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Does anyone make BB equal length headers?

We gunna need some vid with your foot on the the WOT!:steering:

Made my headers over 20 years ago and had them coated.They are so brittle it's time to make a set this winter:)
 
Backpacker said:
I'm confused... is this old school thinking? Isn't it far better to have all the tubes equal length to get the most out of your system? Or is this a race only item that has shown no benefit on the street?
Click to expand...
Its old school thinking.
Header science is like cam voodoo science.
The guy who got it the best was by Stahl headers. Rather than trying to science out this issue, not to mention your on the street only, purchase a header with the tube size for the intended (or what you think the will be the) horsepower.

I am finally rebuilding my 70 4spd RR and it will have a 440 stroker instead of the NOM cast crank 383 that was in it. I was considering headers, but haven't decided if they are worth the trouble over HP manifolds. The RR will see street duty only.
Click to expand...

A 440 stroker? To what size CID?

Search AndyF here or at the on line magazine, “HitRod” where he did a number of dyno tests with exhaust manifolds. And made good power to boot.
 
A 440 stroker? To what size CID?

Search AndyF here or at the on line magazine, “HitRod” where he did a number of dyno tests with exhaust manifolds. And made good power to boot.
Click to expand...

4.375 bore X 4.15 stroke. I believe that comes to 499 CI.
10.??? compression for pump gas
Edelbrock E-street heads with angled plugs
1970 HP exhaust manifolds (for now)
1978 factory spreadbore intake (or an Eddy RPM intake, depending on dyno results)
the dreaded Thermoquad (I love the sound)
camshaft TBD

I am looking for a relatively flat torque curve, as much HP as possible, a nice choppy idle without losing a ton of vaccuum and loping like a pig. A street friendly "modern magnum" type cam for a 4spd.

It is not built yet so i can still make changes if need be to make a decently matched system.

I will definitely be looking up Andy's work. Thanks for the tip.
 
Jerry Hall said:
Header leaks are a pain. I am fighting a header leak on my 68 Hemi Dart. No friggin way to get enough clearance to replace the gasket. My racing buddy tells me it wasn't meant to be capped up.
Click to expand...

I'm finishing up putting a 383 back in my '69 Dart tonight....... now looking at backtracking a little and moving the motor back a 1/4" and up a 1/4" or 3/8", so I can get the steering link off the pan (and it's already a 187) and some room to tweak the drivers side header off the starter a bit. No room to play in there. No wonder they came up with some miracle factory manifolds on that job back in the day! Lefty71
 
Sorry, but WHY! would you choose me the life out of a 500 CID is engine with OE parts???
Sorry, I just see insanity.....


Backpacker said:
4.375 bore X 4.15 stroke. I believe that comes to 499 CI.
10.??? compression for pump gas
Edelbrock E-street heads with angled plugs
1970 HP exhaust manifolds (for now)
1978 factory spreadbore intake (or an Eddy RPM intake, depending on dyno results)
the dreaded Thermoquad (I love the sound)
camshaft TBD

I am looking for a relatively flat torque curve, as much HP as possible, a nice choppy idle without losing a ton of vaccuum and loping like a pig. A street friendly "modern magnum" type cam for a 4spd.

It is not built yet so i can still make changes if need be to make a decently matched system.

I will definitely be looking up Andy's work. Thanks for the tip.
Click to expand...
 
rumblefish360 said:
Sorry, but WHY! would you choose me the life out of a 500 CID is engine with OE parts???
Sorry, I just see insanity.....
Click to expand...

Insanity? Would you care to elaborate? Constructively? I am not trying to start anything, but a lot of F.A.S.T. guys do quite well with OE parts. You even brought up AndyF who was using OE parts.

A hogged out factory spreadbore intake might work just fine, maybe even better than an RPM. Then again maybe not. It will depend on the dyno results.

The dreaded thermoquad? I can play games with the air door on the secondaries so the tires don't spin as easily when first getting on it. It sucks for the track but it is beneficial for the street. Mechanical secondaries with this much torque is not a good combination for street tires...
 
Sorry to insult but don’t take it that way. No insult intended. It’s just the parts considered and goal you wish to obtain. Factory parts throw away a lot of HP & TQ which is amplified with the increased engine size. In the end, truthfully, you can get that same results from a 440 with the stock parts. That’s why I called it an insanity.

With your goal in mind, better performance will be obtained with better parts with the engine working less and with a smaller camshaft. The performance is going to be hampered by the intake. Why you would do this after getting aluminum heads, I don’t know. You could have saved money and ported the iron heads. The performance level would be the same or super similar since the intake & exhaust is so limiting.

If you want to copy the fast guys, by all means do so.

FWIW, the TQ and all Carter 4bbl. carbs are mechanical secondary units that work like a VS carb via the air door over the secondary side.

Also, even Andy did say the manifolds are hurting power production a lot. He did the article to see how good they are. Speak with him directly about it.
 
Backpacker said:
I am looking for a relatively flat torque curve, as much HP as possible, a nice choppy idle without losing a ton of vaccuum and loping like a pig. A street friendly "modern magnum" type cam for a 4spd.
Click to expand...

Then you need headers. No brainer.

But if your only looking to go low to mid 11.s or so, (i.e. roll bar required performance) and you've already got the manifolds, just use them and use the $1,000 you've saved to get some of the hp back with manifolds
 
The F.A.S.T racers don't choose to use factory parts to MAKE power, they are bound by the rules to use use factory parts that make power DESPITE their limitations.
These guys also have sky high compression ratios, run 116 octane gas, use extensively ported intakes and exhaust manifolds and modified distributors.
Yeah, you can build a fast car with a totally stock appearance but there are far easier ways to make MORE power.
These people do it because they like the challenge.
Guys die trying to climb Mount Everest.
Other dudes like to build ships in a bottle.
Do you want to work hard to go slower?
 
Kern Dog said:
Do you want to work hard to go slower?
Click to expand...

Headers are hard. The look on my friends face last weekend when he learned that his $1,000 headers were leaking at #3 and 5 cylinders was priceless. Thought he was going to take the torch to them right then and there.

Nothing hard about going 11.5 with manifolds, but you'll certainly go faster with headers. The only thing in the OP's plan so far that would make it hard IMO to go 11.5 is the cast iron intake.

Start with a performance goal, and decide if how you want to get there.
 
Backpacker said:
Thanks for the advice and the link! Looks like I should forget about hogging out the factory intake and just go with the RPM.
Click to expand...

A few more things:
1) To be clear, it's not hard, or complicated, but you do need to have a plan.

2) I'm using a relative small street type roller with slower ramps. I just didn't want to deal with the possibility of flattening a lobe. I know a couple guys faster than me using solid flat tappet cams with exhaust manifolds.

3) If you want to use the iron intake, go ahead. It's your car. But, IMO, any factory 4bbl intake is a much larger hurdle to overcome than the exhaust manifolds. Even the old CH4B with the divider removed would be a meaningful improvement over the factory intake.

4) I tested three intakes. Unfortunately, not an RPM. Best was the Holley SD, followed by the 440-2D, followed by the 6 pack. My gut tells me that the RPM would be similar to the 6 pack. But that's just speculation.
 
My TTI headers have been on my 63 over 8 years now since June 2011. And I have never had a leak or replaced any header gasket. They have nice thick flanges and don't warp or leak like headers of the 60's did. I have not touched my exh at all in the 8 years its been on my car. They been flawless and I love them. Ron

413108541.jpg
 
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