The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Engine Shop Request For Information On Muffler

I am considering installing a Flowmaster muffler on my single exhaust 1/2 ton 62 Chevy truck with a 235 c.i. engine. I don't want a lot of noise but the 22 inch Smitty I have now is too quiet. Anyone out there with a setup like I am considering? I do not want a split the exhaust -just be able to hear my engine a little more. Any suggestions? I hate to spend the money and have a bad sounding truck . Thanks for your ideas.

A flowmaster will not be any better or more efficient than the Smithy muffler nor will it be any louder since the Smithy is straight through with no restriction, you can't get any better than that.

You will get a little more sound by using a larger dia. muffler & reducers on the ends. Iv,e never used a Flowmaster. Like you I would like to know how it would sound before I spend that much for a muffler.

I ran a straight pipe on my old 55.1 panel 235 & liked it a lot. Maybe a more accurate statement would be to say I ran without a muffler, the pipe wasn't straight. I ran a stock exhaust pipe, then ran a 90 deg bend off of the exhaust pipe to just past the running board where it flared up a bit. The only time it was LOUD was when I got on it.

Edabbs

I think what you will find is that you may have trouble trying to make the engine louder because the 235 is rather small cubic inch wise and they don't tend to have alot of compression to make alot of noise. My guess is that changing from the Smitty to the Flowmaster will just give a diffrent tone, but not be much louder if any. Hope this helps.

Sean

I drove mine to the muffler shop running straight out the headers. I guarantee a 235 can be plenty loud You could get your muffler super hot and then dip it in ice water and "shatter" the glass. And that's IF yours is a glass packed muffler. You would have more noise then. And at least it would "look" legal.

Small cubic inches? Not much compression? I wish I'd though of that when that cop pulled me over back when I was in H.S., right in front of the ad. building. A bunch of kids gathered around to watch me get a ticket. The cop says "rev 'er up, son", so I tickled the gas a little and slowly got the rpm's up. He didn't buy it, he says "git on it!" so, I rapped my little 216 with Fentons and Smittys up. He just smiled and started writing, all the kids started laughing, I wanted to crawl into a hole. That night my dad said, "you're not driving that thing until you quiet it down". I put some stock mufflers on it, you could hardly hear them. (I hid my Smittys out back and later that year I put them back on but watched out a lot closer for that ol' cop).

Thanks for the replies! I don't want to get a ticket so will try to "shatter the glass" as suggested by Bigmacdaddy by heating up the Smitty and hitting it with cold water. It is welded on the truch so I will just drive it long enough to get the muffler hot and see if that will work. Any other ideas will be appreciated. Edabbs

I'm not so sure you'll be happy with the sound you get from a single exhaust, no matter what you do to the muffler. There's something about a split manifold that really changes the sound of an old Chev or GMC 6-banger.

I will agree that any engine with open headers is going to be loud. All I was saying is if you have a manifold and single exhaust the Flowmaster will change the sound of the truck but I don't think it will make it louder than the Smithy. Sorry you got a ticket Don, but hey sounds like you were having fun.

Sean