i'm to the point where I can put the exhaust on my nail project. It a 64 wildcat with a very built up 401 now 410 cubic inches. Big cam with some of the last GREG GESLERported heads and dual quad intake Of course it will have dual exhaust either 2.5 or 3" if I can get it to follow the funky routing to the crossways muffler. Thinking 304 stainless. My question is about the resonators. Do I put them on or will it hurt performance or sound funny? I've read there is a tru difference between real resonators and mufflers I can locate them in the stock forward position or at the tail pipe. Tell m what you all think
Any restrictions at the front is more likely to hurt performance, the rear... not always so. Gas is hotter (expanded) and velocity higher near the engine. It's cooled quite a bit by the time it gets back there. BTW...this is not a 'Nailhead Guru' question. This might be more appropriate in Speedtalk or something.
My opinion is 2.5" will work great. I'm not a fan of stainless as it is hard to work with and expensive. I've had ss on my riv and ended up changing to a TA 2.5 system which improved power and tone. (Great tone) I would say no to resonators. Tricky part for the Wildcat system is deciding where to install mufflers. How about 2 round case in original position or like a camaro type 2 in 2 out muffler there. I installed a Waldron exhaust on my 64. The riviera system front TA MIGHT be close and with lots of modification work and exhaust with maximum power. As always, working on the Wildcat is a challenge.
I would also say no resonators, unless your after a tame exhaust note. Magnaflow has a dual-in/dual-out muffler with an internal x-pipe. That's what I would go with if you want to mount the muffler in the factory location. Otherwise it's practically impossible to incorporate any sort of crossover on an x-frame vehicle.
Yes the x frame makes this car hard to put exhaust on. Plus about the only way to get past the rear view no is to go with the sideways muffler in the rear. I kind of like the suggestion of the magnaflow two in two out x muffler. Does anyone think that the stainless gives a different tone? Lastly this is a wildcat so I do want to tone it down a bit just not so much to choke it.
I've run resonators after a transverse muffler with near 700hp. It didn't choke it down. Google 'No loss exhaust systems' or anything by Vizard on the subject for a basic introduction on the subject. It might be helpful to describe more of the build than just 'big cam and Gesler heads' You can math out your starting point as well as the info you provide allows
If you if you need more specs here we go Cam is Ta 413-401 Compression is true 10.25 Heads and intake messaged by gessler with doc mod Roller rockers Shorty headers Carbs dialed in by Carmen Dual quad Malory unilaterally ignition not sure about this also have a dizzy dialed in by Carmen All expertly assembled at Ta performance Briefly read the Vizard stuff thought he said resonator b4 muffler The more I think about it might do that and just put some electri cutouts rite up front for fun time
If you re-read his stuff more than briefly you would have the understanding that the cut-outs won't help anything and the 'resonators' he might be referring to are not quite what you think. Your carbs are dialed in before the engine runs or is there some dyno sheets? The info listed doesn't give much insight to the power level of the engine. Hate having to look up people's cam specs but for a mild engine like this with modestly flowing heads not taking advantage of overlap to boost VE in the midrange, a 2.5"should suffice. 3" pipes coming off of small primary shorty headers sound like a torque killer being that most header math would suggest a much smaller collector (effectively the head pipes from the header would be an extension of the header). 2.25" would 'probably' be better yet. I realize that most aren't going to use their actual valve events and flow figures to math verify primary and collector lengths and diameters, as well as the fact that there aren't many choices off the shelf for headers, but you'd be fine to follow general pipe sizing guidelines listed all over the Net. Sounds like a fun car
X2 on dyno sheets. I am curious what this engine will do. The cam seems a bit much for a Wildcat on paper. Also, I am planning on a new dual exhaust for my '64 Wildcat this summer. I am curious how yours will sound and perform.
Yea I probably went a little overboard on the cam but just wanted to see how much I could get out of the old nail. Probably burn up a couple pairs of tires then tame it down later on Really trying to get my name on that list of fastest big boats
I gotta say that I love the stainless system on my Buchev pickup. I found a great shop in Taunton, MA that bent the system up and installed it in less then two hours. The price was reasonable.
Did they kink-bend the system or use mandrels inside? I've always liked the tone of welded stainless mufflers After mentioning the intent of the engine, was there a power goal? What did the heads flow?
I recently installed a complete Waldron system made for a GS Riviera on my stock 401 Riv. I could look straight through the resonators and the insides of the stock looking muffler; they have a distinct quiet rumble and are a little louder than I wanted but got them un-used from the original purchaser for a great price. Not sure how it affected performance, though. Steve
