Pipes
This history doesn’t go back too far in my memory, but it is hard to believe it has been 53 years since 1960. That was the era of the “muscle car”. I still have to roll my window down to get a better sound whenever I hear some guy come rolling along with a nice set of pipes. I always give him the “thumbs-up” sign to show my appreciation. By pipes I mean the exhaust system on a car. They all came with mufflers that made for a quiet ride, but that was not the desire of my generation. The best sound came from a set of glass packs on a Chevy. Ford sounded better with steel packed mufflers. Dual exhaust was mandatory for a really good sound.
We always kept our original mufflers, because when we got stopped by the police, they required you to have legal mufflers when you went in to have your inspection warning certified.
Another way to get the rumbling sound was to punch holes in your legal mufflers with a screw driver. I wonder how many guys punched holes in their father’s muffler and then regretted it when their Dad found out.
I well remember getting stopped one time in my ‘56 Ford (with glass packs) and the state trooper asking me to “hit it”. I gave a gentle push on the accelerator and it gave a low rumble. He then said, “I said hit it”. When I did, the loud “blap-blap-blap” that resulted convinced me that I was sunk. I was.
I even had an LP record at the time that was nothing but good sounds coming from different kinds of pipes. I guess there is something about the sound that just reaches down into your soul.
Another sound that was also illegal was the sound of Lake pipes. These were exhaust pipes that came directly off your exhaust manifold and exited just behind your front wheels. There were caps on the end that could be removed rather quickly with a 1/2” wrench. Without the resistance of mufflers, the car was a bit faster and they were popular at drag strips. The same sound could be achieved by running straight pipes, but these were a lot of trouble and were also illegal.
One trick that some of us unfortunate to have an automatic transmission had was the “wind-down”. By running the car up to about 40 mph in low gear, turning it off and letting it wind down, it would build up pressure that was released by turning the ignition on again. The sound coming from those glass packs was truly awesome. When Main Street was open for traffic, doing a “wind-down” between Market Street and Division Streetheading east was a real hoot. The local constable was Jumbo Pusey, and he would just shake his head and yell from his position of the corner of Main and St. Peter’s streets, “Keep it down, George”. He knew we would only do it once and then be satisfied for the night. I later learned that this was not real good for the car, so I haven’t tried it lately. But that doesn’t stop me from rolling down my window and taking in the sound of a great set of “Pipes”.
6 comments:
Oh the good old days George.
For what it's worth, I absolutely love the fact that the Eastern Shore doesn't have Emission Inspection Stations like the Western Shore does. Many people don't know that on the other side of the Bay Bridge you have to have your car tested once a year.
Because we don't have the population we enjoy the freedom of doing things other people in the state can't. Of course I'm talking about loud pipes and exhaust systems.
My Cobra Mustang has 3 1/2 in headers with straight pipes and no back pressure. Between the sound of the blower and the exhaust system, it's the bomb!
My 1966 GTA convertible has a 390 under the hood and sounds incredible as well.
I recently purchase a 1957 Chevy Pickup in Virginia Beach in which I will do a full off restoration. I actually plan on having this vehicle as an every day driver so it will have all the new electronics and motor. I can't wait to put the exhaust system on the big block I'll have under the hood of this puppy.
When we were kids in the 70's we lived on the bend of a fairly busy road. We'd sit on the porch and listen to the sounds of the vehicles and could tell immediately if it was a Mopar, Chevy, Ford, VW etc. Boy you would get laughed at if you ever got it wrong.
Nevertheless, people on the Shore don't know how good they have it with exhaust systems. Just ask anyone over the Bay Bridge how much they enjoy having to go to Inspection Stations once a year. Maybe it's every two years but it's a pain nonetheless.
OK George,we get it;You were Clyde.Who was Bonnie?
I love these little stories. You lived across from my aunt & uncle, so I lived them, too.
Joe, hope you didn't give out any ideas for emissions testing. After all, one day it rained.
:)
where is that old car of yours today george? do you know?
I have heard this same story several times by different people. When I say hit it, I mean HIT IT. lol. Pipes that sound good are great, but I have heard some youngsters around here with pipes that are just loud. They don't sound good at all. Oftentimes, pipes sound better going slow and not mashing the pedal. And people can appreciate them longer. :)
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