So, after 6 months of repair, rebuilding and more than a few communications with Ed, my bone stock original '66 is back on the road after a 30 year nap.
Life is good, or so I thought. The two small (3/8") rust holes on the backs of my otherwise flawless OEM mufflers blew out to two 2" diameter holes, on a ride this weekend. So, I pulled them off and took them to a local welder who said the metal in either direction of the holes, is like foil and can't be welded.
I could use some creative advice on repairs/replacements. I realize that there are $1,150 NOS OEM replacements out there, I am trying to avoid that option, if at all possible. Thoughts?
CA78 MufflersCA78 Mufflers
I don't have an answer for you garncarz, but I am in the same situation as you, just a little behind you actually as I am about to take my mufflers to a welder for an opinion. In the past I have used a muffler epoxy for similar rust damage, but found it only held for a very short time. I too would be interested in hearing other opinions on non welding repairs as well. I'm sure this is a very common problem for our 305's.
1967 CA78
1965 CM90 The value of life can be measured by how many times your soul has been deeply stirred. Soichiro Honda
Not just the 305 my CL175 has similar problems.
I have heard of the muffler being split at the seam, the corroded area then cut away and a new piece shaped and welded in place, the weld ground flat, the muffler seam re-welded and finally the whole lot re-chromed. Very time consuming and expensive too if you are not a welder/panel beater, but the outcome was good according to the well respected restorer who told me the story. 1977 CB400F
1973 CL175 1976 XL175 - Sold 1964 CL72 1966 CA78 I used J B Weld (stick version) on my 550 mufflers with success so far.......about 2 years now.
Not pretty, but it's on the bottom where it can't be seen. Clean the area good with carb or brake cleaner first, and press some around the hole on the inside, then work to the outside. 66 dream, 78 cb750k, 02fz1, 09 wing
Mine were the same on my 69 CA78 and I bought the cheap replacement mufflers but I just didn't like the looks of those. After a long search I found a set of stainless steel mufflers on ebay. These were not NOS and had a few small dents but at least they want rust like the chrome version. I've still got a good stainless left side muffler if someone needs it or even the like new copies.
Replacement mufflersAs an inexpensive get-you-by take a look at http://www.jcwhitney.com/emgo-universal ... c14658u0j1
Emgo mufflers at JC Whitney. They don't look out of place on a Dream and sound kind of cool, too.
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