>I beg to differ...
>
>Not just an exhaust system will make the difference:
>
>How about a high lift cam, high compression heads, and about double or
>triple the Cubic Inch. And of course the right exhaust system.
>
>Then it might rumble like a Vette, Chevelle, Camaro, etc,...
Hi Jay:
Not wishing to quibble (too much) with your choice of rumblers, but we
Mopar fans would wish to intrude...the sound of a late hemi?
I am fortunate in owning one of the truly great (greatest?) rumblers of
all. My 1956 Chrysler 300B, with the optional 355 HP engine, has my
attempt to reproduce the original NASCAR exhaust system. I have kept it
street legal but only barely. The 354 hemi is vented through 2 1/2 inch
center dump exhaust manifolds to 2 1/2 inch pipes which feed Walker
Continental straight-through glasspacks. From the mufflers, located at
mid-point under the car, the pipes are 3 inch and terminate 6 inches past
the rear bumper. They are left in the natural rusty iron state for maximum
visual machismo.
With the full-race 300B cam the sound is incredible. At idle it is deep
and lumpy. Under load it can be heard a block away, and at speed under
load I have been told it is quite audible at distances up to a mile.
However the sound is not objectionable due to the diameter of the pipe
which lowers the tone significantly. On the contrary I have often been
assured that it is "the greatest-sounding car I ever heard". Obviously I
am a bit biased. (Incidentally, my MGB has a slightly larger-than-stock
exhaust pipe with a correspondingly nicer exhaust note.)
Incidentally, my car is painted and lettered to represent a Kiekhafer
Mercury Outboards NASCAR car. All body panels including the roof are
lettered as the original cars were finished. Working from original
photographs, I finished the car as a tribute to Carl Kiekhafer whose racing
expertise resulted in the fame the cars enjoyed. He died shortly after I
finished the restoration in 1984.
John McEwen
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