Ok so I have the engine in place and am ready to shop for an exhaust system. I have decided that I will go with the Sanderson shorty headers. I want to have a nice exhaust note that sounds good (on the mellow side)but not annoying while driving so I am leaning towards a muffler like the flowmaster 50 series. I'd also like to exit the tail pipes straight out back. What are my options? does anyone sell a system that fits well out of the box and match the Sanderson collector location?
exhaust system time!
- Thread starter dave62
- Start date
Dave, That sounds like a great combo !! I have the 50 series Flowm on my 62 with the exit straight out the back.
I love the sound and the interior sound level is just right.
You can carry on a conversation without yelling.
Any premade system will need to have some custom work done to connect them to any aftermarket header system.
Also I don`t think any one premakes a system that dumps straight out the back.
You might have to have them custom built at a local exhaust shop.
Go to a local crus-in and ask around for recommendations on a local shop that does top notch work.
It might cost a bit more but you get what you pay for.,,,dq
I love the sound and the interior sound level is just right.
You can carry on a conversation without yelling.
Any premade system will need to have some custom work done to connect them to any aftermarket header system.
Also I don`t think any one premakes a system that dumps straight out the back.
You might have to have them custom built at a local exhaust shop.
Go to a local crus-in and ask around for recommendations on a local shop that does top notch work.
It might cost a bit more but you get what you pay for.,,,dq
Lots of sounds !!!
Dave,
I just got the 409 running in my BelAir and will be following your post. I have a set of shorty headers, not sure who's, and some Flowmaster clones currently. It's not to bad while moving but at a stop it reverbes through the whole car and you can't talk or think !!!
bang It is the same exhaust system I had with the 327 but I had cast manifolds. Sounded very nice with the 327 but WAY to loud with the 409. :eek:
Anyway I'll be interested to hear how yours works out. Mine exits behind the rear wheels like stock and has no cross over pipe...
Dave,
I just got the 409 running in my BelAir and will be following your post. I have a set of shorty headers, not sure who's, and some Flowmaster clones currently. It's not to bad while moving but at a stop it reverbes through the whole car and you can't talk or think !!!
bang It is the same exhaust system I had with the 327 but I had cast manifolds. Sounded very nice with the 327 but WAY to loud with the 409. :eek: Anyway I'll be interested to hear how yours works out. Mine exits behind the rear wheels like stock and has no cross over pipe...
Is there a good way to run a cross over pipe with the x-frame? 
Ross
Ross
Dave, dqs suggestion about the local muffler shop is the best way I have found to remedy the exhaust problem. Saves you hours of cussing the pre-made systems, and as dq said, you will still need to tweek it to make it work. Let the pros do the work. Most dont mind it you stand there and watch. Nuts,,, What the hell are you complaining about? A few months ago , you had all kinds of problems, now you have a great looking, great running 409 car. I bet you would have settled on a loud , good running car then!!!!!! 
Cant help on the crossover pipe. Never used one on a X-frame car, even though I realize they are a benefit, Ive always run headers into 2 1/2 in. mufflers ( in and out) I like the tailpipes out the back too, but most of the time they cover access to the frame rails. ( easy place to fit a jack )
Cant help on the crossover pipe. Never used one on a X-frame car, even though I realize they are a benefit, Ive always run headers into 2 1/2 in. mufflers ( in and out) I like the tailpipes out the back too, but most of the time they cover access to the frame rails. ( easy place to fit a jack )
Nuts said:Dave,
I just got the 409 running in my BelAir and will be following your post. I have a set of shorty headers, not sure who's, and some Flowmaster clones currently. It's not to bad while moving but at a stop it reverbes through the whole car and you can't talk or think !!!
Anyway I'll be interested to hear how yours works out. Mine exits behind the rear wheels like stock and has no cross over pipe...
I think the word here is Flowmaster CLONE!!!
And Nut the 40 series Flowmasters will rumble your teath loose at a stop.
The 50 series is a whole lot quieter in the car with a nicer beefer sound out side.
I think the 50 series have a very hollow sound to them. They may have a slight bit better flow but not my choice for a street car.
I bought my Flowmasters for Summit for about half the cost of the local muffler shop then had them install them.
I just checked Summit and it looks like the price has gone up. i don`t know what the local price is though.,,dq
http://store.summitracing.com/partdetail.asp?autofilter=1&part=FLO%2D942551&N=4294923429+4294922711+115&autoview=sku
Heard some good reviews for the Flowmasters here too! However, I used to run "Walker-Royal Scotts" 
That was 30 years ago. Bottle shaped with a low hollow rumble at idle (SBC) and pretty decent cruizing sound level and high-end whine. Not sure if they are still being produced, but I'd buy them again if they were available.
RCE1962
That was 30 years ago. Bottle shaped with a low hollow rumble at idle (SBC) and pretty decent cruizing sound level and high-end whine. Not sure if they are still being produced, but I'd buy them again if they were available. RCE1962
Skip FIx
Well Known Member
I had lots of resonance issues with Flowmasters. Dynomax welded Ultraflows are much quieter and no "drone" when cruising.
A Dr. GasX crossover , welded Ultraflows and mandrel bent tailpipes on my Pontiac ran the same as open headers even with the additional weight of the exhaust system.
A Dr. GasX crossover , welded Ultraflows and mandrel bent tailpipes on my Pontiac ran the same as open headers even with the additional weight of the exhaust system.
Skip FIx said:
HEY !! This belongs in the Pontiac thread !!!
I haven`t noticed a drone with the 50 series flowmasters but have with friends cars that use the 40 series.
I had Dynomax mufflers on an exhaust system once and thought they sounded great !!,, dq
My problem is that I would like an exhaust system on the car when I first fire it up for engine break-in. I'd hate to make my neighbors hate me more than they already do
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no1: So it makes it kinda tough to bring it somewhere to have a custom exhaust fitted. I talked to Pypes today, supposedly they were working on a full system for the 58-64's but are not ready nor too enthused about getting it to market soon. Anyone here running the flowmaster pipes and mufflers specifically made for 58-64's? If so how well do they fit? They have one "kit" that goes from header to forward of rear wheel and another that gets you straight out the back. Thanks everyone for your advice so far. Dave
: : no1: So it makes it kinda tough to bring it somewhere to have a custom exhaust fitted. I talked to Pypes today, supposedly they were working on a full system for the 58-64's but are not ready nor too enthused about getting it to market soon. Anyone here running the flowmaster pipes and mufflers specifically made for 58-64's? If so how well do they fit? They have one "kit" that goes from header to forward of rear wheel and another that gets you straight out the back. Thanks everyone for your advice so far. Dave
I bought some 90 degree mandrel bends and some 8 foot pieces of straight pipe. All of it 2 1/2 in. and aluminized. I bought 2 mufflers from Summit, their clones of flowmaster and built my own system. The reason I did this was the muffler shop said they couldn't put a 2 1/2 in. system and run it past the rear wheels. I wanted the chrome tips. I also bought some stainless steel tips. I have less than $400 in the system including headers and they sound and perform great. With the mandrel bends you have no chrimps in the bends like a muffler shop bender will put in. You can also put the mufflers as far back in the system as you can get them. This helps in performance and stops some of the reasonance. My wife who is a noise freak, says that the car is OK to ride in.
: I think that is has just the right rumble and you can carry on a conversation at speed on the highway. Roy
: I think that is has just the right rumble and you can carry on a conversation at speed on the highway. Roy
I also built a system. It's a bit of work but you can do it. You could just order a system and it might fit perfectly, but chances are you'll have to do a little bit of tweaking. Or you could just get a couple of mufflers and cobble together some head pipes,,, just good enough to get to the muffler shop. A crossover really helps take some of the bark out of the system but it might be hard to get a muffler shop to install one. They usually aren't interested in anything that gets too complicated. Fatride ran a crossover across up near the bell housing somewhere. I added a crossover as an afterthought right under the middle of the "X" frame. If order a system without mufflers you'll probably need some extra pipe to extend the aftermarket mufflers because they will be shorter than the stock mufflers. The stock mufflers were also quite thin, about 3 1/2" or 4"
, so try to avoid getting a muffler that's too thick. Another thing to keep in mind is that the mufflers won't be seen as much if they are in closer to the center of the car instead of out by the rocker panel. Apparently car manufactures these days take noise into consideration when they design engines. They say some combustion chambers make more noise than others. I think the "W" engine falls into the noisy category so an exhaust system that would be mellow on some other engine would be noisier on a W. If you find your system's louder than you like there's room to install a set of round glass pack mufflers behind the rear wheels. If you look through the photos on this link you'll see my home made exhaust system. http://www.348-409.com/photopost/showgallery.php?cat=500&ppuser=67
, so try to avoid getting a muffler that's too thick. Another thing to keep in mind is that the mufflers won't be seen as much if they are in closer to the center of the car instead of out by the rocker panel. Apparently car manufactures these days take noise into consideration when they design engines. They say some combustion chambers make more noise than others. I think the "W" engine falls into the noisy category so an exhaust system that would be mellow on some other engine would be noisier on a W. If you find your system's louder than you like there's room to install a set of round glass pack mufflers behind the rear wheels. If you look through the photos on this link you'll see my home made exhaust system. http://www.348-409.com/photopost/showgallery.php?cat=500&ppuser=67
hooker
Anyone on here have any experience with the Hooker aero chamber mufflers that summit sells. I'm planning on using these behind my Hooker headers 3" to muffler exiting with a 2 1/2 to tip in front of rear wheels . Have not bought tips yet, going to be rectangular. just curious if I will need to go with a resonator style or not. Also very interested on some of your Ideas on crossovers. thanks Tim
Anyone on here have any experience with the Hooker aero chamber mufflers that summit sells. I'm planning on using these behind my Hooker headers 3" to muffler exiting with a 2 1/2 to tip in front of rear wheels . Have not bought tips yet, going to be rectangular. just curious if I will need to go with a resonator style or not. Also very interested on some of your Ideas on crossovers. thanks Tim
Skip FIx
Well Known Member
The X crossover has been shown to decrease decibels as well as increase performance over stright pipes and H pipe crossover. Some of the NASCAR guys use them.
I have had 2 friends with CHEVIES(one has about 15 Pontiacs also) that had Magnflows on. A LT1 Monte Carlo SS and a BBC El Camino and both hated them. Letting off the gas they popped like the old gas packs did even with tailpipes.
The old NMCA Top Stock class racing I did required tailpipes and mufflers. (I met several 409 NSS guys then and one is stil a close friend). I used 2 chamber racing Flows. Besides being loud, they lost performance compared to the quieter Ultraflows.
I have had 2 friends with CHEVIES(one has about 15 Pontiacs also) that had Magnflows on. A LT1 Monte Carlo SS and a BBC El Camino and both hated them. Letting off the gas they popped like the old gas packs did even with tailpipes.
The old NMCA Top Stock class racing I did required tailpipes and mufflers. (I met several 409 NSS guys then and one is stil a close friend). I used 2 chamber racing Flows. Besides being loud, they lost performance compared to the quieter Ultraflows.
Skip FIx said:
Skip, Could it be you needed to up the jet size in the carbs when going to the low restrictive mufflers?
This can and will happen when you open the dam doors !!
Once you remove the restriction this also allows better flow from the other end.
just my thoughts,,dq
Skip FIx
Well Known Member
Two different sets of Flows(one free from their rep) multiple track runs with different jetting. The first set replaced some "plain" turbo type mufflers with no performance gain.
A new motor was run with the old system, then no exhaust system,then new X system with jetting and timing changes at the track.
A new motor was run with the old system, then no exhaust system,then new X system with jetting and timing changes at the track.
Interesting to say the least !!
So it comes down to more of the American consumer that believes in the more you advertise the truer it is?
It would be interesting to see a true comparison on the mufflers that are available to us.
I have heard that one of the best flowing mufflers out there are the Hookers but again that is only what I have heard. And who and why are the next question.
How about a 3" pipe system with out a muffler at all????,,,:eek: ,dq
So it comes down to more of the American consumer that believes in the more you advertise the truer it is?
It would be interesting to see a true comparison on the mufflers that are available to us.
I have heard that one of the best flowing mufflers out there are the Hookers but again that is only what I have heard. And who and why are the next question.
How about a 3" pipe system with out a muffler at all????,,,:eek: ,dq
Skip FIx
Well Known Member
Jim Hand who is a long time Pontiac racer had a magazine article where he tried multiple mufflers on his street strip 1972 Wagon(runs mid 11s with ALOT of factory pieces well tuned), I'll see if I can find a link to it somewhere. He and his son have a CD with different sounds of different brands also. His son is reproducing the Vacuum opening muffler a rare few 70 GTOs had. kind of like the new electric operated dumps. It has an extra door that is vacuum operated that bypasses the muffler baffles straight out.
Yes advertising is a big deal in magazine info . There is no "peer review" like in engineering or scientific journals, so often there is some fudging for the big advertiser's products on testing.
Yes advertising is a big deal in magazine info . There is no "peer review" like in engineering or scientific journals, so often there is some fudging for the big advertiser's products on testing.