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Even Doug Thorley says NO! "pics now"

dontoe

dontoe

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Well, I'm in the middle of installing some Doug Thorley headers on the '75. I wrapped 'em up in "Thermo Tec" header wrap! Someone on this forum said not to, that the welds cracked. The paperwork with the headers says not to.

F**k it! I'm gonna try it and see fer myself. No hot starter problems and cooler floorboard and less header sound is the good points................having to replace the headers is the bad.


Gotta go ......................."git 'er dun."
 
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why not put some kinda heat shield to protect the starter and call it good? I run topless/doorless... so the more heat that bleeds through the firewall the better, keeps my feet warm. lol! :grin:

j
 
To be honest, I don't notice any more heat or noise from my headers (Hedman Elites admittedly) than when I had manifolds.

No starter problems that are associated with headers typically either, which SHOULD be a function of how far away from the starter the tubes are. In the truck there is plenty of room, they shouldn't run that close to the starter in the first place.

Have you run those headers before and decided you didn't like the way things were, or are you just assuming it's going to be worse?

If those headers are coated on the inside (??) as well as outside, wrap is absolutely pointless.
 
Drivers side is on..................I don't like the Doug Thorley's worth a crap!!!

Took longer too get the frigging spark plugs in than it did to mount the frigging headers. Have to do a little research and find some quality headers that still provide access to the spark plugs removal and replacement.

With the Headman headers and Hooker headers I had on the K-10's I used to drive, the headers ran a lot closer to the floorboard than these do and within a couple of inches of the starter. These are farther away from the floorboard , fixing to find out how close they come to the starter in a few minutes!

No coating in or outside..........

My floorboard gets hotter than _____ just with the stock manifolds. This is now my daily driver.............started calling it the "Sock Cooker" because of the hot floorboard and as a play on words..............C$#K S##$%R
 
Angle plug heads cure that problem! Mine are ever easier than with the stock manifolds!
 
Made a logo while I was relaxing...................



16873Sock_Cooker_round.jpg
 
Dunno what Hedmans you were running, but mine run TOO far away from the floorboards for most here (collector about perfectly even with the lowest shackle bolt) and with the collectors so far outboard that they slightly contact the shackle bolt, they are nowhere near the starter. I actually moved the passenger side header closer to the starter to clear the shackle bolt.

Plug access is very easy except number 5, but you can still use a standard plug without hassle. Just need to use an open end wrench. All others are accessible with a deep well socket.

Just as an FYI about header fitment. Seems that every brand has their own issues.

Uncoated inside and out? How much did they run? I think the externally coated Hedman Elites (69890 is what I run) from Summit are something like $150? Perhaps your experience with Hedman was prior to some modifications they made with the design. Mine fit exceedingly well compared to what most seem to deal with their headers.
 
Ruthven13 said:
Angle plug heads cure that problem! Mine are ever easier than with the stock manifolds!
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I like the way this man thinks, my dad's race car is easier than stock manifolds to change plugs on.
 
I run the angle plug heads with Thorley headers and ended up having to use short plugs just to get them to clear. I don't think I'd use angle plug heads in one of these trucks again since the header selection isn't that great. Extra room---I don't think so.....
 
Just got the right side hooked up and it's only one inch at the most from the starter!


Man it sounds sweet with open headers!!!!!!!!

Now..............little stainless flex to hook to the stainless straight pipe to the "Cherrybombs" and then the 90 degree out behind the wheels.:grin:
 
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I have no "heat soak" issues with my starter, although I did back when I ran exhaust manifolds. While I still had the manifolds, I switched to remote solenoid and that problem went away. I used to change starters (cheap reman, lifetime warranty) every year. I've had this one for more than two years and it pops right over every time. So I can't say whether the headers make heat soak worse or not, but maybe with remote solenoid, heat soak isn't an issue.

BTW, I run Flowtech Afterburners. They went on easy and all the plugs are easy to change. Only fitment problem was the tranny shift linkage with the tube for cylinder #7. I haven't noticed anything being any hotter, but I do have carpet. :confused:
 
Interesting... How could yours be so different from mine? I can EASILY get to every plug with my Thorleys and Trick Flow angle plug heads. Standard plug length too. At least as easily as with the manifolds. Maybe the heads make a difference?
 
I think the stock interior is pretty important in the effects of heat and noise. I ran my truck with manifolds and duals without interior carpeting/sound deadening/heat blocking stuff, then added the headers with same setup post-header. Like I mentioned, no difference in noise or heat between the two, but lack of carpet etc. DOES make a difference compared to having it.
 
I believe the head exhaust surface should be in the same place for all of them.

When I talked to Hedman about my application and its interference with the shackles, they basically told me it was because the truck was lifted (its not, the setup is stock) and that was it. I would hope that as complaints/suggestions come in, when feasible, changes are made to the design to "improve" it. I'm sure all the major manufacturers make them in "runs", and until that production lot is gone, nothing changes.
 
dyeager535 said:
When I talked to Hedman about my application and its interference with the shackles, they basically told me it was because the truck was lifted (its not, the setup is stock) and that was it.
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Thats like when a shop told me a body lift effects driveshaft angle :surepal:

I would tell a company that made a stupid statement like that to suck a nut :grin:
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dontoe said:
Drivers side is on..................I don't like the Doug Thorley's worth a crap!!!

Took longer too get the frigging spark plugs in than it did to mount the frigging headers. Have to do a little research and find some quality headers that still provide access to the spark plugs removal and replacement.
Click to expand...

hmmm... here's an idea... take that silly header wrap off. a) its going to cook a set of very not-cheap headers unnecesarily, and b) do you think its gonna give you more space just because you wrapped the silly stuff around there and make the plugs easier to get to? NO! it takes up space, just like anything else.
 
b) do you think its gonna give you more space just because you wrapped the silly stuff around there and make the plugs easier to get to
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The wrap didn't affect the clearance any. It's the routing of the pipes. Might be because they are relatively old style. I bought them about eight years ago and had them put up because of the emmision laws on my '82 K-10's. I'm gonna get some that are easier to change the plugs. The more modern Thorley ones might do that. I think I'll see if it ruins them and replace them this summer/fall with a friendlier design.
 
i have a cheap set of autozone flowtechs, plug acess is great. a plug socket and a short extention and i can get to every plug easily.
 
Are you running headers on a 4x4? My heads are Edelbrock's with Thorley ceramic headers. Everything is great with these headers except the tube location by the plugs. I've run angle plug heads in a car without any problems. If you're running yours in the 91 that's listed in your profile do you have the part number? Might be that I was shipped the wrong set...
 
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