Exhaust Help?

This 77 Cougar I bought is, IMO, loud. 3" pipes, with converters, (unsure of brand), to 2.5" short case super turbos and 2.5" pipes. The pipes end sort of where the OEM pipe did on these. tucked way high in that pocket between the rear tire and bumper.. higher than the frame rail, aimed down... Close to the tire (You can see where the OEM hanger still is, and how far much further to the rear it 'should' be.



I'm thinking if I get these pipes past the bumper, either aimed down or back (not sure?) They will quiet the car down some? My '78 with an X pipe and no cats is quieter than this car.. those pipes come out past the rear bumper.

pipes exiting under the car will tend to echo some but that looks as it is pretty close to the back already sure its not the mufflers?

It's actually pretty close to the rear tire. As for the mufflers, these are the 'quiet' ones that everyone raves about. I've got plenty of pipe to experiment with making some longer ends and turn downs, or kick the pipes down so they extend past the rear bumper, but I don't want cut anything if it won't help at all.

Maybe the cats are empty??

This is going to sound dumb but it doesn't 'smell' it. Maybe I'm just being too picky.

Can you take a pic of the muffler? I have 2.5 inch pipes with an H pipe on my '66 Gal 390. I used Dynomax Super Turbos and obviously no cats. It is so quiet it is ridiculous. Sumfin' is funny here. Maybe you have gutted cats and gutted mufflers?.?.?.

Cats



Mufflers

I'll dig through my receipts I got with the car. I want to say they were 17733s but i'm not 100%

It is DEFINITELY louder than my F100 which has the large case 17769s and 2.5" bullets at the end used as resonators.

You got me .....

That setup oughtta be whisper quiet.

Figured I'd update. Outside the car, it's pretty quiet. INSIDE the car, it's echoy.. I'm going to lengthen those pipes and see if it helps.

When you lengthen them try to get them to point straight out rather than angle down. Then no sound is bouncing up off the pavement which really adds to the drone inside.

Like the 4thhorseman wrote, you'll hear a big difference if not pointing straight down. I had my turndowns, right after the mufflers, straight to the pavement, and it was really loud. I set off every car alarm I'd ride by. I since turned them at a 45* angle, and it's like night and day.

Figured I'd update.

*fixed!*



A friend runs a muffler shop and helped me out with this. He cut the pipe back about a foot and hid it all, except the extensions. No more echo can! I can hear myself think on the highway now*. I'm debating tips, and the guy left the pipes long for me so I can decide on length, etc. Cruising at constant speed on the highway, it's barely audible. Get on it, however, and you're still aware there's not a small block in the engine bay. I'm pleased,

*I was being dramatic, it wasn't THAT bad, but the car looks stock, it should sound pretty quiet IMO.

*edit*

Cletus, you were right. You get a nice *BONG* when you knock on the cats.. they are empty for the most part.. not on purpose, just due to age and mileage I suspect. Prevous owner swore he didn't gut them.

I swear that I didn't gut mine either !!!!!

cletus66 wrote:I swear that I didn't gut mine either !!!!!

I swear that before I put the mufflers on that I didn't retard the timing too much and add fuel and run it really hard and accidentally run a cold water hose up the exhaust.

I don't know what those big chunks of stuff that "accidentally" fell out were.

LOL. It's my understanding that VA does sniffer tests no?

psquare75 wrote:LOL. It's my understanding that VA does sniffer tests no?

Not in my county. But, sometimes they will look under there to see if you have cats.