Author Topic: Muffler Needed For Vintage FOX 35- (Read 3667 times)

Frank Imbriaco · « **on:** November 04, 2010, 07:52:59 AM »

I have a low time 1960s vintage Fox 35 that I plan on using in OTS. It has no provisions for mounting a muffler. I have researched many tongue and standard mufflers designs, but haven't found anything suitable. I do not want a band/rear clamp design.

What could work is for me to drill & tap both sides of the exhaust port as attachment points.

Has anyone seen a muffler ( tongue or standard) that isn't pre-drilled so that I can adapt it ?

Thanks

Manuel Cortes · « **Reply #1 on:** November 04, 2010, 12:15:51 PM »

Hi all.
Old Merco silencer had a good system to attach to any classic "no mounting lugs" engine, I´ve used them several times with success.
Hope it helps.
Regards from Spain.
Manuel

mccoy40 · « **Reply #2 on:** November 04, 2010, 02:06:47 PM »

I don't know if you want to keep the muffler pristine or not, but I jbweld two brass tubes on either side of the exhuast on the engine - then standard mufflers, tongue etc. work fine - I'm not that concerned about the appearance of the engine though

Jim Kraft · « **Reply #3 on:** November 04, 2010, 06:00:53 PM »

Sometime back there was a fellow that was making a machined bracket that went around the engine case on Fox 35's that even was machined out where the raised letters are on the bypass. It was a beautiful piece of work, and had holes for mounting the muffler. Sorry I do not remember who it was that made these. I think Jim Lee had one, and that is where I saw it. You might contact Jim. If I remember right, they were very reasonble also.

Martin Quartim · « **Reply #4 on:** November 04, 2010, 09:01:47 PM »

The Enya Muffler M251 has enough metal that you could drill and tap to match where I think you plan to drill the FOX.

I used a Enya 19 clamp to attach various mufflers in my Nobler with a FOX 35, it has the same bolt spacing of 40FP/46LA. The Enya 19 Clamp fits almost perfectly over the FOX 35 case.

Martin

Martin Quartim · « **Reply #5 on:** November 04, 2010, 09:33:19 PM »

Frank,

I now realized what you meant by drill & tap both sides of the exhaust port. That is a good idea, drilling through the case as I thought wouldn't be such a good idea.

Scott Reese made a custom tongue muffler for me one time at a very reasonable cost. Not sure if he is still making them though

You could use a regular tongue muffler for a Fox 35, drill at the end of it use a long bolts to go all the way down.

Any muffler you may find that matches the bolt spacing in this case would be very small and too restrictive for the FOX 35. An ASP 12 muffler is the closest thing I could find here, still, the bolt spacing is too far a part.

Good luck,

Martin

Frank Imbriaco · « **Reply #6 on:** November 05, 2010, 07:23:42 AM »

Hi Jim and Martin:
Thanks for your advice and great photos.

Martin: Is the Enya Muffler still available ? I think the band clamp is very well done, but I was advised awhile back to avoid using a clamp because it possibly could compress the bypass area of the crankcase. Don't know if that is conjecture or fact.

Jim: Do you have any contact info for Jim Lee ?

My preference would be for a tube type muffler, but all things considered , I'd go with a tongue design if I have to. I contacted one of Big Art's son's this past summer for an undrilled muffler, but never heard back... Perhaps because Big Art was ill.

tom hampshire · « **Reply #7 on:** November 05, 2010, 07:34:00 AM »

Hi Frank - The story about the bypass clamp is true. If you run a clamp around the crankcase, getting the bolts tight enough to avoid vibration backing the threads off, it will distort the liner. The trick is to build the clamp like a stiff horseshoe, so it stands clear of the case itself. The tips of the clamp rest on the back edge of the stack only, with the bolts outside of the stack. The edges of the stack alone take the compression load, so you can fully tighten the muffler screws with no distortion of the case. Avoid any muffler with less than an outlet hole than about 3/8 inch. A smaller hole will cause overheating. And be ready to deal with excessive varnish formation. Doug B. runs stunt foxes with mufflers, and puts up with varnish removal after a gallon or so of fuel. It seems to do a little better in cool weather, but it's a maintenance issue.

Frank Imbriaco · « **Reply #8 on:** November 05, 2010, 12:11:48 PM »

Hi Tom,
Thanks for confirming what I heard about damaging the bypass area and your other advice. BTW, have a great trip.

Regards,
Frank

Jim Kraft · « **Reply #9 on:** November 05, 2010, 05:39:48 PM »

Jim Lee's email is <jlee9@cox.net>. He is also listed on this forum in the vendors corner as Lee Machine shop. The one he had was like Tom Hampshire was talking about, in that it butted up against the back side of the exhaust stack with no contact at the bypass. Wish I could remember where he got it.

Martin Quartim · « **Reply #10 on:** November 05, 2010, 06:30:14 PM »

Hi Frank,

The Enya clamp and muffler are current production and you can order from Randy Smith or directly from Enya. The clamp does the right job like Tom explained, but you may have to do a bit of work to make sure the bolts are not touching any where. I used this clamp for a long time with an RSM tongue muffler and never had any issues. My FOX is a 40Th Ann. that had the muffler lugs removed by the previous owner.

Using this clamp you could get a cool a tube muffler from Randy as well. Any muffler for a OS 40FP/46LA will match with the Enya Clamp

The Muffler attached to my FOX 35 on that picture is too small, but the M251 shown first, has the same bolt spacing and the outlet hole is 5/16 which could have some metal shaved off to make it a bit bigger.

Martin

Frank Imbriaco · « **Reply #11 on:** November 05, 2010, 07:27:34 PM »

Thanks to all for the advice !

kenneth cook · « **Reply #12 on:** November 25, 2010, 06:14:35 PM »

The fit of the Enya muffler looks good in the picture, but I truly wonder how well that muffler would work. I'm sure it would silence the engine well but using those mufflers on Enya engines always caused problems for me. I feel the outlet hole is way too small and the muffler overall is going to cause a lot of restriction and heat. I've also found that some of the older Fox .35's don't like to be muffled. They were designed to be run open and holding the heat in doesn't make them happy. I'd be curious to know how well it would work as the pictures show it as a clean retrofit. I've had problems even using the newer Fox mufflers. I drill the exit hole out as large as I can until there is almost no material left. The Enya outlet isn't as large as the Fox which is why I'm questioning it. Ken

Alan Buck · « **Reply #13 on:** November 25, 2010, 08:09:29 PM »

I bought muffler clamps from John Paris at brodaks 2 or3 years ago. they do not touch the by-pass port

Martin Quartim · « **Reply #14 on:** November 25, 2010, 08:24:19 PM »

Hi Ken,

As I said above, the muffler showing attached to my FOX 35 is too small. The one I suggest trying is the Enya M251 muffler or if you need more weight the OS 46LA muffler will also fit with the Enya 19 clamp.

Although I have not tried some friends said it worked well for them, and they didn't even shave all the metal I told them to do. FWIW, they have Noblers and use 10% Nitro 29% oil.

You could cut the tip of either muffler until you get the opening you want, and if you want to use a deflector you could cut a bit further and attach small piece of aluminum tube with JB weld.

Martin

Jim Thomerson · « **Reply #15 on:** November 26, 2010, 01:57:46 PM »

Years ago, Fox marketed a muffler with a horseshoe shaped piece which went around the bypass without touching and rested against the square back of the exhaust stack, like what Tom Hampshire described above. The fitting would not work on a later model Fox without some work on the exhaust stack, and maybe not then. The muffler was a series of plates with different slots cut in. I had one and sold it on eBay.

Robert Zambelli · « **Reply #16 on:** November 27, 2010, 08:08:49 AM »

Frank - try this link. I posted it earlier this year.
I found a bunch of these in my junk box.

http://stunthanger.com/smf/index.php?topic=17675.0

Here are some pix.

Bob Z.

Frank Imbriaco · « **Reply #17 on:** November 27, 2010, 11:15:53 AM »

Rob,

Do you or anyone you know have one to sell ?

Frank

Robert Zambelli · « **Reply #18 on:** November 28, 2010, 05:54:10 PM »

I have one that I will give you - just pay postage.

Bob Z.

Frank Imbriaco · « **Reply #19 on:** December 01, 2010, 07:48:59 PM »

Hi Bob,
That offer is tempting and very considerate of you. I just ordered a custom aluminum "horseshoe bracket" from a gentleman who has been following this thread. It appears to be exactly what I need to mount a tube type muffler.
Should I decide to take you up on your offer, I'll get back to you.

Thanks Again,
Frank