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#1
08-12-2012, 03:55 PM
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How loud were cars in the 60s?
Now that I'm starting to drive the GTO on a somewhat regular basis I'm mildly concerned about the loudness of my exhaust out of respect for the neighbors when I leave the house.
So that got me thinking about when these cars were new. Most cars had V-8's at that time, did they all have a noticeable rumble going down the road? I guess I'm so used to modern vehicles being so quiet, that it makes me laugh to think about Grandma sitting at a stop light with her dual exhaust thumping...
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William (BJ) 1966 Pontiac GTO 
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#2
08-12-2012, 04:20 PM
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The stock exhaust had a nice low rumble that could get your attention at WOT... but nothing like MOST of us have on our cars when we re-do the exhaust.
Of course, guys back then did the same as they do now...they got rid of the stock stuff and put headers and glass packs on. That's my memory of it anyway...
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Greg Reid Palmetto, Georgia Last edited by Greg Reid; 08-12-2012 at 04:36 PM. |
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#3
08-12-2012, 04:42 PM
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Before 1970 few if any had emission stuff on them and the exhaust was straight. My 69 Sprint has a split exhaust into straight pipe with a single muffler - all bone stock. It will rumble nice and low where you can feel it. At lower rpms it is okay but when at WOT it is loud.
As long as you don't hit the hammer early in the morning you shouldn't care too much. |
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#4
08-12-2012, 04:43 PM
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I've got some neighbors within ear shot that ride Harley's. I wish they cared about the noise.............
__________________
 frittering and wasting the hours in an off hand way.... 1969 GTO, 455ci, 230/236 Pontiac Dude's "Butcher Special" Comp hyd roller cam with Crower HIPPO solid roller lifters, Q-jet, Edelbrock P4B-QJ, Doug's headers, ported 6X-8 (97cc) heads, TKO600, 3.73 geared Eaton Tru-Trac 8.5", hydroboost, rear disc brakes......and my greatest mechanical feat....a new heater core. 
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#5
08-12-2012, 05:00 PM
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Quote:
Hit it hard and make it roar I say. |
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#6
08-12-2012, 05:11 PM
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From personal experience, in the 70's if you had anything close to a loud exhaust the police would harass you to death!
Half of the trucks and 90% of the Harley's today would have been covered in tickets back in the day... |
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#7
08-12-2012, 05:16 PM
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Cherry bombs and thrush glass packs, no cats, long tubes, There was no sound equivalent to the stock exhaust and the scream of the three deuces when the pedal hit the floor.
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#8
08-12-2012, 05:32 PM
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Used to be able to tell the make of car just by the exhaust. Olds had a very distinct low rumble sound, Fords were a little more tinny, etc.
__________________
 be a simple...kinda man.
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#9
08-12-2012, 05:35 PM
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The first somewhat loud system I remember from factory was the chambered exhausts in 69-70.
Then of course you had the very limited "tiger button" option which was open exhaust. I put a set of Doug 4 tubes on my 65 GTO in the 60s and almost peed my pants when I fired it up open in my Dads carport.2 ft of pipe and cherry bombs grew old in a hurry
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Everything comes and goes Pleasure moves on too early And trouble leaves too slow |
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#10
08-12-2012, 06:04 PM
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I daily drove my two feet of pipe and cherry bombs tied to the Hooker headers. There was a distinctive sound , not loud but of the 65 and 66 GTO's with their cams that was so unique and sounded darned good.
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#11
08-12-2012, 06:29 PM
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Olds was using chambered exhaust in 68
Corvettes side pipes are chambered too..in 65...
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Mark.. The Goat whisperer "I spent a lot of my money on booze, crazy women, and fast cars. The rest I just squandered." 
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#12
08-12-2012, 07:05 PM
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The law required 2 peace officers to listen to the car and it was their discretion if it was too loud or not. They didn't even look under the car, just told you to rev it up and the ticket was forthcoming. I never had in my own experience or anyone I knew that was let go on the disagreement of both officers that the car wasn't too loud, BIG SURPRISE........LOL A friend of mine ordered a new 69 Roadrunner and was stopped on the way home from the dealership because an officer thought his car was too loud, If I remember correctly the car had 27 miles on it, they did let him slide on that one and he didn't call another cop to listen to it. As David said almost all the restored musclecars today would be ticketed back in the day. You had only 2 choices basically besides stock mufflers, Cherry Bombs or the lesser advertised glass packs, or a straight through type of muffler like a Thrush or a Hollywood muffler. Turbo Mufflers had yet to be discovered as a performance muffler. The corvair turbo muffler was soon to be discovered as a low restriction, yet not terribly loud when used in pairs on a Detroit V8.
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Brad Yost 1973 T/A (SOLD) 2005 GTO 1984 Grand Prix 100% Pontiacs in my driveway!!! What's in your driveway? If you don't take some of the RACETRACK home with you, Ya got cheated    
Last edited by Sirrotica; 08-12-2012 at 07:43 PM. |
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#13
08-12-2012, 07:25 PM
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I had a '63 Chevy with a 283 2bbl and twin Cherry bombs in 1974 and got turned around at the main gate of the nearby Army base because the MPs at the gate said it was too loud.
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Greg Reid Palmetto, Georgia |
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#14
08-12-2012, 07:51 PM
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Never hard a loudness complaint, except for mom & dad.
__________________
12.24/111.6MPH/1.76 60'/28"/3.54:1/SP-TH400/469 R96A/236-244-112LC/1050&TorkerI//3850Lbs//15MPG/89oct Sold 2003: 12.00/112MPH/1.61 60'/26"x3.31:1/10"/469 #48/245-255-110LSA/Q-Jet-Torker/3650Lbs//18MPG 94oct Sold 1994: 11.00/123MPH/1.50 60'/29.5"x4.10:1/10"/469 #48/245-255-110LSA/Dual600s-Wenzler/3250Lbs//94oct |
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#15
08-12-2012, 08:18 PM
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Early 60s we used to run straight pipes under the car and shoved rolled up chicken wire, with steel wool worked into it, up the pipe from the rear, which we pulled out and shoved back in as circumstances dictated. Darn loud either way and yes we got tickets. I do not recall loud new cars back then even GTOs; the guys who could afford them could also afford dumps I think so had them installed and unbolted the plates if they went racing, or unscrewed the cap most dumps back then were short pieces of pipe welded onto the exhaust pipe with a screw on cap on the end.
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#16
08-12-2012, 08:25 PM
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For some reason they just wont seem to idle....doesnt matter if they are 60 yrs old or brand new.
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  Nothing is impossible if you break it down into possibilities. It's all a matter of "Want to". |
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#17
08-12-2012, 08:39 PM
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I ran Cherry Bombs on my 1st GTO in 1970. Had one on my 66 Tempest Custom.. single exhaust, and 1 on my 71 250ci 6 cyclinder Camaro. None were as loud as what you can hear on the highways today. As for the straight 6 Camaro, I had a guy want to race me thinking it was a Baldwin Motion Camaro, because of the paint and the sound. LOL
I'm running twin Cherry Bombs on this 400 in my 66 GTO right now. Still not as loud as a lot of the other classic, or HDs, out on the roads today. If these need to be replaced, I'll put the same mufflers back on again. David, one good thing about a loud Harley. It's probably their only protection. Idiots might not see em, but they sure as hell can hear em.  I ran 2" straight pipes on my 76 Super Glide, and it save my bacon more than once. Tho today I suffer with tinnitus from them, loud bar music  , and driving those big rigs on the highways. 
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 Gary Get in, ShuT Up, Hang On! Member of the Baltimore Built Brotherhood MY GTO built 4th Week of March 1966 "Crusin' Is Not A Crime" Keep yer stick on the ice. |
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#18
08-12-2012, 08:40 PM
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From what I remember the really loud cars were at the drags. With the 2 1/2 and 3" exhaust systems that we now have I think that the cars on the street are much louder now.
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#19
08-13-2012, 12:07 AM
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There was a '66 GTO at a show a couple years ago. This car was so quiet, it was nearly silent when running. Quite bizarre.
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Let me have a Diablo sandwich and a Dr. Pepper and make it fast---I'm in a goddamn hurry! - Mike 1967 GTO 
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#20
08-13-2012, 09:39 AM
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In the sixties in Virginia where I grew up you had bone stock exhaust or you had a ticket. I remember a freind buying a '69 396 Chevelle with the chambered exhaust and he was harrased all the time by the police. They wrote him tickets and he had to prove to the judge that the car came equiped with the loud pipes.
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Tommy's Early Muscle Cars 1959 Pontiac Catalina Sport Coupe 3x2 3 speed manual 1960 Pontiac Ventura 425A / 4 speed 1961 Pontiac Catalina Tri Power / 4 speed 1961 Ford Starliner 390 / 401/ 4 speed 1962 Corvette 327/300 / 4 speed 1962 Gran Prix Tri Power / 4 speed 1963 Pontiac Catalina 421/ 4 speed 1964 Pontiac Catalina 3x2 / 4 speed |
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