Saying that there was a hole in my muffler would be an understatement. My muffler was torn up! This happened from years of scrapping over bumps. Me being the car-learning girl that I am, I thought “muffler…that just quiets noise, right?” Wrong! When it comes to mufflers, there’s much more than meets the ear. Follow along with me as I not only learn about and change my mufflers…but actually get to make a pair of custom glass-pack mufflers! When we’re talking about mufflers, we’re talking about part of the car’s exhaust system. One thing exhaust systems do is carry the fumes created by the engine’s combustion out of the engine. But what makes exhaust systems so important is that the way in which those fumes are carried out affects the pressure (a.k.a. backpressure) of the engine. And backpressure has everything to do with the performance of the engine. When choosing a muffler, it’s not only the muffler but the entire car and exhaust to take into consideration. A few things to think about are: Engine size Level and pitch of sound desired Pipe size Ground clearance While I was...

The best way I can explain what an exhaust system is to your car is its like how your car breathes. When I started driving my Studebaker three years ago, I knew the exhaust system would only be temporary. It was transplanted from a different model Studebaker and had been cut and pieced together to pseudo-fit into mine. But I just figured a pipe was a pipe and couldn't make too much difference. About six months ago the years of dragging my mufflers over any bump I passed payed off in a huge gaping hole in one of my mufflers! This is when I really began to get serious about redoing my exhaust system. Not only did the muffler have a hole, but the headers also looked like they had holes where the four tubes lead into the connector. Added to this, my header gaskets were blown, which led to more noise in an already noisy car and a general unhappiness of my engine. The problem with putting a new exhaust system onto Stude was that I didn't understand exhausts. How was I supposed to choose new headers, new...

When I wrote my 2010 Car Project Wish List, Get a new exhaust system on was top priority. I'm glad to report that this past week I tackled the first item on my list! I certainly can't take the credit on this one, because I had a lot of help! B&C Industries down in Anaheim put their skill and expertise to work in crafting a top quality custom exhaust system for Studebaker, along with tons of help from Matt over at Department of Customz also. As I'd previously explained Stude's exhaust: The pipes that went on my car were originally shaped for a different model Studebaker. This means I’ve got an ugly exhaust system taking a good 6” under my car’s profile – yuck! It’s also taken a good beating on the asphalt because of that, which has resulted in both mufflers been torn open! Take that and worn out Hooker headers and you’ve got crazy noise and a less-than-healthy exhaust system. "Less-than-healthy" is an understatement. We're talking nearly-unbearable noise, exhaust fumes pouring into the passenger area, and a slight embarrassment anytime I drove anywhere "car people" would be....