73-87chevytrucks.com
73-87 Chevy _ GMC Trucks => Performance => Exhaust => Topic started by: FlatBlack77 on April 17, 2016, 06:49:12 PM
-
I have done alot of searching for headers for my 77 C10 with a 350/350. i had a set of no name long tubes on it for a few years now but they hang down way too low and with a single hump crossmember they just dont work at all if you want to keep the exhaust tucked up above the bottom of the frame. i have no idea what brand they are or what they are from. so i started looking around and found several people saying that Camaro headers will fit or Nova headers or 67-72 headers ect. then i found a few posts from a guy(i cant find the thread) and he posted a few pics of OBX stainless headers for an 82-92 camaro installed on his truck. they are pretty expensive so i looked for alternatives and found these
http://www.jegs.com/i/Hedman/500/68460/10002/-1
not a bad price at all so i wanted to give them a try. worst case i just return them. Hedman makes a set that are made for Chevy pickups i think 67-87 that look similar to the Camaro ones but they are $100 more.
here are the headers i had on my truck. they fit the truck perfectly but hung down too low and i had to run both pipes under the crossmember which gave me about inches of ground clearance at stock ride height
(http://i407.photobucket.com/albums/pp153/trailertrashtransam/ex1.jpg)
the Hedmans have the ball and socket collectors. i wasnt too sure about it because ive read bad reviews but i was willing to try it. they came with the collector reducers, bolts for them, header to block bolts, and gaskets. i reused my all but new Felpro gaskets but the ones Hedman supplied do seem like good quality. not at all like what is in the picture on Jegs website
(http://i407.photobucket.com/albums/pp153/trailertrashtransam/ex3.jpg)
old vs new. hard to see much of a difference
(http://i407.photobucket.com/albums/pp153/trailertrashtransam/ex2.jpg)
here is the real difference
(http://i407.photobucket.com/albums/pp153/trailertrashtransam/ex4.jpg)
(http://i407.photobucket.com/albums/pp153/trailertrashtransam/ex5.jpg)
both went in just fine from the bottom. i only had to take out 2 spark plugs on the passenger side and they slid right into place.
only issues were where they were too close to the frame on the passenger side and the lower control arm on the driver side. my engine mounts are several years old so im not sure if new mounts would raise the engine up enough to clear these spots or not
this wasnt hitting but it was too close for comfort
(http://i407.photobucket.com/albums/pp153/trailertrashtransam/ex7.jpg)
this was hitting but just barely
(http://i407.photobucket.com/albums/pp153/trailertrashtransam/ex6.jpg)
easily fixed with a few smacks with a hammer
(http://i407.photobucket.com/albums/pp153/trailertrashtransam/ex8.jpg)
(http://i407.photobucket.com/albums/pp153/trailertrashtransam/ex9.jpg)
here you can see where the old headers were and how much better the new ones sit
(http://i407.photobucket.com/albums/pp153/trailertrashtransam/ex10.jpg)
(http://i407.photobucket.com/albums/pp153/trailertrashtransam/ex11.jpg)
The driver side was extremely simple. the header pointed straight back and a straight section of exhaust pipe cleared the crossmember with space on all sides.
the passenger side just needed a slight upward angle then a downward angle to get it back level with the frame. i actually used the angled pipe that used to go under the crossmember i just cut it down a little and flipped it over. worked perfectly
(http://i407.photobucket.com/albums/pp153/trailertrashtransam/ex12.jpg)
(http://i407.photobucket.com/albums/pp153/trailertrashtransam/ex13.jpg)
(http://i407.photobucket.com/albums/pp153/trailertrashtransam/ex14.jpg)
all in all i am very happy with the purchase. one issue i ran into was i had no idea how tight to make the bolts on the ball and socket collectors. they didnt come with lock washers just bolts and nuts. i searched around online and found nothing but people complaining about them loosing nuts and bolts and not staying tight. so i tightened them untill i have 5 exposed threads on all the ends of the bolts. i wasnt super tight but i didnt want to go too tight. them i double nutted them and after alot of driving today and several heat cycles they are still nice and tight and the collectors do not leak whatsoever
I hope this helps some of you guys looking for a decent long tube header that sits above the frame.
-
Your truck does not appear to sit very low so what is the concern with running the correct application? I would runny shorty's if that was your concern before breaking out the hammer to make them fit. Why not cut and re-engineer them as opposed to collapsing the tube?
-
I should have mentioned that im doing a 4 1/2 inch drop in the front and 4 inch in the rear. down four inches would give me less than 2 inches of ground clearance at the exhaust pipes. i didnt want to go to shorties unless i had to(if these wouldnt work)
a few dents is no big deal to me. this might just be my truck too they might fit another truck perfectly. mine has been in at least a few accidents in sure of it i wouldnt be surprised if something is twisted
-
Good luck with those Hedman ball-flange headers! My experience is that you will constantly be fighting loose collector bolts and leaky exhaust.
-
flatblack77 are these headers still working out for you?
What trans crossmember are using?
Im needing to redo my exhaust for the same reason. I am lowered 5/7 on my 82 and running flowtech long tubes (junk). The headers collectors and passenger pipe drags on everything now. Quite embarassing and annoying.
I dont mind knocking a few dents to make them clear if it means no exhaust dragging rolling through or out of a parking lot.
-
they are still working just fine. i double nutted the bolts on the flanges and they havent budged or leaked since i installed them.
my truck has the stock single hump crossmember
-
flatblack77 are these headers still working out for you?
What trans crossmember are using?
Im needing to redo my exhaust for the same reason. I am lowered 5/7 on my 82 and running flowtech long tubes (junk). The headers collectors and passenger pipe drags on everything now. Quite embarassing and annoying.
I dont mind knocking a few dents to make them clear if it means no exhaust dragging rolling through or out of a parking lot.
Nice job man. I have some long tube headers from a nova on my 78c10
Fits perfect other than I had to trim my transmission crossmember ,, can't remember what yr it was. But I could find out. I did the job way back in the day. The only regret I have , being I was really Yung and impatient, I would pulled it to the muffler shop and re-run the pipes under the crossmember
I plan on replacing them just because there old and fugly
they are still working just fine. i double nutted the bolts on the flanges and they havent budged or leaked since i installed them.
my truck has the stock single hump crossmember
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G870A using Tapatalk
-
These are almost identical to the headers on my truck now, except mine have the standard 3 bolt collector. My engine actually needs pushed back a little and it looks as though they would clear if I did push it back, not knowing better I too used a hammer to make them fit...They were used and dirt cheap so I didn't care. I love how they exit between the rails and kept my exhaust out of sight.