Headers or manifolds?

[arturo7]

Hooker- http://www.summitracing.com/parts/HOK-2451HKR/

or Wysco ram- JEGS http://www.jegs.com/i/Wysco/938/MA035RAW/10002/-1

I'm more concerned with mileage than HP. Quiet is good too. Will the headers fit in a TF?

[oldcouple]

I have the rams horns, lots of room except on a 350 had to route the exhaust pipe away from the oil filter as it was rubbing, heard that if you have a camero clip then block huggers will fit just fine.

[meter swinger]

I like Ram Horns if its a stock or old school looking engine. You might also give the tru-rams that speedway sells a look.
Posted via Mobile Device

[Wheelie]

If you like quiet do the ram horns. Manifolds are tinny sounding. I personally like more noise

[OrrieG]

Ramhorn or early down swept cast iron manifolds are quieter, do not rust out, dump less heat into the engine compartment and you do not have to be screwing with the gaskets all the time. Chevy put alot of engineering into them so they flow pretty good, especially with 2.5" dual exhaust pipes and mufflers. You can get repop early corvette rams horns with 2.5" flange openings and larger inside ports, lots of the stock class racers use them.

[mygirlz55]

Originally Posted by oldcouple

heard that if you have a camero clip then block huggers will fit just fine.

Anyone have a pic of the block huggers on a camaro clipped truck???
Looking for this setup, want to know for sure before I buy a set.

[mknittle]

Mine is a camaro clipped 52 with a pontiac 400 moved back 2" and it looks like firebird hedders will fit.
I would think if a camaro clipped truck had the engine in the stock posision or back camaro hedders would work. But that would be too easy

[maxdog51]

Just as meter swinger stated, Speedway makes a nice product.

Speedway Motors Tru-Ram Exhaust Manifolds -...

[Billett]

ram horns unless your engine is built. If it's stock or mild it isn't worth the money and hassle, for all of the reasons above.

[arturo7]

Bumping this thread to ask about something I had not considered:

Will there be a clearance issue with the stock steering set up?

[1project2many]

Didn't see this thread earlier.

My headers are from a late '70s 4X4 truck and I'll bet they're a Blackjack or equivalent cheapie brand. They look very much like the Hookers above but I believe they have smaller tubes. I removed them when the new owner purchased the truck from our dealership (he wanted manifolds) and they dropped into my vehicle without any hassle. The only change was to re-index the clip which holds the clutch return spring at the steering box. I have a factory V8 truck.

These headers were installed around '96 and have never needed gaskets. Making headers seal in low power applications isn't usually a challenge. First, put a flex joint at the collector. The engine wants to rotate and flex in it's rubber mounts so don't expect the attached exhaust system to stay together when rigidly attached to the engine. Most of the time I simply find a steel or ceramic exhaust donut that fits the pipe and that does the trick. Second, with cheapie headers I ensure the head mating flange is flat (welding and machining with a Bridgeport may be necessary) then I cut the flange into three sections for front , center, and rear tubes to allow thermal expansion and contraction without warping the flange or forcing the gaskets out of shape. This can turn out to be a fair amount of work though and I wouldn't recommend paying a machine shop to do it.

85-91 Corvette exhaust manifolds are similar to the Ram's Horn or Tru Ram and can often be found for short money at swap meets or online. It flows better than a cast ram's horn.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/CORVETTE-MAC...539803&vxp=mtr

92-96 LT1 Corvette manifolds are more durable and flow better but are more of an exhaust manifold than a header.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/92-96-C4-COR...8431f1&vxp=mtr

Original ram's horn manifolds fit perfectly and there are no clearance issues. I would expect the same from the manifolds above. Cannot say on the Tru Ram as I've never had a set in my hands.

Long tube headers will do more for low end and mid range performance than short tube varieties. Installing a crossover tube in duals can reduce exhaust noise and increase flow some. I removed rams horn manifolds to install my headers and I'm still happy with the decision.

[_Ogre]

painted steel header rust real quick
either use ceramic coated or go with rams horns
original would have been rams horns with the
generator mounted on the drivers side manifold
truk has ceramic coated, block header headman headers
they allowed for a simple hook up for the steering
have changed the gaskets twice and they need it again