The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area General Truck Talk Smithy's Glasspack

Hello all,
I am in the middle of restoring my 1950 3100 Shortbox and i came to the drivetrain Right now I am running the stock intake on the 235 and my question is how would a Smithy's Glasspack sound on this vehicle I was thinking of running 2 inch pipe in and out and go to a turndown at the rear bumper. But at a later date i am go to install a Offenhauser dual intake will that make a difference as to how it will sound?


Also incase your wondering were I'm going with my restoration I'm leaving it stock but the only parts I will add that isn't stock is the dual intake and smithys glasspack. Thank you Josh

Welcome to the 'Bolt. Exhaust tone is a matter of personal preference but in my opinion a single Smithy on a full length exhaust will sound fine. I run a short glasspack type muffler with a turn down a foot or so off the back of the muffler on my Loadmaster and it sounds good. I was afraid it would be too loud since it's always "to the floor" but it's not. I'm sure you'll get more comments soon,
Scott

It depends on the sound you want. A classic sound would be a glasspack, I don't know if it is stock for the 50's, wasn't born then. As far as turndowns, it will make it quieter if you run it out the back.

I personaly only go with flowmaster. You can get away with the 2 inch exhaust pipe if you are leaving the motor stock.I did have turndown out the back and an H pipe but now have custom made fenderweld headers and the exhaust stops before the tires. I went with 3 inch so the motor could breathe. It made a huge difference in horsepower and sounds really good. Goldie really likes it now, she gets better response on the throttle and it feels great.

Hope you have fun with your restore. Take care, Debbie

I was looking for the Old school tone of the glass pack i was just unsure of the Smithy's brand. My 94 silverado has Thrush glasspacks and no cataltyc (Spell) coverter 2 1/2 inch pipes coming off headers and 3.5 inch tips. Moslty I was making sure it would have that old school sound or if I will have to do something different. Thanks Josh

Nothing sounds better than a Chevy hotwater six with a split manifold running dual Smities.

"old skool" Smitties [not Smithys] were steel packs, machine shop shavings prolly, nothing sounds as good - IMO Thrush or Flowmaster are as good as Smithys, which are a glasspak knock off of the original

Bill

steel pack's or NO-pack's for me!

Runnning dual Smittys on my 235 with 2" pipes straight out the back and love them. Flowmasters have more of a roaring sound at certain speeds that drives me nuts and don't sound anything like the 50's. Just my 2c.
Tom

No offense to the "old school" guys but the baffled straight-through original truck mufflers resonate very nicely in a dual exhaust system with standard diameter pipes. I know because I have gotten stopped a few times by the local police - they first check to see if the system looks legal (because it does not sound legal). Then we talk for a while about old vehicles.

Of course, the stock mufflers (available from parts vendors and your FLAPS) seem to be a little more expensive than Smitty's.

Might as well toss in my $.02. I've got a 54 that on the outside appears pretty well stock. I've added a few things under the hood..including a set of Fenton Headers and a dual intake. I went with dual Cherry Bomb GlasPaks. I stuck with the stock diameter pipes so as not to effect the low end torque. My cab is REALLY well insulated.

If you are interested in maintaining a stock configuration (look) but planning on adding a dual intake you might be well advised, to consider a set of Fentons and a true dual system. Regardless of what straight through mufflers you choose, the dual headers will improve your performance (and sound) over a single exhaust system. Headers are the cheapest performance improvement you can add. The combo of dual intakes and exhaust will open up the potential of your 235, even without any cam mods.

My system is really quiet when I want it to be and up to 2000 rpm's. After that, the familiar split-six sound will rattle windows. Being able to control the noise level has it's merits. Especially, when you've got an officer of the law on your bumper or want to carry on a conversation inside the cab. Like so many things on our old trucks, it's getting the right "system" planned and implemented. I would almost bet that once you get your dual intake together, you'll want the split header sound to improve your overall performance. The dual intake and headers require some "fitting" so you might consider it up front....may save you some additional down-time down the road.

Rarely is a project truck ever "finished!" They become a "work-in-progress".....that's what keeps us with our hands dirty and the parts suppliers in business. By looking a little further down the road, you can actually save yourself some money (in the long run) and reduce the pile of parts that have a tendency to accumulate in the corner of your shop. Hope this helps.

Dave

Actually Bill it is Smithy\'s everyone just pronounces them Smitties.

I'm posting this as a serious response.

I was at Tractor Supply the other day and saw some mufflers they had for sale. As you can expect, they look pretty lo-tech in the baffles, but externally, they look like something "old." All-steel construction. Costs range depending on size, but I'd be surprised if I spent more than $35 on the best/biggest one they had.

Anyone ever try a tractor muffler? Does it make your truck sound like a tractor, or is the tractor note more how they used to sound anyway?

(How the heck does someone know what "original sound" actually sounds like unless you have a museum piece? Seems like there will be a little bias in 50 years, not to mention changed hearing.)

Bill

No problem with the $35 tractor muffler.

My truck can sound like a tractor. It is painted with Rustoleum. I was told it looks like a wheelbarrow. HA

Thanks for all the Replies guys. I really appreciate the help.
Fla54Chevy3100,
Thank you for your post That helped me decide on the split header. For right now I will be running the stock intake and exhaust manifold with a smithy's glasspack. The exhaust is all rusted so I have to replace it anyway. But when I do buy the Dual Intake I will be sure to buy the split headers too right away.
Now I know why I love this website. Thanks again Josh

i have thrush glass packs on mine and they sound alright

That seems like a really good idea, TxLaTx. The tractor supply muffler on my grandpaw's 8N sounds fairly throaty when its pulling at higher RPMs, even with the little 4 banger it has and sitting on top of it in the open. I may just have to try that, the two extra cylinders would give it a distinct ring.

Actually guys it is "SMITTIES". Check out the web site. http://www.modelcargarage.com/store/pc/viewPrd.asp?idcategory=6&idproduct=28

At $13.95 they are a real bargan.

click

I run Flowmaster on all my V-8 stuff. They are not glass packed, they are chambered. They are a unique muffler, not a knock off of anything,
Scott

the Smithy's are the glasspacked knock offs Scott, the originals were steel packs - Flowmasters are prolly the best

Bill

While a muffler will always have certain "sound characteristics" the Actual Sound depends on a lot of things. Size engine, amount of h.p., the actual pipe routing and others. For me, I do like the Smitty's. IMHO the flowmasters are overrated and it keeps their prices up. I ran a lot of straight pipes in my day and currently run straights on my 37. HOWEVER, for 3 years I have a set of Smitty's still in the box just in case I want to quiten it down some!

Where do you buy these Smitty's. I can't find any info on them. Smithy's on the other hand can be bought at a lot of different outlets, they claim to have patents running back to 1920!!
Doesn't sound like a knock-off to me.

BigChevy3600, those mufflers you linked to are for models!

...unless you're running a 3/16" diameter exhaust pipe!

(No wonder they are so cheap!!!)



Bill

waldo53: the Smitty's I purchased came from a place in Florida I think it was called the Hot Rod Shop. Drop me an e-mail with Smitty in the subject line and in the meantime I will dig out the boxes. For those considering cost I "thought" I would try the Flowmasters. The shop here had two different ones. One cost $60 and the other was $80. The price was installed. I always loved the Smitty and when I say the advertiser in Old Cars Weekly I purchased two of them for $60. Shipping was very little to my address. I'm getting to be an old fart but remember these quite well. The correct spelling is Smitty!

I bought a Smithy's muffler recently. These ARE and always have been "Smithy's" mufflers, NOT "smitty's; says so right on the box it came in!

Smithy's have been around since the late 1940's, MUCh earlier than Flowmasters (by about 40-something years!).

http://store.summitracing.com/partdetail.asp?part=PTE%2DH3010&N=305031&autoview=sku

There are 3 different lengths available. For a 235, what does this mean? Is it volume only, or does it change the tone/note?

Bill

Those of us that were teenagers back when Hot Rodding was in it’s infancy probably all have a different picture of what things were like back them. And we should being from different parts of the country. But here’s a little bit of what I remember bout Smithy.
In the early 60’s I had a ’60 Biscayne w/Fenton headers. I worked as a counter man at a auto parts store at the time and we handled Walker mufflers, so it was the logical choice for me. I ran the Walker, Cherry Bomb style steel pack mufflers on my 235 and later on my 261. I don’t think they really packed any steel in them because they were LOUD! Yep they would rattle windows fo sho and the neighbors teeth cuz they sure complained about them enough. But, back then I needed a lot of attention!
Of course a lot of the guys ran the glass pack, Smithy’s and they had a mellower tone than the steel packs. If I remember correctly they didn’t have “Smithy’s” embossed in the wrapper back then, it was just an inexpensive plane Jane glass pack muffler as I recall. http://www.pertronix.com/exhaust_products/smithy.htm
We didn’t have the choice of vendors that are available today. Back then many of the hot rod items were purchased the few jobbers like JCWhitney. So there was a good chance that you would have bought your Fenton headers and “Smithy’s mufflers from ”JCWhitney, mostly because they had the best prices on items to soup up your six. Interestingly you can still buy Smithy’s from JCWhitney, for $60 to $70, but is see JEGS, Summit and a few others sell the same Patriot Smithy’s for $30 to $33, now what’s this world coming to!
Now we jump forward to the present and I don’t need as much attention as I did in the 60’s, and I kind of like the good old sound of the stock muffler, that is if there is such a thing still made. Who said you can buy a stock muffler from FLAPS for an AD truck??? Part Numbers always help.
Denny Graham
Sandwich, IL

patrick56: Can I claim CRS? I know how to spell it buit sure as heck can't type it. My apologies to all that I lead astray!! Denny, I'm either still "young" at heart or maybe I just need a little attention in my golden years...either way I still like the noise. Uh, maybe now its because I'm have deaf

Dear half deef, go ahead and enjoy it while you still have the good half left!
Signed; Dear Abby

Just pullin’ your leg Al, I got nuttin’ against the rumble, but you see, I’m much
older than you and need my solitude. You know, when you get to bee my age
you taint so pretty to look at anymore so standing in the back ground feels a lot
more comfortable!

Bill, not speaking from experience here, but my guess would be that since it’s durn near just a length of straight pipe with a few holes to soak up a tiny bit of sound, that the only reason for the difference lengths would be to fit in the space where a stock muffler was being replaced. The longer one might be a skosh mellower but I wouldn’t think by very much.
Denny Graham
Sandwich, IL

As far as I know TxLaTx ( this is just my "young" opinion. But it depends on the shape, make, and "pack" of the muffler AND exhaust pipes. The "tune" Thus -blub, blub, blub, or ticka, ticka, ticka is how the cylinders fire. So "tune" into your engine and figure out what "tune" you want heard and then get your tractor, flowmasters, smit's, or stocks to get that perfect tune.
It also will help or NOT help your engine by not creating enough back up, to much back up in the exhaust as well.
Personaly I like my blub, hiss blub, hiss blub, hiss that mine has now. Sounds the same out the rear as it does under the hood.
Ever hear a rice burner w/a modification VS the "stock" rice burner? Total diff. sounds
Or a 69 stock camero vs the "hot rod" tweeked camero? All modifications to THAT particular persons specs. No help from me, but maybe!

How does it go again? blub, hiss blub...I thought mine was doing a hiss, blub hiss...Maybe my timing is off?!?!

:p

(Never thought I'd hear an exhaust note in the forums, but I actually did! Is there anything Stovebolt.com can't do???)

Bill

HaHaHa
LMAO!

Really mine is like hiss hiss blub, blub hiss blub, blub hiss hiss, blub hiss blub. Got like a cute beat!

Thanks for the clarification Bill, I didn't mean to ruffle any feathers, I'm a Flowmaster guy too, LOL. Sometimes I read faster than my brain understands! Every muffler has it's place, but I'm getting to old to listen to glass packs and Cherry bombs, I like rumble, not noise,
Scott

I spoke to a friend today who's been in the hot rod parts business for decades and he says the "Smithy's" are the original, not knock-offs. He showed one he has hanging on his display rack. Have they changed from metal packing to glass over the years? Possibly but according to him they have always been spelled Smithy's and pronounced Smitties.

All different kinds of mufflers available.All of the glasspacks are basically the same.Back in the old days I preferred the Hollywood Belonds,and a lot of the guys swore by Smitties.Then there were the Cherry Bombs and probably about a dozen more brands on the market.And they all sounded mean.On my 55 I have headers and Flowmaster mufflers which give it a very deep throaty sound.On my 72 I have headers and Magnaflow mufflers,they sound much more like the glasspacks of yesteryear,they really beller when I step on it.Flowmaster and Magnaflow are expensive,compared to glasspacks.All ya gotta do is look thru any of the glasspacks and you can see they are all about the same,and they definitly get louder after being used for awhile,almost like straightpipes.

I just love the sound of a good exhaust system. Beats most tunes on the radio. I like dual exhaust with headers, not very loud mufflers.

Tiny, you are so right on and I dont think anything sounds better..seems like the two I had on my truck I ordered from souther cal.. not sure,, been to long ago........but the sound is hard to beat......just my 2 cents

My experience with noise goes like this. A 235 with Fentons, and steel pack mufflers, the shorter the better for more noise (mine were Porters), will yield ear splitting, glass breaking sound if done right. A cop in Burbank told me mine sounded like an airplane taking off (and we were right under the Lockheed airport). I now have Corvair turbo mufflers with Fentons and 2" pipes. The sound is quite subdued but still has the 6 cyl "beat".

Hey Gents what ya think these will sound like , I picked up a set of NOS 1967 ..Thrush mufflers the old straight tin can type , I am gonna run on my 52 with a 350 an duals ??

Tim, I can hear you coming all the way down here in sssooooth carrroooolinnnna