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New Doug's Headers came....whoopee!

Desert Rat

Desert Rat

Fetch the comfy chair
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Opted to go with the Doug's Headers over the Doug Thorley Headers. As commented in the other thread, Doug Thorley Headers was sold to another company but Doug Thorley himself opened a header business back up. These will go on my 76 Blazer w/ a 350. They are the Tri-Y ceramics. You can see they were even nice enough to put my own name on them..... :D

8443Dougs_Headers_001.jpg

8443Dougs_Headers_002.jpg

8443Dougs_Headers_003.jpg
 
Nice looking headers, everyone I've read that has bought them is really happy with them.
 
Started the install today. Got the old manifolds off but wouldn't you know it, the starter may have to be removed to get the passenger side in. It never ends....
 
You know, they always say put them in from the bottom, bu t i had pretty good luck getting them in from the top. Just a suggestion.
 
after they are mounted, id like to see some picks of where the collectors end up. i hate my dollar store headers that are on my truck now.



ryan
 
I called Doug's Headers and they referred me to another number which was the High Performance Speed Warehouse or similar name. The receipt though says J&M Speed Center in Riverside, CA. The price was $558.95 for the headers which are part number D/H-D-300-SP-C. Shipping was about $16 and with tax and everything it came to $617.66. Pricey, but I hope I never have to order another set. The quality is outstanding. The flanges are very thick and the coating looks quite good. I will post up pics when they are installed. Doug Thorley headers priced out at $620 before tax and shipping. So, I figure the DT's would've run about $682 shipped to me.
 
UPDATE on Doug's Headers

Ok, here is the dry install results. I just did a trial run and bolted them up to see how they would fit.

Top right side view

8443Right_side_top.jpg


Top left side view

8443Left_side_top.jpg


Rear view. You can see that the outlets are pretty close to being even.

8443Rear_view_1.jpg


Here is another bottom view from the side

8443Right_side_bottom.jpg


Now, here is where I ran into a problem. Seems Doug's Headers aren't immune from the problem I have seen posted time and time again about the header hitting the right rear shackle. I even cut the end of the bolt of and the header is still right up against the shackle bolt. I thought that maybe the fix would be to get shackles that were about an inch longer. However, they still move up and down and I'm concerned they would still hit the header on the up travel. I see in other posts that some folks have heated up their headers and bent them slightly over towards the center of the truck. This isn't an option for me so I will be contacting Doug's Headers to see what can be done.

8443Header_against_shackle.jpg
 
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Ok, I get a hold of the tech dept. at Doug's Headers and talk to Paul Seems that they haven't run into this much before. It kind of surprised me since I did a searh on this, and other websites, and found that lots of folks have had the problem of the passenger side header hitting the shackle, with lots of different brands of headers. So, I ask what I should do? I can't heat up the header and bend it since it is a ceramic coated one. He had two suggestions that I will try. First, is to lift the pressure off of the engine mounts, loosen up the engine mount bolts, and put pressure on the engine to move it over just slightly in the mounts then re-tighten the bolts. He said that even a slight shift in the engine might be enough to translate to the header moving a half inch or so, which is all I need. The second, barring success on the first try, is to place a long strong bar in the collector of the header. Then, put some serious pressure on the pipe to slightly bend the collector over. He said as long as the pressure isn't too much, the bending shouldn't pop any welds or ruin the ceramic coating.

I'm thinking if I do this I will put a long pipe in the end, put a come-along between the pipe and the opposite frame rail, and then slowly winch the pipe towards the frame rail until I get the position I need. Anybody else run into this problem before?
 
I used a 2x4 wedged between the frame and the header to move it over. If you let the engine warm the headers up before attempting, it will probably move easier and set better. The closer you get to the collector flange, the easier it's going to bend. I know coatings are good, but I would definitely not use anything metallic on any kind of coating, not many coatings will hold up to steel actually rubbing against them. Mine are scratched up just from install/uninstall multiple times.

I tried doing it with a come along/strap setup (so as not to mar the finish) but there is too much stretch in the straps IMO, the 2x4 just worked better, although I could have used more leverage if the truck were taller. I didn't try it heated up, as I moved it enough to clear cold. I'd probably opt for a bit more clearance just to make sure, but gotta wait until the truck does some flexing to see if thats still an issue.

I don't have my front driveshaft on to check, but it seems possible the shaft is the reason headers for the trucks seem to like the shackle so much, as constructed.
 
id like to know how it turns out. ive gatta get a completely new exhuast system before my next state inspection.
 
I'll post up the results. A suggestion a buddy made to me was to put a wood block cut to fit the pole the I will put in the end of the collector so that it isn't metal on metal, or to risk ovalling out the collector when I start pulling on it. I think that is a good idea.
 
what kind of shape are your mototr mounts in? I have a 85 k-3500 factory big block. First thing I did when I got it was to change the factory rubber motor mounts to energy suspension polys. This was mainly to relocate the engine back to where it should have been. The passanger side exhaust manifold was about a 1/2'' off the frame. The new mounts solved that.
 
I have brand new rubber mounts. I don't want to go poly because you reallyl don't want to mix poly with rubber and I have rubber mounts on the TC/Tranny mount. I thought about going poly on the TC mounts but opted for rubber and even the cheapest rubber ones aren't that inexpensive. Did you do the poly inserts into the stock metal case or complete replacement?
 
I have hedman long tubes – too close to the shackle as well. I pulled the shackle off, welded the bolt on the inside and took the bolt head off with a grinder (set it up like a stude). This only gave me a ¼ inch but everything counts…. Not the best solution but it worked somewhat for me. If it is close now it will hit when flexed. I am just not happy with any long tubes because of how low they hang and the distance to the shackle. I am going to pull my hedmans off and bolt up some shortys. I hate doing this because a paid over 350 for the hedman elites and have only ran them for a year… if you need more info on how i did my shackle, send me a PM and i will give you a call...
 
I'll let you know what happens when I try and shift the engine mounts. I'm hoping that if I shift the mounts slightly, then tighten them back down, I can get the movement in the back enough to buy me the space I need. Otherwise I may be bending them with a long pole.
 
So fix your shackle angle by relocating the top mount and get longer shackles. That gets the clearance you need, better ride, and better flex. No loose situation other than some time and a few dollars for new shackles. It's still going to be close, and the shackle it self may hit I guess, but the bolt shold be clear... Longer shackles that move the rear eye down a another 1/2 should take care of the static height clearance (if needed), and the eye will be dropping away as you droop instead of going forward and up. Hope that helps...
 
I used the poly insert in the factory shells. I am very happy with them I wouldn't use rubber again. No noticeable vibes
 
The problem with going longer, which I considered, is that the collector is about 1/4 inch or less from the side of the shackle. If I go longer, I would have some slight clearance away from the bolt, but as soon as I compress the springs and move the shackle up, it would hit anyway. I posted elsewhere asking for what years ran 700r4's. This is because I swapped in a 700r4 and then bought a new cast cover for the bottom. Since my side TC mount went away when I did the doubler, I am going to put the braces on that run from the cast cover to the engine mounts for a little extra support. So, I had to lift up the engine to put the brackets under the engine mounts at some point anyway. Now I will combine that job with seeing if I can shift the engine over slightly. I'll post up pics of the process.
 
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