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Exhaust Recommendations?

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climbingmadman2000

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Howdy - My '73 needs a new exhaust system and I'm looking for recommendations. It's got headers and dual exhaust on it now..the headers appear not to fit right (some bozo took a hammer to them to get them to fit around the spark plugs :confused: ), and the tubing wasn't run well.

Two questions: First, what header/exhaust system would you all suggest? I've heard that both Hooker and Heddman make decent headers. I'm considering dual Flowmasters with a crossover, but I'm open to suggestions.

Second, for anyone in the SF Bay Area, can you suggest a good shop to do the work?

Thanks,

Eric
 
I've heard that Babes is pretty good. It's on The Alameda in SJ/Santa Clara (I forget which).
 
Headers

I've run Hedmen on a couple different small blocks in trucks, and i like them. I've heard good things about Hooker headers. I dont know on there prices, but I think hedmens are pretty reasonable for price.

What kind of mufflers are you running now? I've always run duals with glasspacks, but thats my preference. Flow masters with a crossover sounds like a good setup, probably a good rumble :D
 
Doug Thorley Headers with Collector Eleminators, Dual 2-1/4" with 50's (40's rumble a little to much for me), Crossover helps cut down on noise and still lets the exhaust sound good when you punch it....
 
One tip for you on buying the headers is find out how thick the flange is. Dynomax is thin (3/16 of an inch) and will bend and deform giving you leaks, 1/4 inch is good 3/8 is better
George
 
stay away from edelbrock tes headers. spark plug access is impossible.

for mufflers, flowmaster is for sound, magnaflow is for performance. i believe mudfrog sells both.
 
Ive used Dynomax and I loved them. They were a good tubing size and nicely routed. They were ceramic coated and they did not blue. Somewhere around $260.
 
On a slightly massaged 350 I'm running Dynomax headers (wrapped) and super turbos with 2.5 stainless pipes & H pipe. Works good on my Truck but it's not for everyone.
 
Would it be worth doing this project in stages? For example, I *know* the headers leak, but if the exhaust is in decent shape, is it worth hooking new headers up to the existing pipes? Could save me a decent chunk of change...


AND, if I wanted to go super cheap, can I successfully block off the AIR injection ports and install new header-to-head gaskets to take care of the leaks?

I don't wanna go super cheep...but my checkbook tells me that I should at least consider the possibility that I may not be rock-star-rich. Stoopid checkbook.
 
Can you get pipes welded? Do you have tools to cut exhaust tubing?

If you can weld, or have someone weld for you, and have access to tools to cut pipe, you can at least hook up what is there to say, new headers.

click on exhaust1.jpg Shows where I cut my stock exhaust with a sawz-all.

I didn't take pictures after that apparently, but I just went to Napa, and bought a few pieces of pipe that were flared on one end to slip over existing pipe, and then two 45* "exhaust turn downs" for each side (duals) and had the 45* ends welded together to clear the crossmember. Had the end that mates to the header welded to that piece, then slipped that piece over the stock pipe, and had THAT welded in place.

I'm a big fan of leaving as much of the stock stuff in place as possible, or at least utilizing the brackets for exhaust that are already there from the factory, as it is much better designed (stout) than any aftermarket stuff I've seen. In my case I used diesel exhaust hangars on both side for duals, but you could probably do similar with single exhaust.
 
IMLAO dyno max or should i say dyno craps suck. the flanges are thin and the coating easyly chips and develops pimples really quick.
http://www.stansheaders.com/
if you have the money and want a good set of headers go to
http://www.stansheaders.com/ they also offer a shorty type header the eliminate drive shaft and sprong shackel issues. a set of coated headers with 1/4" flanges on each end should cost ya close to $500.
 
Heddman Elite

I just installed a set of wrapped Heddman Elite headers on my '90 'Burban 350 4x4. They are made with 3/8" flanges, 14 ga. tubing and a nice thermal paint job that doesn't just burn off the first time you start it up. I don't know if it's a ceramic type coating or not. However, they hang too low, and clearance for the front shackle bolts is an issue. Clearance for the front driveshaft is great, though.

I first attempted to install a set of Flowtech headers, and they fit horribly, drivers side ran into the tranny shift linkage, Passenger side collector would have had front driveshaft clearance issues. They were supposed to fit my truck...

I am building the tubing myself out of some 180* Mandrel bends from summit ($17/ea) and using dual 2.5" high flow cats and dual Hooker Aerochamber mufflers. I am exiting in front of the rear wheels because I am too lazy and poor to deal with constructing the bends to go over the rear axle. I think either the Hooker Aerochamber or Maxflow mufflers are the best deal for the money, and they flow very well compared to Blowmasters.

I installed a set of Hooker comp headers on my '74 K20 Big Block, and this was the best, easiest header install I have ever done. All clearances were great, good construction and price, I will probably stick with Hooker in the future, but the Thorley tri-y looks interesting, and I've heard good things about them...

Good luck with your exhaust, I have some mufflers to go hang today.
 
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