Vick's Header and Muffler installed: A little loud

Vick's Header and Muffler Update CC insert

Thought I would post a few pictures and a short video of this weekends Vick's exhaust install.
First I had to remove the old shorty Header and Muffler.










Next we bolted on the new header.






We ran into a problem when trying to fit the manifold it would not clear the half round that was welded on the inner right side of the header. Notice how the the one on the left is turned to allow clearance but the one on the right is not.(bottom picture)




So we had to remove and do a little grinding. Now that the manifold cleared we ran into another problem. We could not get a socket on the 13mm nut on the left side, it was just to close to the pipe. So we went with a 12mm nut on that one stud.
Next we started fitting the Muffler in place.we unused a heavy duty coupler wrap purchased at Advaned Auto. This took several tries to get the muffler turned just right so the tailpipe wouldn't touch the body and the muffler wouldn't touch the sway bar or rear grill. With both springs attached it pulls the muffler up to high hitting the body at the tail pipe section. I currently only have one spring attached I will probably need to revisit this after a few heat cycles.



Unfortunately putting the rear grill and valance on hides all this shinny bling.

I did not have time to take it out for a test drive yet but it sounds amazing. Definetly a more throaty sound.

https://youtu.be/FyFViT5hwZY


So I finally was able to take her out for a drive after the install. I didn't get far before I had to turn around and get back to make some adjustments. There if very little room to get the muffler set just right so it doesn't vibrate against the rear grill or at the tailpipe opening. We decided to take the srigs off and use some more stable hangers.



This was definitely the right way to go, much more stable. It really begs for the tailpipe to be angled downward more but to accomplish that you would need to turn the muffler forwards the rear of the car resulting in the grill interference.
Took it back out on the road and I am very impressed with the power gain from 4,000 rpm and up. Unfortunately I believe it is a little to loud for me. It resonates pretty much at the 3,500 to 4,000 rpm range. I am contemplating trying some CC inserts it the tailpipe but I'm not sure if that will do the trick or not. I also have a stock SS muffler that I might bolt on next week to see what it sounds like. I really like the look of the 2.5 tailpipe so it kinda sucks to think I need to put a stock muffler on. It sounds great when sitting at idle and reving the engine but as soon as I get a load on it I get the deeded drone at the previously stated rpm range.
If any of you have used inserts with any results please let me know.

Sounds good!

Heh, my friend just put a polished stainless exhaust on his early model Ferrari 308GTB..

He calls it "The Stanley Cup". I died of laughter..

Looks great. So I see on the Vicks site that the header is on sale for $299....but the muffler you have is not listed?

It's listed under performance parts I believe.

In case anyone wants to put the Vicks header on a car that has A/C. I just installed mine, it cleared the A/C, although the two A/C hoses should be as far to the rear as possible.
Not sure how it might fit with the large top mounted alternator, I converted to a mini alternator to allow fitting both the side draft carbs. Could only get one on until I got the smaller alternator, even then it is a snug fit for everything.

Ted83x,what Muffler did you use?

Details on Mini-Alt?

Hi Ted, could you provide details on your mini-alternator installation?

Lots 'o pix would be great!

muffler

It looks like the muffler you had on your old headers would be really loud, how did that work before you switched over?

carl

Looks and sounds great!

Mini alternator, I need to figure out how to post pictures.

It pivots on the OEM mount, but needed a spacer to get the belt to line up, so that was easy.

The top part is then adjusted with a new bracket, with two rod ends, one has left hand threads.

It just fits under the second carb, it is all a very close fit. Not much belt adjustment, to get the belt on you have to take the pivot bolt out. But once all assembled it fits and works.

What muffler did I use, didn't get that far yet, ha ha. It does run, little loud with nothing connected to the header. So assume it will make less noise with the muffler. Also the coolant stopped pouring out under the intake, now that it is held on by more than just the two nuts on the far ends of the manifold.

DAN

Since your in Phila, maybe we should meet up sometime, you can see the header install in person...

TED

Old Muffler?

Without trying to hijack this thread, what muffler did you have on your old header? My next project is an ex ITC racer with header and straight pipe and I'm planning to put it on the road.

carl

Old Muffler

was as pictured, just a bottle type, it was also a little loud but it did not resonate. The Vick's muffler reasonates more. I'm thinking a trip to local exaust shop will be the resolution. I just need to find a muffler that has a little more packing but not too much to kill power.
Unfortunately I'll need to wait for the snow to melt before I can get the car out of storage.

Well with some luck you can see the pictures....

Everything is a close fit, but it does work. I have the muffler assembly about half finished, once that is done I can add pictures of that. Not as pretty as the shiny example at the start of this thread, but I did use stainless this time, last couple times I did a exhaust didn't use stainless. Stainless cost more and is harder to work with, but once done it will stay nice forever.

I used muffler silencer inserts on my dual outlet Camaro muffler. It did cut the drone. I think the ones I found were intended for motorbike - 2.25" outlets if I recall correctly.

I know they work, as I had successfully used the silencer tips previously on my Volvo, as that had straight through 3" exhaust from the turbo back. It sounded awesome all the way to 9k rpm, but the drone made my ears bleed.

Well I'm now

leaning towards removing the Vick's Muffler and trying a Dynomax Stainless Super Turbo Muffler. The CC Inserts are interesting but I have my concerns when it comes to restricting the flow that much. They have two disk and three disk versions, just not sure it will kill the drone.
I need the snow to melt here in PA so I can the X out of storage. Can't wait for spring!

artz1731 said:

leaning towards removing the Vick's Muffler and trying a Dynomax Stainless Super Turbo Muffler. The CC Inserts are interesting but I have my concerns when it comes to restricting the flow that much. They have two disk and three disk versions, just not sure it will kill the drone.
I need the snow to melt here in PA so I can the X out of storage. Can't wait for spring!

Click to expand...

You don't need ones wiht all that crap inside. These work great -



What I did, was to add a few extra holes around the insert to give a little more flow. They absolutely kill the drone. The X1/9 motor does not benefit from 2.25" or larger exhaust, they just don't flow that much - unless you run it way over stock rpm limit & have modified intake & head porting?

Interesting.

But after posting in this discussion last night I decided to give the CC Insert a try. I ordered the three ring one knowing I can cut a ring off it it is too quiet. The weather looks to be decent this weekend and I have the itch to experiment. I'll take pictures and post the results this weekend.
I also have a decibel meter so it should be a fun experiment.

The CC insert reduced the drone on my Allison's header. I don't feel a significant performance decrease but assume it is decreasing flow somewhat. The Allison's collector diameter is also very large...