king_doodle

Happy New Year! I spoke to Scott Thompson at Classic Exhaust Inc today, and it turns out that he has 3 types of muffler he can put on his exhaust systems: normal, turbo, or glasspacks. Does anybody have experience with any of these options from Classic Exhaust? Turbo is what seemed like a nice compromise to me. The car is a 66 Dynamic 88 425. Thanks in advance for your thoughts.

redoldsman

It really depends on the sound you are looking for. Normal will have no sound, turbos will have a nice mellow sound and usually not too loud. Glasspacks are more old time and will tend to get louder as the fiberglass burns out. I have a pair of Smitty's glasspacks on my 54 Olds because they were used back in the day and are period correct. They are not as loud as I expected but probably have less than 2,000 miles on them.

king_doodle

I love the Smithy glasspack sound; a true classic rumble. The more I think about it, glasspacks might be required after all. Thanks for your response, redoldsman.

BangScreech4-4-2

Do you do much freeway driving? If so, get the quietest choice possible. Drone will drive you up the wall.

king_doodle

That's a good point, '69442ragtop. Most of my driving is just cutting around the local streets of Kennesaw. An occasional highway drive, but not the norm.

redoldsman

I have to say I have no drone with my 54. Most of the time I don't even realize the Smittys are on the car. Now a 455 could be a different story. An H pipe will help the drone. I can't put one on my 54 but I did go back and add one to the 72 Cutlass I had with turbos on it. It got rid of the drone.

anthonyP

Exhaust droning heard inside the car, even when driving around town, will drive you nuts. Unlike newer cars, a normal exhaust on an older car will still give a nice low rumble without the annoying droning. For a little more rumble while still being livable, and without drawing unnecessary attention of neighbors or enforcement, the turbo mufflers are a good alternative.

king_doodle

Excellent advice, anthonyP and redoldsman. Thanks to you both.

redoldsman

Let us know what you do and if you are satisfied. There is a lot of difference in turbo mufflers and in glasspacks. I first put a set of Brockman Mellow Tone glasspacks on my 54. I had read on some website that a lot guys used them and with a name like mellow tone I thought they would be what I was looking for. They sounded like I didn't have any mufflers. Way loud. I didn't keep them on the car a month. I replaced them with 30" Smittys which are the longest ones they make. I know the length makes them quieter.

cherokeepeople

buddies dad always called glasspacks "hollywood's"

king_doodle

Hollywoods....that's great. Possibly because they involve lots of hot air and noise? ;-)

redoldsman

That is going back a few years to the 50's and early 60's. I remember my Dad putting a Hollywood on his 50 Ford and people using the term. It may have referred to steel pack mufflers which Smitty used to make. The only steel pack mufflers that I know of today are Porter mufflers. The way these things are made, they will last forever. They have been around since 1931. They seem pretty cool. Here is the link:


https://portermufflers.com/

king_doodle

These porter glasspacks sound monstrous!

redoldsman

They are not for everybody and they are a little pricey. They are made out of heavy gauge steel and I believe they will last forever. I may have gotten to old for them.

king_doodle

Never too old!! I tell you what, I believe they are louder than Cherry Bombs. I'm glad you mentioned them, redoldsman. I had never even heard of Porter Mufflers until today.

redoldsman

If you go to their website you can see how they are made. They are hand packed with stainless steel.

king_doodle

Last night I did some more prep work. It appears that the steering gear box may need to come out in order to remove the driver's side exhaust manifold. There's simply no clearance anywhere else. Has anybody ever removed the driver's side exhaust manifold from one of these full-size 60s Olds?

Oldsmaniac

No the steering box does not need to come out. Are you switching to dual exhaust with the repro manifold for the driver's side? This would be the way to go.

king_doodle

Yes, I've got the Thornton repro manifolds for both sides. Hmmm. Maybe I should post a pic of how the old manifold is wedged in there. It comes close to coming out a couple of different ways, but it's solidly blocked.

droptopron

I'm shopping for exhaust right now. How is this company Classic Exhaust Inc?

king_doodle

I've only spoken to the owner, Scott Thompson. The guy is very knowledgeable and has a great customer focus. Do a quick search on Classic Exhaust Inc. There was a thread that discussed his company which included a lot of helpful info.

king_doodle

Here's the thread: https://classicoldsmobile.com/forums...haust-inc.html

Oldsmaniac

Once the crossover pipe is off the manifold should slide out. perhaps your motor mount(S) are bad causing the engine to sit very low to the frame? It is easier to work though with the starter removed...

king_doodle

A thought just occurred to me. The front of the car is elevated on jack stands right now. Could that affect the geometry of the engine compartment? Maybe that's why I seem to have no wiggle room to get that manifold out.

Oldsmaniac

Being on stands would not cause the condition you have, check your engine mounts....

Oldsmaniac

Bad engine mounts can cause the exhaust manifold to rest on the frame cradle.

droptopron

That's my thread from back in the day. I forgot about them. I must be aging