• Hey Guest!
    British Car Forum has been supporting enthusiasts for over 25 years by providing a great place to share our love for British cars. You can support our efforts by upgrading your membership for less than the dues of most car clubs. There are some perks with a member upgrade!
    **Upgrade Now**
    (PS: Upgraded members don't see this banner, nor will you see the Google ads that appear on the site.)
Tips
Tips

TR2/3/3A TR3A muffler

Share this page

M

mapleaf

Senior Member
Bronze
Country flag
Offline
I blew the old stock muffler on my TR3A last summer and replaced it with a Walker single muffler. The results were disappointing (sounded like I was driving my Buick (slight exag). Has anyone found an original type muffler from the usual sources that sounds like a Triumph is supposed to sound without going to the high price systems. Thanks
 
You can get a full stainless steel exhaust system for your TR3A like I did in 1990. After 97,000 miles, it's still shiny and it gives off a sound close to the original sound. It came with a stainless pipe down from the exhaust manifold flange plus the 1st muffler plus the 2nd smaller resonator. It is a full-flow through design like the original ones and in 1990, it cost me ÂŁ75.00 in England.

I would guess that the one you installed is not a straight-through design, so you are losing the TR sound and maybe 3 to 10 HP as well.
 
I too have the stainless (mine from the Roadster Factory), installed in 1987. The label is finally burning off, other than that and some baked-on diff lube is looks pretty much like the day I bought it and sounds right to me.
 
When my stock-type muffler finally died, I went to a local muffler shop who installed a "Cherry Bomb" glasspack. ISTR parts and labor came to only $60. Sounded great ! Was actually just a little bit too loud for my taste, so I added a downturned chrome tip. After that, it mostly wouldn't set off car alarms /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/grin.gif
 
Writing about setting off car alarms reminds me of the time I was waithing for the shuttle bus after returnimng my rental car at Heathrow Airport in London England. Everytime a huge jet-liner took off or landed, the roar of the engines would set off all the theft alarms in the car park. Some of the people leave their cars parked there for several days or weeks. With all the alarms going off every 45 seconds or so, it's no wonder that their car won't start when they get back from their 2-week trip to find that the battery has gone flat. The crazy thing is they never figure out why it only happens when they park at Heathrow.
 
Thanks guys, I had a 'cherry bomb' muffler on it years ago but found it to loud. I'm hoping to find a less expensive alternative to the stainless system and noticed that Moss sells one (pt#862-000) that is supposed have the "raucous" sound of an original. If there is anyone on the list who has tried this muffler would you let me know your opinion.
Thanks
 
Don't have mine any more, but I installed the stainless system from The Roadster Factory on it. Pay the extra money if you can; you'll thank yourself later!

Mickey
 
Oh, and I have an extra stainless downpipe, if anyone's interested...

Mickey
 
The parts suppliers show what looks like a straight pipe that might replace the rear muffler. Is that correct? What effect does that have on sound, better or worse, or just louder?
 
That's the set-up I had on my old TR3 racecar. And, although I am saying it myself, it sounded Great! A little loud perhaps, but great nonetheless.

I should add that it had a race cam and a header, which might have contributed to the exhaust sound.
 
I went to a Civil War re-enactment years ago and the artillary barrage from both sides (two or three cannons each) set off every car alarm in th parking lot, kinda neat.

Tinkerman
 
On the early TR2s, there was no resonator (2nd smaller muffler) but police and municipalities in North America complained about the excessive noise. So S-T started to ship cars with both installed. I ran mine for about 20,000 miles when I was doing rallies from 1959 to about 1964 with a straight pipe formerly used in the TR2s. It sounded great but in built-up areas, I had to coast through softly. I still have that pipe.
 
<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:]Moss sells one (pt#862-000) that is supposed have the "raucous" sound of an original. If there is anyone on the list who has tried this muffler would you let me know your opinion.[/QUOTE]
My TR3 has this setup. I thought the stock system was too quiet so I took the resonator off and replaced it with the straight pipe (860-280). I love the sound and would never go back.
 
mapleaf said:
Thanks guys, I had a 'cherry bomb' muffler on it years ago but found it to loud. I'm hoping to find a less expensive alternative to the stainless system and noticed that Moss sells one (pt#862-000) that is supposed have the "raucous" sound of an original. If there is anyone on the list who has tried this muffler would you let me know your opinion.
Click to expand...
The Moss unit is a good reproduction of the original ... which means it IS a straight-through "glasspack" type muffler. The major difference between it and a "Cherry Bomb" is the construction of the outer shell; the Moss unit is made from several panels rolled together at the seams (as original) while the Cherry Bomb has a one piece welded outer shell.

I ran 862-000 plus 862-010 for approx 17 years and felt the sound was about right, until all the glass fiber blew out. Then it was really too loud for my tastes (but being cheap I continued to drive it until it broke).

Can't prove it, but IMO the main reason mild steel exhaust systems used to rot out so quickly was lead in the fuel. They seem to last much longer with unleaded.

When the Moss unit finally did fail, it was because the rear panel broke rather than rusting out. Likely I didn't have it properly supported, as I never could get that center mount to last very long.

BTW, just for clarity, "Cherry Bomb" is a brand name and they offer several different types of mufflers under that name. I'm talking specifically about the "performance glasspack" Cherry Bomb as that's what I had.
https://www.cherrybomb.com/sitemap.html

Anyway, IMO if you were unhappy with a single Cherry Bomb (in good condition, not with the glass blown out), then you'll be similarly unhappy with just the one unit from Moss. Adding a second unit from either source will help, though.
 
I built a corvair powered VW (Baja) bug when I was a teenager, then working as a helper at a dune buggy shop. The Corvair was 140HP and it had 4 one-barrel carbs and an aluminum 5lb flywheel. Lots of snot up to 80mph.

Anyway, speaking of Cherry Bomb mufflers, it didn't have them. /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/laugh.gif

I used straight-through Thrush mufflers (remember them with the woodpecker logo?) off of each exhaust manifold. Folded metal seams, not a bullet-bomb-style and would probably be just the right size for a TR3. Sounded wild and loud, which it was both.

72thrushsoundofpower.jpg


Wish I kept the 65 Corvette seats that were in it.
 
Tinkerman said:
I went to a Civil War re-enactment years ago and the artillary barrage from both sides (two or three cannons each) set off every car alarm in th parking lot, kinda neat.

Tinkerman
Click to expand...

I had a similar experience during a parade at the US Air Force Academy during graduation. They had a flyover, and it was accompanied by the car alarms from a bunch of vehicles in the parking lots. The crowd really enjoyed that.
 
Well,I've decided to go with the Moss reproduction muffler. Given the choice, I'd rather have it louder and sound like a true sportscar than quiet and not. Then again,I can always add the resonator if it turns out to be to loud for my liking. Thanks
 
Back
Top