Manifolds VS Headers round two thousand
 

But i want opinions in C10. My 2 cents I dont like them From taking up more room under hood heat seems like there leak prone. Having a 350 put togather
Will have qudrajet sending it california will have a cam maybe thumper 8.5comprestion basicly stock heads but will have wide open exhaust. Guy thats putting togather is the go to guy around hear. He says other than making it realy loud with what i have will not make any differance. 273 gears 465 trans for now but rarley will it be above 4500 Rpm . Ya Nay?

Re: Manifolds VS Headers round two thousand
 

A properly setup long tube header setup will increase the torque range of a motor.

Re: Manifolds VS Headers round two thousand
 

Headers is the least expensive way to make more power for your vehicle. If you buy a quality set of headers and install them and the exhaust properly they are trouble free.

Re: Manifolds VS Headers round two thousand
 

Headers suck. Took them off my mild 350 and installed rams horns manifolds with 2.5" outlets. Look better, sound better, oil change ten times easier, etc, etc.

Did I mention that headers suck?

Re: Manifolds VS Headers round two thousand
 

Headers suck eh!!
Look at these ones.
Going on 14 years.

Re: Manifolds VS Headers round two thousand
 

A good set of headers with good gaskets and the proper set for your vehicle will work awesome.

The loudness of the vehicle is dependent on the mufflers used and people tend to stray towards the flowmaster 40s which honestly are obnoxious.

Re: Manifolds VS Headers round two thousand
 

Headers are like anything, you get what ya pay for.
mine where $600 3/8 flange fit my angle plug heads and don't hang below the frame rail.
And zero maintenance since installed

It's up too your budget and goals

Re: Manifolds VS Headers round two thousand
 

My headers suck because I can't jump the starter solenoid in an emergency and it's hard to get to the oil filter. On one of my sets I have to loosen the header to remove the oil filter. I imagine that oil is just cookin' in there right next to the header. I see Geezers headers don't have those negatives but I wonder how much of an improvement they are over stock manifolds. Those couple negatives aren't super serious problems just annoying inconveniences. I will be switching back to some kind of manifolds in the near future when my current exhaust rots off.

Re: Manifolds VS Headers round two thousand
 

in the dozens of cars and trucks I have owned through the years this holds true. You get what you pay for. I have never had any problems with them leaking etc.
My Jeep CJ7 4.0 has an AFE header on it and it's awesome. My 77 C10 454 has tri Y headers no problems there either.

I agree loudness is a by-product of the mufflers used.

Flowmasters are just obnoxious to me!!! :lol:

Re: Manifolds VS Headers round two thousand
 

I've done headers before but manifolds last longer for "all season" use,
I clean them noise bumps out first,and finish them 2.25 pipes off with a nice set of obnoxious flowmaster 40s. lol

Re: Manifolds VS Headers round two thousand
 

why did they put that bump in there?

Re: Manifolds VS Headers round two thousand
 

casting for AIR injection tubes.

Re: Manifolds VS Headers round two thousand
 

If you already have a decent set of headers, use them. If not, manifolds would be fine for your listed/mild set-up. That being said.... your combo seems like it's not going to be very potent or even efficient.

A 350 w/stock heads & 8.5:1 compression is not the best candidate for a Thumper cam. The bigger lift/longer duration amounts on the cam will bleed off cylinder pressure making that weak 8.5 compression even worse. I would up the compression or even better go w/a very mild torque based cam profile since it will rarely see the north side of 4500rpm.

I say this only because I remember one of my old rides had a similar combo (74 Z/28; stock 350, stock/low compression cast pistons, stock 76cc heads, big comp cam, headers + true 2.5" duals, 4spd, 3.08's, & 26" tall BFG's). It 'sounded' good, but it couldn't move out of it's own way nor was it efficient. My buddy also had a 74 Camaro but his combo was thought out (350, just shy of 10:1 comp, smaller chamber heads w/port work, comp cam 1 step smaller than mine, same size exhaust, 4spd, 4.11's, & 28" tall BFG's). It was night & day difference. His car sounded meaner than mine despite the smaller cam, got better mpg's than mine, & flat-out moved.

I'm not saying your plans are right or wrong but I would talk w/your engine builder a little more in depth if my story/experience raises any concerns.

Re: Manifolds VS Headers round two thousand
 

Yes,I've also heard it was left there "disturbing" the exhaust flow,making it quieter.

Re: Manifolds VS Headers round two thousand
 

That maybe a small side benefit. But knowing GM that single casting could make multiple different service parts, so it was more an economic thing with them.

Re: Manifolds VS Headers round two thousand
 

No,
Gears are the least expensive way to make power.

If you go from the 2.73 to 3.73 you will have a 26.8% increase in torque. I have yet to see a header give gains anywhere near 20%.

Maybe you will enjoy the 2200rpm at 70mph. But, I would rather get to 70 faster and be cruising at 3k.

Anyway, it all comes down to budget and skill. I prefer ram horns because they can be found cheap(have a $5 set sitting by my feet) and they give tons of space to route the exhaust. I have run expensive and cheap long tubes before. The thing about long tubes is that the flange tends to distort. Even the expensive ones can distort if you don't torque(or over torque) them properly. Manifolds have a lot more "play" in them with the weight being the trade off.
I pull the engine and trans for next to no reason on everything I own. With the manifolds I need to replace the gasket each and every time. With headers(newer ones) with ball flange or screw in flange it is a lot easier to pull/install the engine without removing the exhaust for the clutch, oil pan, etc. You can also easily modify the older headers to the newer style with a welder while your kind of stuck with manifolds. Well unless you do what I am doing and adding a removable screw in flange where a long tube collector would be.

If you want a easy fix to cheap headers leaking, plain them then weld up a aftermarket 3/8" flange. I have done it to 3 sets of long tubes with no issue. One was 3/16" out of true and required a considerable amount of work to get back. But, for the $40 I had into them they ran leak free until the carburetor decided to ascend towards the heavens.

Re: Manifolds VS Headers round two thousand
 

Gears do not MAKE more power they just allow the engine to operate in a different rpm range in which it makes more power.

Headers allow the Engine to MAKE more power.

You gear a vehicle to allow the engine to operate in its most efficient rpm range based upon your intended use.

Re: Manifolds VS Headers round two thousand
 

Ok agree about gears got a 90 jimmy with 410s and 36s set up works good and sucks gas on hyway.
Found a cool calculater for eng rpm speed and diff and tran ratios.
http://www.csgnetwork.com/multirpmcalc.html
Other than putsing around a small town 25 mph has a nice tourgy Rpm 3rd its quite and low rpm 35 and 45 are good in 3rd. I live 7 blocks from I90 In western south dakota. So jump on it 75 MPH soon to be 80 with 273s will be 2450rpm 4th with 373s you can add amost a grand to that. with my trans 3rd you can run it up to 65 easy like 3800. if i did any gear change to diff would be more like 308s. I other than snow have not been able to do Less than 75 because of traffic in the 50 miles to rapid city. since moved out Denver 5 yrs ago.

Re: Manifolds VS Headers round two thousand
 

Then if not changing gears, I would change the motor. Get some Vortec heads (or similar EX: high velocity @ lower valve lift levels) & a smaller (torque producing) cam profile.

Re: Manifolds VS Headers round two thousand
 

Its not that radical of a cam made for 8.5 to one. normal stall converter.

Re: Manifolds VS Headers round two thousand
 

Cam specs or p/n?

Re: Manifolds VS Headers round two thousand
 

12-600-4 [94] grind 279T comp flat tappet hyd Thumpr then theres mother Thumpr and Big Mother Thumpr

Re: Manifolds VS Headers round two thousand
 

I have long tube headers on my 86. my pros and cons.

Pros
Sounds cool
Maybe more power?

Cons
much hotter under hood
coating didn't last
cooks starters and wiring
PITA to remove the starter.

I used Percy's aluminum gaskets and spectre header bolts. No issues with bolts loosening on me. However, I might have used the wrong gaskets, used square port gaskets and I have stock heads. that might be on me. However, I'd stick with manifolds next time around.

Re: Manifolds VS Headers round two thousand
 

Use header gaskets that match the header flange hole. Retorque header bolts after they have gone through a Heat cycle and cooled to room temp.

Re: Manifolds VS Headers round two thousand
 

I like headers. One of the first things I've done on all my vehicles since 1971. I would not be running them if they sucked. The headers on my '72 K2500 have been on there since 2004, same gaskets, never had to tighten them. They are inexpensive Headman Torque Steps. The dual exhaust I had made at the same time has rusted behind one muffler, that I had to repair.
I bought a '71 Custom Camper/20 in '88 with camper. It was a very nice well optioned all original truck, so when I did dual exhaust I stayed with the rams horns. On a trip to the Grand Canyon one of the rams horns blew out through the side. I limped it down to Flagstaff to a muffler shop. None of the junkyards had rams horns and no quality headers were in town, so we went with cheap headers. This was '89 and they were still on it in '04 when I stopped driving it.

I had a '72 K/20 with rams horns. One day it got real loud after going over a bridge joint on the interstate. One of the rams horns had cracked all the around where it collects allowing the exhaust pipe to drop clear off.

I have had more issues with rams horns than headers. I hate dealing with those carnsounded studs and don't know a single exhaust guy who doesn't hate that,too. When a donut gasket starts to leak it's a bad day in my life. One of my most dreaded repairs to do. When a header collector gasket blows I just over tighten the bolts to shear them. It's a 15 minute repair. I don't understand where all the negative attitude for headers comes from. Maybe my experience has been unusual. we're talking 44 years and who knows how many vehicles. I don't hate manifolds and I don't care if people prefer to run them. I prefer headers