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MG TD TF 1500 - Muffler Update

Gentlemen:

I have gone through all the muffler comments in the archives that are pretty old. Many comments complain about they quality of Moss and Ball.
Has anyone experienced any new developments concerning muffler suppliers??
Any recommendations for quality and noise abatement?
Michael Balahutrak

You don't have to buy a kit. Just go to your local old school muffler shop and they can make you a whole system to whatever spec you like, often for less than the price of buying one from a big supplier and then paying to have it installed.
Steve Simmons

100% right, Steve - even Down Under I've never had a problem getting complete systems from downpipe to rear end fabricated by local "muffler" businesses. All I've needed is my choice of extractor/exhaust manifold as a takeoff point, plus my requirements for silencers. This includes several Bs over the years, but also TC,TD and YA. John.
J P Hall

Michael, maybe I've just struck gold, but I've had perfect luck with Stainless mufflers from Abingdon Spares. I've bought 2 of them for different cars since 1995 and they're still humming. Bud Krueger
Bud Krueger

A few years ago when the baffles in my TD muffler deteriorated, creating excessive noise, I went to an old school muffler shop and he was able to order a small muffler with the correct diameter inlet and outlet to match my perfectly OK Moss Motors system that was 40+ years old. Now I have the quietest TD around.
John Quilter (TD8986)

I put a Cherry Bomb glass pack on the TD when I was in high school. Cheap and worked great, almost like a straight pipe. Whatever brand stainless I installed many years ago still good. Great idea for local shop, make sure they know floorboard is really wood if welding! George
George Butz III

I guess I if you only drive your car below 3500 rpm even the stainless glass pack mufflers will last. But I have tried Tourist Trophy, Bell and Falcon mufflers and they all have failed me miserably after 500-600 mi. I drive my fast road TD hard. With sustained rpms above 5000-6500rpm. I had even purchased an exhaust cut out for open road driving but I couldn’t make I work given the under chassis space limitations. I’ve given up. I’m tired of crawling under the car after several outings to replace the crap being sold by the venders. There is absolutely no reason why the manufacturers can’t provide a decent muffler that doesn’t blow the packing out. Short of having a custom chambered muffler built to spec to run a 1-7/8” - 2” pipe all the way to the back of the car I don’t see a solution for my application.

Bill Chasser
TD-4834
TD/c-8151
W A Chasser

My Moss st. st. has been great for 15 years. And always sounded warm and friendly.
Peter Dahlquist

I second what Peter says. My Moss SS is almost 20 years old.. highway and local driving, thousands of miles every Summer. I couldn’t be happier.

Regards, Tom
tm peterson

Our you can get lucky like I did and find a NOS original TD muffler




Bruce Cunha

I wish I could post a video of my typical TT muffler after several hundred miles use. I have put 7 replacements under TD-4834 r over 10 years and ~4500 miles of spirited road driving and freeways.

What was warm and fuzzy quickly becomes loud and obnoxious leaving my ears ringing and temporarily deaf at times. At least drivers around me know I’m coming and where I’ve been. I’ve rode H-D’s for years with straight pipes ( loud pipes save lives) but I seriously believe a muffler delete on this car would be quieter.

Also, though I don’t drive dad’s TD/c-8151 near as aggressively, it too, is getting louder with less than 600 miles of total driving since its restoration.

Bruce Cunha, Chris Couper and everyone who has been behind me on a SVMGCC road outing or GOF can certainly attest to the racket these mufflers make in my car. I guess the secret is to drive the car like little old ladies going to church. Certainly not how the cars were ever meant to be driven….
W A Chasser

Some of these comments show some good and some very bad experiences, for my part my SS system has been on the TD since 1975. I drive it like I stole it, pull 6,000rpm in low gears and cruising (when I can) at 120kph (75mph) for 2-3 hours at a time. My TF SS system has only 20 years on it but is still the same as fitted, it gets the same treatment as the TD. Both systems were made in England, but I don't know by who.
B W Wood

My TF has a Falcon SS system, 10 year sold and still looks and sounds like new, of course I do baby it, but with the 5 speed it'll run up to 75 with no problem.
PJ Jennings

The last muffler I used was made for an old Ford Falcon - same length and pipe holes. That was 25 years ago.

Tom Lange
MGT Repair
t lange

I bought a Falcon Big Bore exhaust system from either Moss or The Roadster Factory back in the early 90's for my MGB. It was sold then with a lifetime warranty with no exclusions. I have been very pleased with it and it is still on the car today with many thousands of miles. With that in mind I purchased another Falcon system for the TF back in 2004. However they now and a lifetime warranty only covering rust through of the stainless steel. After about 25000 miles or so the noise became quite bad and I went to see about buying another muffler to replace the one in the car. Moss USA no longer carried the Falcon brand and was now pushing the Tourist Trophy system. A call to Kelvin at Moss told me that the Tourist Trophy muffler would not be a direct swap into the plumbing I had in place so I found Moss UK was still selling the Falcon stuff so I placed an order with them and all was good and still is to this point but I probably only have about 10000 miles on it now. I installed a Bell stainless exhaust system on the TD 1250 I assembled here a few years ago and I was not impressed with the fit at all. It required a good deal of tube bending to get it to work in the car. Sound is similar to the Falcon. I purchased a Falcon full stainless for my TR8 From Rimmer Brothers in the UK and it was advertised as the quite system. It isn't bad at low RPMS but when you get on the throttle it becomes quite loud. I can't imagine what the single muffler system sounds like. All fun when you are a kid I suppose but not so much at my age and when you are traveling with a group of other LBC's.


L E D LaVerne

Since I bought a header from Manley Ford, I used a system contrived by the local muffler shop and have no complaints. I had them weld on the bung for an O2 sensor, which is really nice to have.
J Barry

This thread was discussed between 13/08/2025 and 16/09/2025

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