1949 Chevrolet MagnaFlow Revolver SEMA truck teased on a napkin

The exhaust experts at MagnaFlow have positioned themselves as one of the star features on the floor of the SEMA Show over the past few years and 2012 should be no different as they will unveil their 1949 Chevrolet pickup built on conjunction with design superstar Chip Foose sporting a unique exhaust system that earned this truck the name Revolver.

The idea for the 1949 Chevrolet Revolver pickup began as a simple napkin drawing sketched out (and shown on the right) by MagnaFlow Senior Manager Richard Waitas while he was waiting for a flight. His idea for this truck was that it could help answer the age old exhaust question of “What does it sound like?” The result is an antique pickup truck with a system of mufflers on a rotating assembly similar to that found on a revolver pistol. These 8 mufflers can be rotated to show what the different muffler options sound like when absolutely nothing is changed except for the muffler itself.

“What’s deep, what’s raspy, what’s throaty and what’s not is different from ear to ear. ‘Loud’ has many levels and characteristics.” says Waitas. “But with the launch of the Revolver Truck, MagnaFlow has found a way to provide an answer to the question.”

Once Waitas had his idea on paper (or on a napkin, to be precise) he contacted superstar custom car and truck designer Chip Foose, who has worked with MagnaFlow in the past on unique custom projects. Foose took Waitas’ sketches and put together a full rendering of the Revolver and a 1949 Chevrolet pickup was chosen as the base vehicle for the project. Once the rendering was prepared, Foose went to work searching for the best shop to complete the build and CW Restorations of Huntington Beach California was picked to handle the production of the ’49 Chevy Revolver pickup.

Details are limited right now but we do know that the 1949 Chevrolet Revolver pickup will be powered by a General Motors E-Rod 6.2L V8 engine that exhausts through the custom bed-mounted 8-muffler exhaust system. Power is sent to the wheels by an Art Carr California Performance Transmission 4L65E 5-speed automatic transmission with Wilwood brakes providing the stopping force. The exterior will be finished in BASF Sioux Red with a Bill-Dunn One Stop Shop interior.

The most significant exterior modification is the open surface in the bed where the unique electronically controlled 8-muffler rotating assembly can be viewed by those looking to hear what the 8 different MagnaFlow mufflers sound like – all the while being able to watch the mufflers change their position.

Based on the available information, the 1949 Chevrolet MagnaFlow Revolver pickup should definitely be one of the more unique showstoppers at the 2012 SEMA Show floor. It is unclear whether the SEMA Show is going to allow MagnaFlow fire up the Revolver but considering how great the GM E-Rod crate engine sounds combined with a truck designed to help exhaust systems showcase their true sound profile – this is one vehicle that will sound as awesome as it looks.

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