EARLY A body hooker header install P/N 5208 UPDATE!

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The template they give you shows DOUBLE the size that was cut - since the motor was out it didnt need it - the hole is mainly for installation purposes

Those are pretty nice looking. What size primary tube are they ? Any clue if your gonna have tire clearance issues ?

They are super comps, and i dont know what size they are

It's not my cuda, but went over a buddies shop to have a look - see for my car - I was considering these.

The one pic that shows 2 tubes thru the inner fender is the passenger side. They are so far back there are no problems - the drivers side has 3 tubes and they are tucked back but still appear to have tire issues.

The collectors are nice and high and they seem to be a good fit

I will know better when the motor goes in!

I wonder if they would fit later cars. The long collectors are for toque and they dont seem to hang as low as other headers.

Those are some bitchin headers!

I'd reccomend ditching the 9" drums though. Shoot me an email off list and I'll give you the details on a disc brake setup for dirt cheap.

snowymountainman@yahoo.com

List? This isnt the BOG :scratch: :mrgreen:

www.scarebird.com

I have an older set of those headers. The primary tubes are 1 5/8 with a 2 1/2 collector. They get rubbed in hard turns. Everyone I know that has these has this problem, but we get over it. The instruction tell you to cut this mammoth hole in each fender but they are way oversized. Even with the engine installed. With these headers in my car I couldn't fit a oil filter in even with the 90 kit. So I opted for the remote oil filter.

Adam,

You're right! It isn't the Bog. Old habit's die hard. :oops:

If it was the bog there would be someone asking about your mullet or wanting to show/trade you his crapmaro. :wack:

That is correct ! That was kinda funny, But I couldnt let some named G machine get the last word :mrgreen:

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The tire clearence is pretty good, ALOT better then full fenderwells, the coardboard is for new sheetmetal template, to cover the holes from the template that hooker sends you ( keep in mind that the holes are 1/2 the size they recommend cutting!!?!??!)

the #2 tube will have to be unbolted, pulled out of the slip connector and laid down on the frame to be able to remove the oil filter.

the collectors are 2 1/2 " and the passengers side drops lower to accept the lopsided crossmember.

they gotta flo better then my splitfies, BUT they are a lot more work.

Looking good. I love fender well headers.

dave,
i think steve said they were 1 3/4" tubes but not sure

I bet changing the plugs will be an 'interesting' experience. They do look nice though.

Yes !!!
I like this !!!!

those fenderwell headers are lots better than they used to be:) remmeber a friend who had a bigblock dart and those headers he had was hitting every part of the engine compartment useles ground clearens and was basicly a pain in the ass..
but those on your pictures looks realy nice!

I got those on my 64 Valiant,and have been trouble free for 6 years,no leaks.The oil filter is kind of a pain,I take it out though the top between the firewall and the block.

I bet changing the plugs will be an 'interesting' experience. They do look nice though.

Was thinking the same thing myself !:scratch:

how much this headers?

Nice. A different version. Interesting configuration.

wow i had no idea it was this hard to put v8 headers in an pre 67 a body :wack: it should be intresting changing spark plugs or the oil filter :o kinda a bummer you have to hack up a good interfender but you got to do what you got to do

Ouch! Cutting those holes has gotta hurt! With all due respect, your car looks great and I bet it goes.....It's your car, do what you like, but there's no way I'd do that to my car. I would splurge for Doug's headers or deal with Spitfires before that, or buy a car that was already cut. Just my view.

What I want to know is, are there any problems associated with the headers hanging down inside the fenderwell? Like water splashing up (if you're caught in the rain) or dirt or anything else? I suppose you have to make sure tire clearance isn't a problem before you start right?

or deal with Spitfires before that?

Are they still being made? I have never seen any in real life.

Are they still being made? I have never seen any in real life.

Harold will be making them, again, right after the first of the year. I will post the contact info at that time. He works a full time job, and has a family, so production will be limited.

Hopefully he has cleaned up his business practices. There are a few in the past that have paid for headers but never received them

Is there any advantage to the fenderwell headers in performence? I have heard that the fenderwells offer more performance.

Less congested "by far", therefore, I would assume, better performance. Once you get over the first slash, it's not so bad.

Ok, looks good but do we know what the tallest tire that can be run on the front without the rubbing problem and what is the thicknest of the flanges on those headers?

Ok, looks good but do we know what the tallest tire that can be run on the front without the rubbing problem and what is the thicknest of the flanges on those headers?

If any one has them installed max tire size would be helpfull I have rulled out fenderwalls because I want a street car that will handle not a drag car so I want to run larger tire than expect will fit with fenderwalls but real info would be nice please.

the guy that has the car in the pix has a pretty small front tire, but he didnt have to change it to fit them.... they fit better then the full fenderwells, because the tubes are in the back of th ewell, away from the tire, for the most part... unfrtunately I only have pix of the car, no tire size...

http://www.abodyjoe.com/Misccars/2004%20shows/2004%20carbque/DSC00101.JPG

Don't know about the Hookers', but with the Hedman I've installed MT Sportsman on the front with no interference. THey're 15X5.5X26" high on a 3" rim.

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thanks for the replys still planing options for the 66 cuda.

I bought some fenderwells from heddman. I called them and they said just take the whole inner fender out. He said that it lets a lot of heat out of the engine bay and it's way easier. why don't you guys just do that?

-64 dart 360

I bought some fenderwells from heddman. I called them and they said just take the whole inner fender out. He said that it lets a lot of heat out of the engine bay and it's way easier. why don't you guys just do that?

-64 dart 360

KEWL idea if you live where it never rains. :wack:

If you remove the complete inner fender, what will your upper control arms attach to?

If you remove the whole inner fender, are you putting a
tubular chassis under the car, to keep the structural integrity?

These are Unibody cars, not Chevelle's; that have bolt on inner fenders.

I wonder if you talked to someone that had just
unbolted the fenders on there GM Abody. Hmmmmm.

;)

where would the shock mount?

You will lose a lot of front end strength if you remove all of the inner liner. I removed all of it in my Valiant because it is a race car and I am using the 2" primary Hedmans. I put a 12pt cage in so it would have the strength back. With the inner liners gone & with the car on stands with no drivetrain I could flex the front frame up & down by hand. The shock mount is part of the upper a-arm mount it doesn't actually mount to the inner liner. The inner liner is spotweld to the shock mount.

I've got a set of 5208s on my 66... I believe hooker advertised the primaries at 43 inches equal length. The tubes are 1 5/8 with 2 1/2 collectors. I got mine from Summit for $395.00 and then HTC ceramic coated for about $220.00... I had to call HTC twice to get all of my tubes back.

I assume you all know but TTI has a set of headers for the small bolck that go in with out any cutting. Be prepared to pull torsion bars and steering assembly. They are clean looking headers.

I installed these Hooker Super Comp's on my 66 Valiant, they fit very good. On the driverside the front pipe is close to the steering shaft coupler, wish I would have checked that during mock up cause it rubs a little as you turn. It nneds a small ding for clearance. I run 15x4 rims with 5.60 rubber and have no clearance issues. Plus, the WOW factor is cool, gotta love the "old school" look!! :glasses2:

I use to run those hookers for many years,,before ceramic coating arrived they were only aluminum coated,,,
we experimented on a junk car to find the smallest hole needed to cut on the inner fender well ,as dave states the templet hooker gives you is way to big of a hole,,we cut a small hole,,jacked up the car pretty high,,removed the tires and as we put the headers in we twirled the headers as we slid them down,,was a very small hole compared to the templet,,

as for spark plug changing,,there is a spark plug tool you can buy at most parts stores,,back in the day they sold them for changing plugs in VW,s tee handle with a swivel on the end and a socket attached,,,worked great,,
also the car was a 4 speed with a lake wood scatter shield the only clearance problems at that time were the passenger side torsion bar cros member we notched it to match the drivers side...the headers in dvj pics seem to have the passenger side reworked to point a little lower then the cross member..all in all a decent set of headers if you dont mind cutting,,,

i currently have custom headers,,, I Saved the pieces of innewr fender well i cut out ,,saved them for years,,and are now welded back in,,,

Ouch!! I hope the HP is worth the trouble. They do look good, and I guess early A options are somewhat limited. I carry stock 273 manifolds on my 65 cuda with the 340, but I'm loosing a good 50 horses without headers. Any suggestions? I'll agree TTI has a good setup, but $450 each is way out of my range.

There's also the Doug's headers for the early A, but they're about the same price as the TTI's. Somebody on the forum had a friend who could order them & was giving a pretty good price a few months ago. Don't remember who it was. If the offer is still good they'll probably say something here or a search would probably find them.

I ran these for years on a 340 motor in my '65 Barracuda. I cut the wells with anair chisel and a "rooster claw" bit, looked like a spade bit with a tooth in the middle, made a nice cut, get your earplugs out! They worked great but I HAD to run a remote oil filter as the loose filter couldnt be pulled out. Maybe with a dinky one, but a good HP1-A looked nice up on the inner fender and made filter changes a 5 minute job. My problem was the flange was drilled about 1/4 inch too low. I could never keep a header gasket in there for more than about 100 miles as the ports overlapped in one place about 2 mm, enough for a guaranteed burn out. I sent the burned gaskets to Mr. Gasket and they said the things were drilled wrong and would need the receipt to fix, trouble is they were 7 years old at that time. I ran a 205/70R15 and rubbed at full tilt. I wrapped them after I blasted them once to keep rust to a minimum as it was a weekend car at most. 340 logs work great if you can get then to fit, grind a little if you have power steering. Lot less headache than headers and you dont lose any if on a stock motor, you actually gain a few ft/lbs with a log down low.

There's also the Doug's headers for the early A, but they're about the same price as the TTI's. Somebody on the forum had a friend who could order them & was giving a pretty good price a few months ago. Don't remember who it was. If the offer is still good they'll probably say something here or a search would probably find them.

Got an e-mail asking about the TTI's I have. I have some TTI's for sale but another member is interested to the point we have discussed meeting when I go down to FF. I'll call him to make sure he's still interested. If not then they will still be available. No money has changed hands as of yet.

I ran these for years on a 340 motor in my '65 Barracuda. I cut the wells with anair chisel and a "rooster claw" bit, looked like a spade bit with a tooth in the middle, made a nice cut, get your earplugs out! They worked great but I HAD to run a remote oil filter as the loose filter couldnt be pulled out. Maybe with a dinky one, but a good HP1-A looked nice up on the inner fender and made filter changes a 5 minute job. My problem was the flange was drilled about 1/4 inch too low. I could never keep a header gasket in there for more than about 100 miles as the ports overlapped in one place about 2 mm, enough for a guaranteed burn out. I sent the burned gaskets to Mr. Gasket and they said the things were drilled wrong and would need the receipt to fix, trouble is they were 7 years old at that time. I ran a 205/70R15 and rubbed at full tilt. I wrapped them after I blasted them once to keep rust to a minimum as it was a weekend car at most. 340 logs work great if you can get then to fit, grind a little if you have power steering. Lot less headache than headers and you dont lose any if on a stock motor, you actually gain a few ft/lbs with a log down low.

Why did you have to cut with Dougs headers?

Why did you have to cut with Dougs headers?


sorry, wrong thread!!!

it is a pain to

I'd really like to see the pics of the install. I guess this thread is old and the pics have been taken down. Are they on a "webshots" account or somewhere for viewing?

No more pics?

think they were on another sites gallery and when they upgraded the site all the pics were deleted.

from a while ago. I went to a 451 and sold these headers, now Im going back to a 360 and need them again!
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:bball: :supz: :wav:

Im building a 402 stroker and wonder if the 1 5/8 tubes are going to work for me. the 2.5 collector seems a little puny, but I always overestimate exhaust size. Anyone run a healthy 340/360/40x motor with these and think they are too small?

I need help finding headers for a Early-A(66 Dart)with a stroker with Eddy RPM heads.I was trying to stay away from the fenderwell ones,but it looks like I,m gonna need bigger than 1 5/8 primaries(need 1 3/4 or bigger)Does anybody make partial fenderwells?How,s the fit and tire rubbing?Any help would be appreaciated.Thanks

i believe TTI now makes a set of step tube headers for the early A,,, if not hooker 5208 are 1 5/8,,should be plenty for a street car,, i used them many years ago,,

For the money they get for the Hookers you could get the TTIs or the Dougs & have some left over.

For the money they get for the Hookers you could get the TTIs or the Dougs & have some left over.

why,,, what is the cost of hookers these days??? from what ive read the TTI and DOUGS prices are out of control,,,

custom headers is the way to go if you can efford it

why,,, what is the cost of hookers these days??? from what ive read the TTI and DOUGS prices are out of control,,,

custom headers is the way to go if you can efford it

Summit wants $904.95 for the Hooker 5208s. They get $859.95 for the Dougs & the TTIs were around $775 last I checked. I think that's for the coated version of each set.

Summit wants $904.95 for the Hooker 5208s. They get $859.95 for the Dougs & the TTIs were around $775 last I checked. I think that's for the coated version of each set.

wooooow hard to imagine hookers are that expensive,,,i paid less then 300 bucks im sure,, but that was in the mid 1980s and crfemec coating didnt even exsist,,,back then the hot coating to have was sprayed on alumia coat,,,and it was ugly,,,,for around 80 bucks

Well I,m exchanging the Dougs 1 5/8 for some Hedmans fenderwell 1 7/8 part # HED-75110-66 these are ceramic coated and not cheap,but hey neither is the 408 with ported Eddy heads.These will help it breath down the track!

I am running 7.10X15 front tires, but I did stretch the front part of the wheelwell.

5208hkr's are still $552 on Amazon and there is are 2 sets on craigslist for 300 and 550 in CA., set of Dougs too but he wants 600.

Changing the spark plugs on the Hooker fenderwell headers in my 64 Signet are fairly easy for 7 of them but next to last plug on passenger side makes you cuss. I have had these particular headers on 2 of my vehicles and this one been on over 10 of the 20 something years I've owned it. Putting another engine it it next weekend, will have photos then.

I believe Hooker also makes a 1/78" tubes in the Fenderwell but that may be for the W2, oh well check it out

Hedman makes a few sizes, the big ones are for W2 heads and the hooker primaries are 1 5/8 with a 2.5 collector.

All of the old installation pics are gone. Anyone have any good ones? Maybe a pic of the holes in fenderwells with the headers off. also exhaust setup.


Thanks,
Mike

All of the old installation pics are gone. Anyone have any good ones? Maybe a pic of the holes in fenderwells with the headers off. also exhaust setup.


Thanks,
Mike

i dont have any pics,,but installed 2 sets of hooker 5208 on 2 early A cars,, there is a diagram in the box of where to cut the inner fender,, a rather large hole,,,

larger then needed we experimented and started out with a smaller hole,,, jack the car up as high as you can get it,,remove the front tires,,,start the hole down at the bottom just above the frame rail,,,enlargening it till its just big enough to twist the header in,,,spinning or snaking it in will allow for a much smaller hole in the fender well,,not al the tubes go thru the fender well on the hookers,, you do not have to cut the inner fender up as high as the instructions say,,,, they fit with a 4 speed also,,,

I'm looking for those headers for my '68.
Where did you find them and how much??
Any installation issues?

I think early a headers are 66 and earlier a bodys. You will do well with the 67 thru 76 headers providing you are running a smallblock. You can get them for $175 all day long thru summit, jegs, ebay, etc.

yes the term early A is 1962 thru 1966
1967 and up A bodies are a wider engine bay,and many more choices for headers

Anyone have the original pictures of this install? They aren't hosted anymore but I'm intersted in seeing them.

they were several years old and my old HD crashed... you can try archives.org - they did it with the spitfire post but i am not sure how

I have a 64 Dodge Dart GT that had the fenderwell headers installed in the 1980 s. The guy that originally bought them and installed them said that he bought them from direct connection and look very different from the ones I ve seen here. I ll try to post a couple of pics. I think Ill have to fix the ones I have. My fenderwells rise high then about staight down and I had to make my own collector for clearance and angle for the 2 1/2 inch pipes.

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The template they give you shows DOUBLE the size that was cut - since the motor was out it didnt need it - the hole is mainly for installation purposes
Found the pix -

http://www.dodgecoronet.com/gallery/albums/userpics/DSCN4555.JPG
http://i932.photobucket.com/albums/ad164/DJVJR75/Hooker%205208/DSCN4556.jpg
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The tire clearence is pretty good, ALOT better then full fenderwells, the coardboard is for new sheetmetal template, to cover the holes from the template that hooker sends you ( keep in mind that the holes are 1/2 the size they recommend cutting!!?!??!)

the #2 tube will have to be unbolted, pulled out of the slip connector and laid down on the frame to be able to remove the oil filter.

the collectors are 2 1/2 " and the passengers side drops lower to accept the lopsided crossmember.

they gotta flo better then my splitfies, BUT they are a lot more work.
...

I paid under 300 for the Hooker 5208 when I bought them in the 80's, they been on 3 of my Valiants and now in the Signet since 1989 and its been through 4 engines. Never rusted and they are made in Mexico, couple small dents but what the heck..
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I never have a problem with the installation of them and that's cause I've had them so long. My setup has 2 1/2" straight pipes after the headers straight back to Supertrapps under the rear valance.