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mnunes22 Member
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My J/H has a 4-into one header and a 2" single exhaust pipe that flows into a tubular "glass-pack" type silencer located mid-body , the exit from the "glass-pack"transitions down to 1 3/4" exhaust pipe which continues into the rear ,single tip muffler. The header seems to have been added recently and is in good shape but the rest appears to have been worked on many times with several different types of welders /abilities and needs replacement. I've looked at the exhaust system from the club store and Delta and would like to hear opinions on quality, ease of installation, sound loudness etc. Has anyone used a different type of system/set-up that they liked or would warn about? Thanks, Bill |
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Brett Gibson JH5 20497 Member
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Bill, my car came to me with a Monza system, basically header was 4 into 2, 2 into muffler, 2 out into 2 resonator, and 2 tail tips, small ID's, sporty sounding on the loudish side. I replaced the system with a Delta unit after the header, so now its 4 into one, ID being 1-1/8" and solid thick walls, stay's one into the resonator and two tips out the back, a little louder but not offensive, the only issue I had with it was mine is a rubber bumper car and the tips out the back did not clear past the bumper, so I would get exhaust dust all over the rear end, fixed that by welding SS extension tips over the shorter ones, and every thing is fine. I would recommend the Delta unit. There is also a SS unit out there that I have seen on just a couple of cars, I have no experience with it, but it did look nice. Brett |
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Tim Knowlton Member
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Brett, Been along time since we have chatted. I too had the delta tips and had to put extensions on to clear the rubber bumper. My system will need replacing soon and am hunting for the newest technology available. What is the SS unit you mentioned??? Tim Knowlton |
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mnunes22 Member
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You might take a look at Dave Bean Engineering. They have SS replacement units for Jensen Healey on their "Specials" page. This is a 2 pipe system front to back from the information they gave me. A little too pricey for me at this time, I ended up at the local muffler shop and for $160 got a system from header back to twin chrome tips that looks appropriate and is reasonably quite. Good luck on your quest. Bill |
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Brett Gibson JH5 20497 Member
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Tim, how are you, I dont know much as to the SS units, I see UK cars sometimes come up with them installed, plus the last nationals a guy showed up with a very nice black JH with one, I probably should have asked were he got it. But I think the UK place's along with Dave Bean as mentioned, plus I'm sure local shop's would be up for the challenge as long as they have the bending equipment, and they might even be cheaper. Are you bringing your Black Beauty down to Watkins this year, if you do I'll buy you a beer at the hospitallity room. John Cronin live's in your neck of the woods maybe you could convoy. Brett |
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timeforwalkies Member
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Sorry I didn't read up a bit on this before I bought my system from Delta. It was installed by a very reputable shop, but as shipped. Expect a lot of cutting and playing around to get it to fit. And in truth it still doesn't fit. Rubs against the axle. On top of that it leaks and makes so much noise it's going to the dump. I would not recommend the Delta unit. I do have a question for the group though. This unit puts out an incredible amount of heat behind the transmission. I mean hot heat. In the summer it is horrid. Again it is going to the dump, but my question is, was there a heat deflector somewhere along the line that is now missing? And how much clearance should there be between the bottom of the car and the exhaust pipe/muffler? Any new suggestions regarding a good system? I was considering an s2000 system, but without the cat converter. Thoughts? Last edited on 10-20-2009 10:19 pm by timeforwalkies |
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JodyKerr Member 
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There was no heat deflector on the Jensen-Healey, there was, however, one on the Jensen GT. That car was intended to have a bit more luxury than th eJH, and it has a few niceties such as the heat baffle. I have no clue how available these are today, but you could always fab something up in the tunnel with heat shielding or cover the tunnel from the top (as I did) in something like Dynamat. The only real concern is transmission clearance and the wiring that goes through the the transmission. |
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timeforwalkies Member
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OK. So not to bright am I. Just figured out what SS means by going to the Dave Bean Site. He still has what appear to be a complete systems in "Stainless Steel". But what I am really looking for is better technology, not a different material. I think there must be something more efficient out there that is also quiet. I suggested the S2000 setup because it is a high rev 2 liter engine that just kicks butt and is really quiet. But there are other systems on other cars out there as well. I know, loud pipes mean less back pressure and therefor more power, but there must be a better way. Get back, Timeforwalkies |
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jcdean Member
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I had a new header drop shipped to Jet-Coat for their ceramic coating. With a new, unused, header they are able to coat the inside as well as the outside. Significant difference in radiant temperatures. They have a very good product. Usual discalimer, no affiliation, YMMV. |
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Brett Gibson JH5 20497 Member
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The last bunch of JH's that were equipped with cat. converters had a heat shield installed similar to the GT's, these cars also had an air pump and the heads modified to take the plumbing. I still have the shield tucked away someplace. When I installed the Delta unit I had to rebend the header outlet up towards the undercarriage so as to get a bit more road clearance, by doing that the shield no longer fit, as for the pipe over the axle that was a PITA for a while until I fabed a different holding bracket that made the system stiffer and got less travel in it, as for heat from the system mines not much of an issue, I just keep moving, I would suggest if you consider the unit to noisy add another small muffler to it. And PS. not toss it out I'm sure someone out there would be more than happy to take it off your hands fi you dont want to modifie it. Good luck. Brett |
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timeforwalkies Member
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On recommendation I opted for the Delta system. What a mistake. Huffacker Engineering did the install as part of a 2.2 upgrade. It was a pain in the butt to install requiring many modifications. The over the axle bend hits the axle on hard bumps, and there are several leaks. Huffacker said they had to make several modification in order to fit it, and the rear hanger bracket was useless. Of course the bracket they created looks like crap, but at least the tips clear the rear rubber bumper. On top of that it is very loud, so loud you can not hear the radio even at cruise. I am going to have this system replaced this week. |
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dwalls1 Member
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Have had my Delta system on for about a year now. The install was problematic, but having installed a Monza system on my TR7 I didn't think it was too bad. It is loud, and I can't hear the radio on the highway. It's still quieter than the rusted out stock system. Getting the hoop over the axle right requires patience, each piece, front to rear must be turned just so, to end up correctly. I do hope it lasts a while as I wouldn't want to install one too often. |
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Mitch Ware Member 
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I did the Delta system on my car when I did the restoration. It went on like a dream. Mitch Ware #19670 |
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Greg Fletcher Administrator 
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The exhaust system that Delta sells is normally not a simple install, part of the problem is the non-standard nature of the Jensen Healey. With some cars, as Mitch mentioned, it goes right in, while other cars, like mine, not so much. I spent days installing it on my car and I agree, it's much too loud for my taste out of the box, not to mention that nothing seemed to really fit as well as I thought it should. I ended up taking the car to a custom exhaust shop (not easy to find these days) and they took it all apart and put it all back together, added a tiny piece here, cutting out a tiny there, inserting an extra, small muffler in front of the axle and welded it up. It took about 2 1/2 hours (they made it look easy, but they've been doing this for 20 years) and cost me about $380, but it's perfect now– that's the kind of stuff you have to do sometimes with an old, funky British car. |
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subwoofer Member
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Annoying, isn't it? You know the car is fighting them every step of the way, yet they manage to install it perfectly in less that 3 hours. I really hope we will see the return of specialty shops like that in the near future, once oil and steel gets expensive enough for Average Joe to want to have stuff repaired again. -- Joachim |
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Dakota123 Member
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I hadn't planned on it at this point (still have seat covers to go on the cosmetics front) but my frankenstein exhaust system started leaking abnoxiously. I had it replaced with a 2.25" system using two resonators (which is what was on the car previously) and a Magnaflow muffler, single inlet/double outlet. Fail on the muffler -- wayyy to loud for me. No resonance but just too much exhaust noise. That great Lotus sound is gone. Any advice on muffler make and model? All the aftermarket companies seem to claim "not much louder than stock" -- which is what scares me, 'cause I pretty much DO want stock. Mike Last edited on 08-03-2011 05:04 am by Dakota123 |
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SpeedyMitch Member 
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Hay Mike, I have been toying with an idea. Some may find this offensive but here is my thinking: A Miata has motor very similar to the Lotus 907 (2.0L, DOHC, 16v). The Miata is not loud. After-market parts are readily available. I like the dual-tips look. If you are willing to (re)move your spare time as I have then this may be an option: http://www.miatamania.com/Shop/ViewProducts.aspx?PlateIndexID=76260 It is expensive ($360) but also high quality and tunable by adding the extra baffle. If you don't want the 'tunable' muffler I bet you could get a OEM muffler from Mazda for much less. |
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timeforwalkies Member
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I couldn't take it any more. The Delta exhaust was a terrible fit, hitting the axle and leaking, and was way to loud. I finally took the car to a local shop and had them put in a 2 1/4 setup. It fits perfect, no more load bangs when I hit a bump, and no more leaks. I think it is still a bit on the loud side, but at least I can talk and be heard. I think I can feel a bit more power with the 2 1/4 pipe set to the 2.2 conversion, but it is minimal at best. Still don't understand how BMW and Audi seem to get so much power with so little noise. Maybe that's the difference between a $1000.00 system and a $300.00 system. |
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Dakota123 Member
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The Miata idea is a good one. The Bosal seems to have a reputation for being 'too' quiet, which is probably about right. Mike |
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Mason Jones Member 
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In case others are considering the Delta I'll add my experience which was positive. My 73 came with a complete Delta system that had yet to be installed so the decision was already made. Overall I'd say I'm happy with it. It wasn't easy to install but I chalk that up to me never having had to touch an exhaust system before. It was about as much fun as hanging a door or installing a hood. Lots of finagling. Also, like Mitch, the angle of the header seemed to be too far down. I didn't bend it but the next section connects to the header at a bit of an angle which is not ideal. Still a nice tight fit though. The original hangars had been replaced at some point and that didn't help either. As for the noise level I think it sounds beautiful but that's pretty subjective. The original had so many holes my kids refused to sit in it if I started it up so anything was an improvement. I've never heard another JH in person so have nothing to compare to. I don't think I would say it's so loud I couldn't talk or hear the radio though even at highway speed. |
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Mason Jones Member
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Oops, sorry, that was Brett who mentioned the angle of the header. Being in Texas I probably won't make the next JH gathering but might be fun to have a blind exhaust test and see which gets the most votes. Even better, see if you can recognize the sound of your own car blindfolded. |
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Brett Gibson JH5 20497 Member
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Just to add to my old post about the cat. converter I didnt realize at the time but the drivers side floor pans on cars equiped with it have a raised section for clearance. I replaced that floor pan with a Delta pan and it didnt have that raised section but It didnt registar at the time I did it and that was the reason I could no longer use the heat sheild. If you ever get a chance to inspect a GT take a look you will see the tell tale hump. Brett |
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timeforwalkies Member
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Just a quick note on your install. Check the joints. This is a bolt together system. Mine was installed for me by people who claimed to be professionals. It was difficult for them, and it had leaks at every joint. I didn't know that until several months later when I found black soot at every joint. Hope yours came out well. Last edited on 08-04-2011 01:51 am by timeforwalkies |
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Dakota123 Member
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Mason Jones wrote:
Great idea! Trying to figure this one out without wasting a bunch of dough (more than was already wasted!) is making my head spin. Mike |
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Mason Jones Member
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timeforwalkies wrote: Check the joints. This is a bolt together system. Mine was installed for me by people who claimed to be professionals. It was difficult for them, and it had leaks at every joint. I didn't know that until several months later when I found black soot at every joint. Thanks, I will definitely check the joints for leaks. As soon as I get it back on pavement again! |
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Dakota123 Member
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Dave Bean has NOS units still available, and at a fair price. It's a straight-through design, double-in/double out, so probably not giving up too much going this route. It's stainless, a nice surprise. Terrible build quality; the tips are not parallel and the welding looks like maybe I did it. Kind of charming, actually. Mike |
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Mason Jones Member
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I did this recording of the sound of the Delta exhaust just for fun. The sound of the valves kind of overpowers the exhaust! And yes, the muffler is cockeyed. I need to fix that. None of the original mounts were there and I was using off-the-shelf crap from Autozone none of which was quite what I needed. http://youtu.be/f5p7xO8oi6A |
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subwoofer Member
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Crikey! You should have a look at those shims, sumthin' ain't right... Your idle's a bit high too, but I guess you already know that. Your exhaust looks like mine, but the sound is quite different. Mine snarls, this sounded a bit mellow. Make another video and give it some stick? -- Joachim |
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