I recently swapped out the 350 on my 1979 Corvette with a 383. I had to use the stock exhaust manifold with it since the headers it came with did not fit. I’m gonna install headers and while I’m at it, new after market mufflers. Any idea what type of mufflers I should get? I’m stuck between Magnaflow and Flowmaster. I’m trying to get that nice classic muscle car sound from my Vette.

 

Take a look at your mufflers, the angle and the curvature of piping which is part of the muffler if yours are like the ones on my 69. The aftermarket mufflers are quit different, they usually mount horizontal and then would require a custom bent pipe to connect to the existing exhaust pipe. Aftermarket mufflers come in 1, 2, or 3 baffle, a 3 baffle would be quite, a 2 baffle will give yours a nice throaty sound but with a chance of a droan when cruising. A 1 baffle is always loud, now this is a biased opinion as I prefer mine to be quite. T

 

Sidepipes are always appropriate for C3s, but I'd never put them on my 79, either.

If you want a long-tube header, under-car system for your 79, consider swapping out the transmission crossmember for an aftermarket version with more clearance. The way the stock crossmember is configured forces extra bends in the pipe.

 

I have Magnaflow's on my 76 with a 383 and I like them. They are pretty tame until I really get into the quadrajet carb and then they come alive and sound great. I don't remember the part numbers. Sorry

 

The mufflers are only 40% of that "muscle car" sound you are after. The other 60% is headers.

What ever mufflers you chose, drill a 1/8" hole at the lowest part of the muffler, usually at the bottom-front. Vette mufflers tilt upward. Exhaust gases contain water / condensation. Guess where that moisture collects? The drilled hole will not promote rust, it will deter it.

You will see the muffler drain itself at start-up. Especially in cool weather.

 

Magnaflow or Flowmaster......they both have distinctive sounds of their own.
We can't tell you what sound you like best, so you should get on Youtube and search the sounds for yourself to find the one YOU like.

I like the sound of Flowmasters myself, and I understand they're not for everyone. The 40 series have lots of drone and drive people nuts, the 50 series has little to no drone at all.

 

These are Magnaflow 2.5 inch mufflers tucked up where they belong. The outlets are directed down at 45 degrees and the chrome tips are added. BTW - Magnaflows are straight thru. Best for performance.

 

I had three chamber Flowmasters on my car before the side pipes. They gave a nice deep tone with no drone.

 

I run Hooker super comp long tubes and flowmaster series 40 w/ my 383

 

If you want a classic Muscle car sound the magnaflows would be best which are straight through with no baffles and make sure you get stainless 304 mufflers...They will last forever and will not rust and you don't need to drill any holes, if you do not want to. I have 01 grand prix with magnaflow dual Stainless mufflers with 225,000 miles on the car and the mufflers really look remarkable for a car driven all year round with rain, snow, and SALT on the roads..incredible)...zero rust on the mufflers. Also have a Mustang GT 5.0 Liter with BBK shorty headers, magnaflow X pipe with cats, and Magnaflow stainless cat back straight through mufflers...just had it out today...pretty muted until you get on the throttle. I do not like flowmasters with the drone and raspy sound....just me.

If you really want to step into the big time.......C4 Borla Type S mufflers like on my 78 L-82 355..holy smokes what a great sound with no drone and muted cruising. Had this car out today and these mufflers blow everything else out of the water and sound fantastic with the roller cammed, AFR heads with 10.2 compression L-82 355 4 speed at anything past 1/3 throttle and above 3,000 RPM. With the 1 3/4 inch headers, there are very few SBC 355/383's that I have heard that sound better BUT these mufflers are pricey....

 

Hooker Areochambers or Pypes ?

 

Magnaflow 11236 is what I went with, but I have headers.

Just had a local muffler shop run 2.5" pipe all the way with an H-pipe near the cross-member.

Overall I like the sound.

 

When I converted my 78 to true dual exhaust I opted for the Magnaflow Hideaway system from Corvette Central which included Magnaflow mufflers #323066. According to the specs "There are no chambers, no baffles and no louvers to restrict exhaust flow". I checked with Flowmaster and I continually read complaints about drone and even on the Flowmaster site back then they mentioned a drone in their write up. Since I did not want to deal with installing a H or X pipe I decided on the Magnaflows. I also cut the tips back and installed chrome extensions like BKBroiler. They are loud at high speed but I like it.

Found this clip:

 

Orduna, if there are any questions we can answer, please don't hesitate to PM or call us at 1-800-990-0905. We would be happy to help you select the right muffler to achieve the sound you are looking for!

 

My '81 sounds like crap and has the original Y pipe and single cat. I went to my local shop today to ask them for a quote to remove the cat and replace the Y pipe with either an X or H. The tech put the car up on his lift to inspect, them we discussed what sound I was looking for, which is throaty but not loud and definitely no drone. He recommends an X pipe so put one on order to install next Wednesday. He's going to keep the same mufflers (not sure what they are but they are not loud) and see how that works for me.

 

Allens chambered exhaust:
who needs mufflers...

 

my 79 L82 4Sp

https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...79-4speed.html

post 19 and 20 have my idling sound clips..
Allens for pipes Dynomax turbos louder than stock... but quiet at idle.. others say louder I have no issue inside car very quiet..

headers probably sound even better!


so great see all those clips.. excellent resource

 

I like the sound of true duel exhaust from the headers all the way out the back with a good performance muffler.
I am still thinking about adding an X pipe into my system to get the little extra hp, but I'm afraid it might sound like a 5.0 mustang.

 

Here'a good clip X vs H on a SBC.


I think that the X pipe removes most of the cadence that is prevalent on the American V8 because of the uneven L-R firing.

 

Sound good.