Going to replace the exhaust system on my 245 HP/Powerglide car - currently has the oval mufflers. Were the round off road mufflers available on this configuration? Nothing in the JG and the vendor catalogs addresses this. Also would you recommend painting the entire system black? Thanks in advance.
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Re: 1957 off road exhaust on 245 HP?
Kent:
Noland Adam's book: The Complete Corvette Restoration & Technical Guide Volume I states on page134,"The 1956-57 Corvette exhaust system is the only one built between 1953 and 1962 to have round mufflers." When I replaced the mufflers on my '57 I installed the round mufflers. Whether these are considered "off road" mufflers, I'm not sure. -
Re: 1957 off road exhaust on 245 HP?
Kent Judging manual states on page 93 to use round ( off road ) mufflers. Even my base engine ( 220hp ) bowtie car had round mufflers. Paint them black with hi temp pant.
DaveComment
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Re: 1957 off road exhaust on 245 HP?
David - thanks for getting me to the right page. I had reviewed Mechanical - Section 12, page 68 "Exhaust Manifolds and Pipes". Who knew more info would be in Chassis - Section 31, page 93 - "Rear Brakes, Rear Suspension & Rear Axle"? Just kidding - thanks again for the heads up! As a side note, this is my third '57 and they ALL have had oval mufflers - the JG seems to indicate that '56 SR-1 uses ovals - kinda confusing. KentComment
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Re: 1957 off road exhaust on 245 HP?
Hey, Art,
Myself and I suspect many other C-1 owners will take exception to the quote in Noland's book about the 1956-1957 Corvettes being the only ones to have round mufflers.
I purchased my original '62, 340hp in April 1965. Had original, factory-installed exhaust system and round mufflers with only 28k miles at the time. These round mufflers were a "no cost" option and are referred to "off road mufflers". Refer to page 12 of the Errata loose-leafed section of the book under 1962 Corvette Production Abstract showing the RPO/FOA information. RPO 441 is "Off-road Exhaust System" as NC "no charge" and the only difference between base exhaust and off-road is the use of oval vs. round mufflers. Also, see page 329 of Noland's book where Noland says "for which little information exists" about the round, off-road mufflers. The photo above his comments is of a 1962 chassis.
LarryLast edited by Larry C.; April 27, 2014, 01:58 PM.Comment
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Re: 1957 off road exhaust on 245 HP?
Larry:
That is interesting. When I bought my '61 back in 1988 it had round mufflers that were somewhat loud but nice sounding. When they rusted out I replaced them with oval mufflers as that is what the aftermarket supplier (CC) specified. I noticed that the 1961-62 Judging Guide does not say whether those years used round or oval mufflers. I doubt that the round mufflers that were on when I bought the car were original, however.Last edited by Art B.; April 28, 2014, 07:29 AM.Comment
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Re: 1957 off road exhaust on 245 HP?
Continuing the 61-62 portion of this thread: would it make any sense to look at the FOA RPO page in the AIM where it lists RPO 441? (Off road service exhaust equipment). It is very clear that was an optional exhaust-round rather than oval mufflers.Comment
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Re: 1957 off road exhaust on 245 HP?
Art,
I know 1988 was a few years back but did your 1961 round mufflers look like these? This is a pair of NOS off-roads I picked up sometime back. These are like the originals on my '62.
LarryComment
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Re: 1957 off road exhaust on 245 HP?
Larry,
After about 20 years since I replaced them, I can't be sure. But I think mine had a larger diameter than those in your picture.
ArtComment
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Re: 1957 off road exhaust on 245 HP?
As a point of clarification for me, did oval mufflers come on any '56-'57's? The JG and Noland Adams makes it seem that all had round mufflers.Comment
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Re: 1957 off road exhaust on 245 HP?
Kent:
I think you can safely assume that '56 and '57 Corvettes had round mufflers. Perhaps some of the '56,'57 guys can shed more light on this.Comment
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