Reply to "ANSA Mufflers"

Thanks for the replies guys. Cozman (Coz) came out to visit me in Albuquerque from Phoenix, Arizona with his GT5 to help with some final details to complete my 5 week project that was gonna get done in 3 days. So the first thing I did was get a pen-light flash light and look into the tips of his GT5 GTS ANSA Mufflers. Looking in, first thing I noted was there was no cap, or washer tack welded at the end of the tip. (The tip goes into the cannister and then has perforations on the tube once inside the cannister.)

Second thing I noticed with a GTS ANSA Muffler was the middle baffle plate which has the 1/4" holes in a circular pattern had no coarse steel wool, or lathe turnings inside of them. His GTS ANSA Mufflers differed from my 1973 'L' ANSA Mufflers in two (2) respects (3 way now that I understand that the GTS Inlet has a larger diameter). One (1): no washer/cap at the end of the tip looking from the outside in. Two (2): no 'steel wool' 'spark arrestor' behind the middle baffle plate.

So while I was at the welder's shop, I had the delightful experience to see my welder fix a cracked side pipe mounting bracket on a $65,000 '1965 A/C Cobra 427' with 4" side pipes. This guy's intake had a hi-rise manifold, a block of wood between the manifold and carb and a Holley 1250 CFM Dominator carb with an NOX computerized induction set-up. So, when he was leaving, I got to hear what a 427, bored and stroked to some 500+ c.i. sounded like with 4" diameter side pipes with glass packs.

Then I heard Cozman's GT5 with the ANSA GTS Mufflers. Just a shade quiter than the A/C Cobra, so I made the decision to go this route: I'm having the welder keep the caps/washers on the outlet tips where they are perforated, and I'm going to have him weld a bead instead of a tack weld to a section of the cap/washer, so I can always change my mind and put a narrow pipe in the tip and bang the washer outward to give a louder, throatier sound. I have also instructed my welder that I wish to have no 'spark arrestor/steel wool' and just leave that section behind the middle baffle vacant. This will give the cat a little more of a throatier sound, and more of an Italian sound, while allowing me to 'tune the sound' later. Always nice to keep options open!

I thought I had a corrosion issue with a tiny hole in one of the ANSA Mufflers, but not the other. The welder said there is no corrosion and showed me. The shell of the ANSA is quite thick, as you guys said, but he said the tiny hole is to allow water to drain. I can imagine washing a Pantera and putting it back in the garage and having water in the muffler sit for quite a while, and repeating this cycle over a period of years will lead to corrosion, unless these things are made of Stainless Steel (and I'm gonna ask him what he thinks they are made of). This means that I am going to put two (2) tiny drain holes on either side of each muffler.

When I asked Bev at Hall Pantera about purchasing a new set of original ANSA's she said they're gonna rust through sooner or later, and I believe that, so I'm gonna take precautionary measures. I'm not certain if I'll want to be putting some replacement, unoriginal mufflers on within the next 30 years.

Bev and Hall Pantera have the GTS muffler assemblies for sale, but that means replacing the entire header/muffler/exhaust system. $1,500 including shipping and handling. I've got about 300 H.P, and that's not gonna give a great increase in HP for my cash outlay.

Thanks again for your responses.