Any suggestions as to what mufflers work/sound best with a stock 455? What are the benefits to an H pipe? And, the most imortant to me...What tail pipe tips (diameter and style) were original for a '72 442?

Thanks in advance.

 

Muffler selection is a matter of personal taste, but I've always liked the Walker Dynomax turbo mufflers. Nice balance of sound and low restriction without being obnoxious. They also have been proven to outflow Flowmasters.

For pipes, 2.5" should be fine. An X-pipe (as opposed to an H-pipe) will improve flow and reduce noise by allowing every exhaust pulse to see both mufflers. Several vendors sell 2.5" prebent pipe sets for A-body cars, but Pypes Exhaust (www.pypesexhaust.com) sells complete sets with X-pipes AND 2.5" trumpets for 442s. The stock tailpipes and trumpets are only 2".

 

If you want the original exhaust to include tail pipe tips and original sound contact Gardner Exhaust Systems http://www.gardnerexhaust.com. They made the original exhaust system for my 67 442 and they do excellent work.

 

Funny, I've been partial to Dynomax too.

I have a few more questions:

My '72 442 doesn't have exhaust cutouts on the rear bumper, so (I think) trumpets would not be appropriate, is that correct? If that is the case, what tips would be most appropriate? I'm leaning towards angle cut, or Is this a matter of personnel taste too? Also, the tailpipes go over the rear axel, not under...correct? I heard conflicting info on this, so it would help to have some "Olds guys" weigh in on this.

Thanks a bunch for the help!

 

Correct, the trumpets were only used on the cutout bumper. The factory pipes used downturns, but it is a matter of personal taste. And yes, the pipes go OVER the axle. The under the axle routing seems to be something the "sport compact" types do since the sewer-pipe sized exhaust they like to run (which is SOOO well matched to that 95 cu in engine!) won't fit over the axle on those cars.

And in case someone asks, yes in 1972 the base 442 did NOT come with a cutout back bumper. Since the 442 package was downgraded to an option that year, if you ordered it on a 350-equipped Cutlass you got the straight bumper, not the cutout one. Only the 455 cars came with the cutout bumper.