Mufflers, Mufflers ...

What do y'all use for mufflers on older engines which lack provision for muffler attachment, such as the McCoy Red Heads, Vecos and K&Bs of the '50s, etc., etc.?

Are the Du-Bro "universal" strap-ons effective and still available?

Questions, questions ... in an ideal world there would be one source for mufflers for all the oldies but goodies, the mufflers would be available overnight and inexpensive enough to be considered throw-aways ... OK, OK, what are you doing to muffle those engines in this imperfect world?

Dennis,
a Viking transplanted to Carolina and still learning to say "y'all"

No, they are not inexpensive enough to throw away, but I do have tongue mufflers for both the McCoy Red Heads and K&B Green heads, plus OS 35S, Super Tigres and a few others like a Fox 60 (hear that Ted?) Send me an e-mail if interested.

Two mufflers I have used with sucess are the old Tatone peace pipe on the McCoy 35. It will run well if you don't try to squeeze the last drop of power out of this engine. On the Fox 35 I have modified an OS 25 muffler and really like the sound of the engine using it. I have also used the old Slim Line muffler on a Max 35, it is basically a tongue muffler that staps on. I agree with Len on the Dubro muffler, waste of time and money, they are nothing but an exhaust extention. The old Gene Martine muffler is great and the Big Art muffler is wonderful, though spendy. Some mufflers from other engines will fit on other engines, the Enya 15 muffler comes to mind. Pro Stunt ain't cheap... but experimenting can give wonderful results. Jim J.

LAST EDITED ON May-22-04 AT 02:03 AM (CDT)
 
You can luck into Dubro universal mufflers at swaps. Be sharp. I've found them cheap and effective. The one with steel plates on the end actually quiets pretty well and is light and adjustable.

There are also some strap on mufflers made by the manufactures of the classic engines, available at the time of manufacture. I've found Enya muffles contemporary to the older baffle engines that look like modern stock mufflers mounted on crankcase ears but they use a strap. The old Max 35S did have a stock strap on muffler as well. Now and then I've scrounged one. The Enya 29/35 baffle muffler appears to fit all right when strapped to the classic Fox 35. There's one on my work table bolted up to a genuine $16 Fox bought off ebay a while back. Will test. What the heck. The big stamped Enya logo looks perverse and funny when hooked onto the Fox 35 crankcase.

No doubt Leonard's tongue mufflers are reasonably priced and and effective. An obvious choice. The old motors somewhat horsepower challenged may suffer less with a tongue or a Dubro (a kind of proto-tongue muffler.) Also you can reduce back pressure further by drilling a tongue muffler out. It's commonly done. Check the noise tolerance threshold where you fly.

LAST EDITED ON May-22-04 AT 02:37 AM (CDT)
 
>You can luck into Dubro universal mufflers at swaps. Be
>sharp. I've found them cheap and effective. The one with
>steel plates on the end actually quiets pretty well and is
>light and adjustable.

Ron B.
F4Fguy

Even with all the plates and washers in ,the DuBros are very restrictive,but they make a nifty tongue muffler.All you have to do is use the end plate as a blanking plate and drill the body with as many holes as needed.If you have access to a drill press and some hand taps,you can make one out of DuBro exhaust extension tubing.

For what it's worth, I still have the old (1966?) Merco silencer available. These days they are threaded for screw attachment to the engine, but you can convert back to the old threaded rod type by drilling out the threads and using a length of threaded ro to make a strap. These are £11.50 plus £2 post. Best wishes,

The Merco silencer is an EXACT fit for the McCoy RH/Veco/Stallion as well as the Merco and will fit many others.

Tony

>The Merco silencer is an EXACT fit for the McCoy
>RH/Veco/Stallion as well as the Merco and will fit many
>others.
>
>Tony

It also fits ST C35 and G21-35 with the adapter turned so the flat piece is against the engine.

Dave Moffitt

I started experimenting with tube mufflers for McCoy RH in the 60's. My current design is just and alum tube with steel caps from dope bottles. Run a long 4-40 bolt or threaded rod all the way thru to a strap and drill holes in the back cap. McCoy's have sub piston induction and can't tolerate high back pressure. But a nice open tube muffler works well. It not too heavy, about 1.25 oz. Nice mellow sound, especially on the 40.