle car sound, but I also can care less for nailing "period correct" that sounds like a chris craft boat at idle. I want to get as close to the 66 C-10 sound without doing engine work but I imagine I am dreaming?



    Is there anything I can do exhaust wise to sound a little deeper at idle but with that glasspack bark when I step on it? I have the 22" brockman mellowtone glasspacks and was planning on 2" pipes, is that my best route? I don't know if that will deepen the tone of what I have now (I have some ratty 1.75 to 1.5 inch pipes at the last 3 feet but also have an exhaust leak but don't know that makes a difference in the tone).
     
    Last edited: Sep 25, 2014
  11. So how many times do you want to kick the horse???

    YES
    A leak makes a huge difference in sound and can really reek havoc on your tune (not notes but drivability.

    YES
    The pencil tips or small tail pipes will exaggerate the PUT PUT sound that you don't like and raise the exhaust note. Think tweeters. A megaphone cone will lower the note and make more rumble at low exhaust flow or idle and really bark at high exhaust flow. Think sub woofer. If you want to know why you need to study how pressure waves react when the reflective surface changes diameter, growing vs declining.

    YES
    A cross over pipe will balance out the PUT PUT quite a bit and break the cadence of a lumpy cam, however RVcams aren't lumpy and generally have a very smooth idle so who knows what's going on there. When was the last time you heard a motor home sound like your car ????? An X pipe will blend the pulses from the right to left bank and that will go even further towards eliminating the racket you aren't liking. But either one will get you a little further from the pickup sound because that one has plenty of cadence.

    IF you can get the mufflers behind the axle & have room there- that will lower the tone even more and increase the rumble. The less pipe after the muffler the less chance the sound pulses have to regroup. The less regroup the wider the waves the lower the tone and more rumble.
     
  12. 53CHKustom
    Joined: Jun 24, 2014
    Posts: 1,433

    53CHKustom
    Member

    Thanks this is some really good information. God only knows what kind of cam it has, the guy I bought it from says it has an RV cam, but also said that engine was rebuilt in 2009 and had only 250 mi when he sold it to me but I bet it wasn't rebuilt in 2009.
     
  13. atomickustom
    Joined: Aug 30, 2005
    Posts: 3,409

    atomickustom
    Member

    It's hat to predict how any car will sound because there are so many variables. My cars sound changed a lot when I swapped carbs! There is no formula for a perfect sound because different engines sound so different.
    Try 2" pipes & your glass packs. If it's too rough or boomy inside the car you can always have a crossover pipe added. It will smooth out the sound a lot, so start without it.


    Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!
     
  14. I spoke to the guy at Brockman, a very helpful guy. I will try to find the thread with his name and number.
     
  15. 53CHKustom
    Joined: Jun 24, 2014
    Posts: 1,433

    53CHKustom
    Member

    Oh thanks, I had spoken with the owner at Brockman when I ordered the glasspacks. I guess you can only order them by calling in.
     
  16. rfraze
    Joined: May 23, 2012
    Posts: 2,008

    rfraze
    Member

    The video of your car sounded, to me, like it was missing on several cylinders. Tune up. At least new plugs. Then give us another video. Man, you are like a three ring circus.
     
  17. 53CHKustom
    Joined: Jun 24, 2014
    Posts: 1,433

    53CHKustom
    Member

    Yea since the video I did wires and plugs. I'm going to shoot another video after the exhaust is redone since I already know it has a leak.
     
  18. A Rodder
    Joined: Jul 13, 2008
    Posts: 2,474

    A Rodder
    Member

    Find someone to tune the carb properly with a vacuum gauge, you'd be surprised how much the exhaust can change with just idle mixture screw adjustments.
     
    Truck64 likes this.
  19. 53CHKustom
    Joined: Jun 24, 2014
    Posts: 1,433

    53CHKustom
    Member

    Thanks. I don't know how to tune a carb properly but a work related colleague has a shop that designs and fabricates throttle bodies. I'll ask him to help me tune the carb after I get the exhaust redone and cab sealed up fully.
     
  20. Well, it may have been said, but the RV cam is a TORQUE cam, not a lumpy, performance cam.
    Engine operation problems have mistakenly been blamed on the mufflers.
    Once the engine runs correctly, all will sound much better out the rear.
     
  21. InstantT
    Joined: Aug 15, 2012
    Posts: 716

    InstantT
    Member
    from SoCal

    So far, I like the way yours sounds more than any of the other videos posted. The 2" are going to be better for sound and performance. The "put put" is from your cam and I think it sounds bitchin'. Mount as far back as you can and it should cut some of that out.
     
  22. falcongeorge
    Joined: Aug 26, 2010
    Posts: 18,341

    falcongeorge
    Member
    from BC

    When I was in my late teens there was this guy we hung around with (Hell of a good guy, TOTAL non-car guy, stoner type) who had this 6 cylinder maverick with a glasspack. We used to call it "the bubble machine" because of its exhaust note. I never thought I would end up saying this at the time, but I wish now I'd recorded it, there have been at least dozen times on the HAMB where I thought "Man, that would be PERFECT here"...
     
  23. To get a better "RAP" sound you need bends in the pipes. The bouncing around of the exhaust will give a good rap. Straight pipes will not give the sound you are looking for. Run the pipes back from the headers, through good glass packs and up over the rear axel and out the back.
     
  24. ROADSTER1927
    Joined: Feb 14, 2009
    Posts: 3,127

    ROADSTER1927
    Member

    Yes that should help quite a bit. Gary
     
  25. Think about it ......... Being in the car business for more years than I care to discuss, I NEVER heard a RV (motorhome) with a "lumpy cam", as mentioned here. Never.
    A RV cam has TORQUE, but does NOT have the sound of a gasser approaching the starting line at a drag strip. Can't imagine too many RV'ers wanting to put up with that sound.
    Had a Midas Motor Home franchise, as well. NO lumpy cams did I ever see in RV's.
    Cams with TORQUE? You betcha, but 2 different scenarios here.
     
  26. Mr48chev
    Joined: Dec 28, 2007
    Posts: 33,861

    Mr48chev
    ALLIANCE MEMBER

    I knew there was a reason why I like this guy. He hit it exactly. Most of us bust our asses to get that exact sound aka motor boat rumble at an idle, which I think is the perfect 50's 60's custom car sound. Well maybe not perfect, perfect would be a Ford Y block through glass packs.
     
  27. rfraze
    Joined: May 23, 2012
    Posts: 2,008

    rfraze
    Member

    Pull out that pesky V8 and drop in a sure-to-rap 6 with straight pipes.
     
  28. 53CHKustom
    Joined: Jun 24, 2014
    Posts: 1,433

    53CHKustom
    Member

    Thanks. I've asked the previous owner more than once what he knows about the engine and cam and he says it has an RV cam and that's what is causing the lopey sound. It must have something other than an RV cam in it.
     
  29. 38 Chevy
    Joined: Sep 17, 2004
    Posts: 69

    38 Chevy
    Member

    I need a favor from one of you guys. I haven't been doing this long enought so I can't
    get ahold of anyone who uses the H.A.M.B. Would someone pass this along to street rod lover, I need to buy one of his parts. [email protected] Thanks
     
  30. Yes, something other than a RV cam.
    Mufflers on your car are creating a SHARP, sound, much like the Cherry Bombs on my '51.
    Drives me crazy.
    Mine is a 235, with a 3/4 cam, still doesn't have the lope yours has. BUT, we're not talking apples to apples here.
    I'm still looking for a softer, more mellow sounding muffler that will not knock the wax out of my ears.
     
    Last edited: Oct 9, 2014

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