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The RUMBLE of an American V-8

Melensdad

Melensdad

Jerk in a Hawaiian Shirt & SNOWCAT Moderator
Staff member
As summer is rapidly winding to a close, it it time to move on to other projects and put away the summer toys. In my case, putting away may actually mean selling one of my toys. I'm undecided on selling my Avanti Convertible, but I've been driving it the last couple of days and I have to say that there is something special about that car.

The wonderful old style carburated Detroit built V-8 engine :flagusa:

I'm not sure about you folks, but I drive a V6 daily, on weekends I'm often in my wife's turbo 6. I occasionally drive a couple modern V8s. But nothing can compare to the older engines that were not computer controlled and performance regulated by chips and electronics. Just an honest engine with a distributor, a carburator, and a wonderful rumble out the tail pipe.

I don't care if my car is not as fast as your kid's over-rev'd whining 4cyl with a tuner muffler that makes it scream.

I don't care if my car doesn't have neon lights under the rocker panels or behind the speakers.

What I care about is that when I sit at idle I can feel the mellow thumping of my engine and when I accelerate the low thumping increases to a rumble. It never screams like those little rice runners, it never shouts, it just smoothly moves forward with its low bass tones that are just loud enough to turn heads but not loud enough to become tiresome. :cool2:

Can you find any substitute for that sound? Feeling?
 
DaveNay said:
The Chicago Air and Water show on a hot August weekend. :thumb:
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Dave, I've attended that show too. It is a great experience and worthy of consideration. But let me pose a question to you. . . would you suggest that the personal feeling/experience achieved while sitting in/driving a older American V-8 powered vehicle is equivalent to the feeling of the crowd at the air/water show?

To me, one is a participation experience :cool2: while the other is only experienced as an observer. :(

Perhaps similar to, but more intense, than the feelings of the guy in the mini-van next to a classsic V-8 at a stop sign. He wishes he could be in the drivers seat a real car in the same way that the audience at the air/water show wishes they could fly the stunt planes, fighters and bombers that cruise the lake front. The guy in the mini-van knows his balls are in his wife's purse and just dreams on . . . not much different than the 99% of the crowd stuck on the beach at the air/water show because those folks know that they will very likely never sit in the cockpit of a fighter jet.

:my2cents:​
 
The 502 ci +600 hp big block in my '62 has a rather noticable rumble even with three chambered FlowMasters on it. The exhaust system is 3 1/2" all the way on each side (including true 3 1/2 in and 3 1/2" out on the mufflers). However, it really doesn't compare to the sound of a 815 ci big block (considered a mountain motor) with a radical cam. It goes beyond a rumble to thunder. I looked at one a few weeks ago, but the price took it out of consideration. I'm seriously considering a GM 572 ci 720 hp crate engine for my next project, but it's still under debate. I can easily push over 700 hp from a 502 ci engine for less money than buying a 572 ci engine. Decisions, decisions...
 
Dargo said:
my '62 has a rather noticable rumble even with three chambered FlowMasters on it.
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And that is the beauty of traditional Detroit iron. No matter how you try to mask it, the deep throaty rumble persists. When you are driving any car that has that quality (whether it be an old beater, an original classic or a custom built street rod) the rumble makes you smile.

Sure, it is impractical. In my case I get about the same fuel economy as a Hummer H2 and only have a 14 gallon gas tank so it is good for a few trips around the block before a fill up. But that rumble sounds a lot more satisfying that the whirring scream of a high speed turbo or the whine of revving Japanese 4 banger exhausted through modified tin can that simulates the brrraaappppp of a full auto pop gun.
 
Not to mention the predictability of rear wheel drive. It's so fun to light up those rear tires! I love older Camaro's, Mustangs, and Corvette's - they are all so much fun to drive.
 
Big Dog said:
A Harley-Davidson shovelhead with drag pipes is right up there! :thumb:
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That is what I am talking about. There is a sound of unbridled power in a large displacement engine that simply cannot be tamed!

The big V-Twins sure have that sound, just like the old American V-8s. It is interesting that you can take a 12-cylinder Ferrari and it also has a great sound, but it is a different sound. Not the raw sounding rumble that I find so satisfying but a refined sound of power, and often at 10 times the price. So from my standpoint, give me a good old honest V-8. With it you don't need to show off the power under your hood, but you can. People nearby know you have it, they can hear/feel it too. And everyone smiles :cool2:
 
I remember getting the exhaust done in my '67 Fury. It's just got a 318, but oh my, the flow through dual exhaust certainly makes it rumble nicely!
 
I have a 454 thru transom exhaust on our Baja. The rumble is awesome. I'm considering a 502 or a new boat with a bigger engine when replacement time comes. The 454 might get 2 mpg but it is so worth it. I love the big blocks. And on the water you can really open them up and let em run. That's hard to do in a car without getting a ticket.
I have to winterize it soon, then I won't hear my favorite rumble until next May. Man that seems soooooo far away. :(
 
beds said:
I remember getting the exhaust done in my '67 Fury. It's just got a 318, but oh my, the flow through dual exhaust certainly makes it rumble nicely!
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Mine is just a 305 H.O. with dual exhausts. They don't have to be huge monster engines like Dargo runs to provide that wonderful feeling, but I have yet to feel the same way about a 6-cyl or a turbo-anything!
 
B_Skurka said:
... Can you find any substitute for that sound? Feeling? ...
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Yes. Oshkosh, Wisconsin, during the 10 days of the Air-Venture Fly-In. Especially when the "war birds" are flying. There is no sound, feel, smell like experiencing a flight of P-51's, B-17's, P-47's or P-38's taking off. The sweet smell of aviation fuel with the rumbling power of thousands of cubic inches all responding at once.


~~~ shiver ~~~
 
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