'Shower Head Muffler' for RJ58

[john7 162]

This is a fairly tiny project but I'm all jazzed up about it so I wanted to share it with those that'll appreciate it. 

 

I've been saving the original shower head muffler for the k90 on my RJ for 2 years now - since I did a full restoration. The front was just rusted to hell and the baffeling was long gone, but the back piece was in good condition. I've been saving it with the idea that one day I may be able to somehow get it back on the RJ. And that day is.... well not today, but tomorrow. Technically today, but chronologically it occured over a 2 day period.

 

Here is the original I pulled off 2 years ago..

 

Here is the new one for reference..

 

As I got to looking at both the new and original mufflers it appeared that the diameter of where the face joins to the 'body' was relatively the same on both... a quick measurement confirmed my suspicions! And the holes on the face share a similar pattern.. not exact but not the perfect circle kind...

 

I diced up the new muffler with the grinder and cleared the remaining material from the joint.

 

I pulled the original apart..

 

Cut the baffle from the new one down to fit the one I'm making.. this is all my parts ready to be assembled

 

This is just after assembling and hammering the lip of the new face back down.

 

I made sure to hammer it down as flat as possible to reduce material loss from filing down and cleaning up the hammer marks... for the sake of integrity.

 

This is after cleaning up the hammer marks..

Came out pretty slick.. I'm happy.

 

Since I don't stock any silver/galvanizing magic muffler paint I went for flame proof matte black - the same as I had on the previous muffler and on the exhaust piping. 

 

This the finished product... before temp curing.

 

And after curing and mounting! Don't mind the lack of steering wheel and rod.

 

Now I'm trying to figure out whether or not it looks goofy with the 12 inch pipe instead of the stock 14.5..??  It looks like it needs to move forward a couple inches.. I like it away from the hood so that soot won't accumulate on my paint, but it just looks a little off.. anyway, hope you guys liked this quick little project! 

 

Edited April 20, 2017 by john7

[Aldon 4,827]

Nice work!

[953 nut 56,159]

    Thanks for sharing the step by step with us.              The RJ is looking very sharp.                    

[rmaynard 15,730]

Very nice!

[Terry M-(Moderator) 2,177]

I like it!

[Mike'sHorseBarn 3,035]

Excellent job! That just adds a nice touch to a beautiful horse!

[Achto 27,908]

Great work !!

[john7 162]

I thought about pulling some wool packing out of an old dirt bike muffler and stuffing it in there because I was worried about how much louder it would be... didn't do it,  and it's loud as all get up. I dig it, but I'm sure my neighbors could stand to live without it! 

 

Here's some better pictures of it since I know how much you folks love them!

 

The cruddy thing is that no one down here even knows what a wheel horse is so you guys are the only ones I can show it off to! Thanks for the likes!

[Chris G 3,296]

Great idea and really good work. 

[WHX?? 49,485]

Yes really nice work. We all love it!

[JC 1965 1,530]

Wow !!  Looks great, thanks for sharing.    

[wallfish 17,112]

Nice job, looks great.

Have a question, what is that tool?

Just saw one of those in an old toolbox yesterday but I don't know what it is.

 

[WHX?? 49,485]

Spanner wrench for removing a type of hub? I noticed that too and thought why/how John7 is using that on a muffler job?

 

By the way #7 in case nobody's ever told you the paint job & detail on that RJ is !

 

[CasualObserver 3,409]

@wallfish That's an arbor wrench for a 4-1/2" angle grinder... got a few in my tool box from those cheapie harbor freight grinders.

 

[oliver2-44 9,923]

Great job @john7 No give Texas a break, there are a few of us around Texas that know what a Wheel Horse is.

I like you idea, and I was just talking to a friend that has a muffler shop and does a lot of custom work. he was telling me he can order all kinds of shaped piping parts.

Could you post some measurement of the cone section of that muffler. it would be amazing if he could find the cone section and we take new round muffler fronts like you did to recreate these shower cap mufflers.

 

[WHX?? 49,485]

1 hour ago, CasualObserver said:

arbor wrench for a 4-1/2" angle grinder

Ahh ...that explains it...he was using the grinder to cut & shape!

[john7 162]

4 hours ago, wallfish said:

Nice job, looks great.

Have a question, what is that tool?

Just saw one of those in an old toolbox yesterday but I don't know what it is.

 

 

It's a spanner for the angle grinder. For any type of wheel that's not threaded itself. Like cutoff wheels or grinding wheels.

Just saw what @CasualObserver said. You are exactly right. I have a handful of them from the grinders I've broke over the years. 

@oliver2-44 I've been waiting for someone to make/reproduce one. I'll get some measurements as soon as I have a chance.

Edited April 21, 2017 by john7

[john7 162]

55 minutes ago, WHX11 said:

Ahh ...that explains it...he was using the grinder to cut & shape!

Yup! Well, I used it to cut up the new muffler to make it easier to separate the face and body. 

See, the backside of the muffler just didn't give me any room to pry it up. How 'bout that blue screw driver? I see a muffler shop/art studio in my future!

 

So I cut it just behind the joint on the body to give me the angle to get at it.

I actually wound up cutting the left over 'ring' out. Then carefully pried that lip up with some pliers to put the cone back part in.

[AMC RULES 37,141]

Is nice of you to share the details of how you made this happen.    

[john7 162]

3 minutes ago, AMC RULES said:

Is nice of you to share the details of how you made this happen.    

When I was doing my restoration 2 years ago I read through hundreds of threads here ( back before I even joined red square). They helped me through it all and some gave me ideas on how to improve things and they never knew it.. so I keep in mind, that sometime down the road, even something as simple as this may help someone else out. 

[buckrancher 2,694]

I think he was looking over my shouder

[VinsRJ 723]

Very nicely done!

[stevebo-(Moderator) 8,363]

I will take 3... lol

[DJE 89]

Great work! Very nicely done!!!! Thanks for sharing!!

[Chris G 3,296]

On 4/20/2017 at 9:16 PM, john7 said:

I thought about pulling some wool packing out of an old dirt bike muffler and stuffing it in there because I was worried about how much louder it would be... didn't do it,  and it's loud as all get up. I dig it, but I'm sure my neighbors could stand to live without it! 

 

Here's some better pictures of it since I know how much you folks love them!

 

The cruddy thing is that no one down here even knows what a wheel horse is so you guys are the only ones I can show it off to! Thanks for the likes!

 

First I'll say you did a amazing job on your RJ. And as far as no one knowing what they are down there. That could play in to your favor when it comes time for hunting another one down.