BBC headers worth power gain?

[Ned Kelly]

I'm sitting on the fence of headers or factory exhaust manifolds. It's a DD truck.
For those of you who have experienced the before and after affects of putting headers on your BBC - was it worth it?
I'm talking of a near stock BBC. I just have an RV torque cam in mine. Also any increased cabin noise that I need to consider? I also like the vehicle to sound quiet quiet on trail rides. Will headers make the truck louder?

 

[Greg72]

Search the internets for a magazine 454 engine build called "FrankenRat"...

They started with a basic 454 and made improvements one-at-a-time, and did dyno tests after each one. Headers were the first thing they did, and gained about 50Lb/Ft of torque instantly...

I believe they're comment was that it was the single best power adder for the buck you can do. They basically said it's a no-brainer and should be a mandatory swap for ANY big block Chevy motor.


edit: Here....I'm feeling generous tonight:

http://www.chevyhiperformance.com/techarticles/89618_project_454_ho_engine/index.html

 

[rcamacho]

I have a set of Thorley headers on my BBC. They are nice and not terribly noisy. My only complaint is the heat generation in low speed off roading. I'd recommend getting headers ceramic coated.

 

[Ned Kelly]

Greg - You will always be remembered for your generousity.
Macho - good point. I have read some posts where people recommend getting the coated option.

Ok, so it is a good idea to do the headers.
Is there a big difference between the shorties and the long tube? I've read long tube is better, but not too much info on how much better.

 

[Greg72]

I've heard shorties were a waste of money....they don't really have enough primary length to do proper scavenging so you never really get the benefit of what headers are all about.

That's what I recall from my reading/research anyway.

 

[ryoken]

I'm sitting on the fence of headers or factory exhaust manifolds. It's a DD truck.
For those of you who have experienced the before and after affects of putting headers on your BBC - was it worth it?
I'm talking of a near stock BBC. I just have an RV torque cam in mine. Also any increased cabin noise that I need to consider? I also like the vehicle to sound quiet quiet on trail rides. Will headers make the truck louder?

couple not touched on, but often espoused.....

you get what you pay for...... never a truer statement than when it comes to headers, ESPECIALLY with what you want....

cab/exterior noise will be greatly reduced by a quality header with THICKWALL tubes.... cheap headers sound like cr*p, cuz they're thin and tinny sounding...

throw in that a quality, thickwall header will also have beef at the mounting flange for solid sealing... the L & L's I'm looking at are 1/2" flange, 14 gauge tube, but most good headers will have at least 3/8's flanges.....

ceramic can be hit or miss, depending on the manufacturer.... I'm definitely a fan of long tubes or a Tri-Y over a shorty any day....

 

[Blue85]

You won't notice extra noise from the headers, until they start leaking

If you are going to do anything to add power / MPG, do the headers. This is one of the few mods that really makes a difference without major work.

There is probably a reliability advantage to the manifolds due to potential flange and collector leaks, but if you get good headers and gaskets even that isn't an issue. You can almost never rust through the manifolds, but you can go through a cheap set of cheap headers in a few years. Once again, this is solved by getting the more expensive units.

 

[BBC]

i got some headman long tubes with stage 8 locking nuts on my 454, no leaks as of yet, going on 2+ years. couldn't tell you the power difference since i installed the motor with the headmans.