It is time for a muffler for the 58. The engine is a 223 and it would be great to just straight pipe it out the back. But my wife will be driving it and she says, "no". She has agreed to one of three mufflers, Cherry Bombs like the ones on my Model A (small block), Smitty's like a friend has on his 40 Chevy truck ( stock 6) or Porters. I have stock mufflers on my 39 Chevy Truck and she does not like the sound. She said it sounds like an old ladies truck. I like the quailty of the Porters as they are all hand built but, I have only heard the sound on the internet. Any recommendtions? She wants the mello rumble sound without it being loud when her drives. I told she to just turn up the radio, but she wants what she wants and this time its her truck. I've got to keep her happy so she does not complain about my next project.

 

I remember the Porter units very well.....what I may suggest is Allied resonators.....they were originally started in SoCal as well....same basic construction except in place of the spring they are 1) non-louvered perforations which allows flow as much as any of the race spec mufflers and 2) the ends are bullet shaped which again increases flow & reduces burn through over time. In terms of tone, IMHO Allieds have a much cleaner tone to them...very deep, similar to Porter & a very nice (not brash) rumble on accel/decel....I guess i would compare the difference from Porter being more "truck like" to Allied being more "smoother" and- classier.

Allied is now sold nationwide & available at any muffler shop (literally & even if they don't have in stock what you want, their delivery is typically 1 day) and come in just about any diameter/length size you would want...from 10" up to 30" in length IIRR. Our family has been running them on everything since the 60's.....they typically last for 15-20 years.

If I may suggest, take the truck in to a shop and let them hold up a few different sizes to see what she really likes best and go from there. If that's not an option, I would suggest something in the 28" length....absolutely no drone (from any of their products)....and this (SWAG) I think would produce a very nice deep tone at idle, nice rumble that can be heard from outside the truck by from the inside, it will sond like a nice smooth, clean rumble that you can still have a conversation, listen to the stero or engine and if you get on it, yeah it will make just enough noise (not muffled, but a clean sound) but not so much that the cops will have issues too. They are less $ than the porters as well...typically $50-$80 each installed.

 

Thanks. I'm going to look into them. They sound like I may want them on my 39 too. I would post a few of my photos of the 39 but I don't want to offend any of my new Ford friends.

 

I have two Smitty's on my 292 (1960). The sound is GREAT.