Maybe if you drive like Mario Andretti. I've run several sets and never had an issue. I'd run them again.
Headers that dont break the bank
- Thread starter 74@scamp
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On the Dusters/Demons I ran the Hedman's, Cyclones', and other cheap sets. Steering arms going through the headers, a pain to change 5 & 7 plugs and run the wires, and to put the header bolt in. Terrible around the starter, and hung low. For a rotten 250 more bucks I went to Doug's and WOW! Every one of those issues went away. All of them. I put a mini starter in my Duster in 15 minutes WITHOUT removing the header. The flanges are almost twice as thick as the cheapies giving better seal to the header gaskets. Just absolutely no comparison whatsoever. 2 sets of Dougs installed on my last two Dusters. Never again with a Duster will I do the cheapies, and I'm captain cheap !!!
mopowers
Well-Known Member
I had a cheap set on a Duster I had in high school. The car sat at stock ride height with stock size tires. Those headers bounced off every speed bump I ever went over. It sucked ***. I'd just stick with manifolds if a set of Dougs wasn't in the budget.
abodyjoe
Well-Known Member
i had hookers and headmans on my yellow dart. just normal driving around they hit. maybe the roads by you are better but around here a nice little dip in the road at the speed limit those bitches hit. only ones that didn't hit were the cars that sat high with a taller tire. stock height and suspension they were all smashed. probably why dougs and tri are so popular. many people had the same experience.
I just never saw it. The mod BadSport (RIP) on here had them on his Duster and never had an issue either. I know several people they've worked well for.
I had cheapie headers on a late B body in the late 80s (Cordoba), stock height and they were terrible pavement scrapers. And the 318/2.76 combo wasn't fast enough to drive crazy enough to "try" and drag the headers off the pavement, they did so on their own. The ones I had on my W150 and my D250 though were great. (Hooker super comp)
Slantsix64
Well-Known Member
I also use the summit brand no issues, just run a 70 series’s front tire and you be fine
After tti and Dougs showed up, if the hang-lo headers got bashed on my stuff, and sorry Rob, you don't have to drive like Mario for it to happen, they got to meet the sawsall. A decent gutter cut out would smash them up. I don't waste time taking those POS out.
The people in our area complained about those hang lo's in the 70's when these cars were first out. Hated them but it was the only choice at the time. My uncle owned a gas station in the area and worked on a lot of stuff. He wasn't a mopar guy and used to rag about those "headers". Mopars were the outliers and then you albatross them with the worst fitting set of headers for the majors... well done manufacturers and thanks.
The problem was that someone was lazy as **** designing those original A body headers or thought, what's the cheapest we can make these. Monkey see monkey do with all the cheapies until someone put some thought and fit considerations into the equation. I complained about those things in the early 80's to every manufacturer we carried. All deaf...
The people in our area complained about those hang lo's in the 70's when these cars were first out. Hated them but it was the only choice at the time. My uncle owned a gas station in the area and worked on a lot of stuff. He wasn't a mopar guy and used to rag about those "headers". Mopars were the outliers and then you albatross them with the worst fitting set of headers for the majors... well done manufacturers and thanks.
The problem was that someone was lazy as **** designing those original A body headers or thought, what's the cheapest we can make these. Monkey see monkey do with all the cheapies until someone put some thought and fit considerations into the equation. I complained about those things in the early 80's to every manufacturer we carried. All deaf...
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If the cheap long tubes scare you, then get some shorties. There are several part numbers on the market.
74@scamp
Well-Known Member
I think after reading through the comments I think I'm gonna look at the summit brand and get the welder out and shorten them up a little.
Good luck with that. Going to be a difficult journey.
74@scamp
Well-Known Member
Why is that? Just curious what would be so difficult about it?
Hedman 78500 is a shorty header for the A body, but I don't think it works with power steering.
It's not as simple as shortening them.
Pull up a picture of headman a body headers and a set of D453 dougs Look at the routing of the dougs compared to the headmans. You may as well stub cut them off at the flange and build all new tubes to the collector.
Pull up a picture of headman a body headers and a set of D453 dougs Look at the routing of the dougs compared to the headmans. You may as well stub cut them off at the flange and build all new tubes to the collector.
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- Joined
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Never mind, Link in post #3 works,
Thanks.
Thanks.
abodyjoe
Well-Known Member
the difference between the tti (top) and headman (bottom) in the pic but same as hooker,summit,flowtech....etc....etc...
look at how much lower teh headman is... hard to see but the tubes on the headman are dented pretty bad from hitting the damn ground on every little bump in the road around here....
look at how much lower teh headman is... hard to see but the tubes on the headman are dented pretty bad from hitting the damn ground on every little bump in the road around here....
abodyjoe
Well-Known Member
TTI in the car. look how nich and tucked up they are...
abodyjoe
Well-Known Member
here ya go.. this shows the real difference...
top tti, middle dougs, bottom blue motor is all the rest.
dougs and tti are easy to get to #5 and #7 plugs and look at the difference at how high the dougs and tti are compared to the cheap bottom ones..
top tti, middle dougs, bottom blue motor is all the rest.
dougs and tti are easy to get to #5 and #7 plugs and look at the difference at how high the dougs and tti are compared to the cheap bottom ones..
abodyjoe
Well-Known Member
the ease of getting to the plugs is something i didn't know about until i installed a pair of tti's. it was an added bonus for me.. so much nicer...
top pic tti
bottom pic all the cheap headers.
top pic tti
bottom pic all the cheap headers.
abodyjoe
Well-Known Member
in the end only you can decide what to run... will low hanging stuff work? sure but it may annoy the hell out of you like it has for many over the decades..... if it were me i'd sell ****, work OT and just save until i had the money for something that wasn't going to annoy me and hurt my driving experience by hitting the ground on just about any little dip in the road....
you can also go with a set of 340 manifolds.. not exactly the cheapest way out but you can find decent deals out there from time to time.. the later ones seem to fetch a little less money then the early ones...
you can also go with a set of 340 manifolds.. not exactly the cheapest way out but you can find decent deals out there from time to time.. the later ones seem to fetch a little less money then the early ones...
340sFastback
Well-Known Member
I ran cheap hooker headers on my small block back in the 80s. The two tubes that hung low got dented at stock ride height. Also had to dent several tubes to get them to fit. And then the fun of changing two rear plugs on drivers side. I ran 90 degree boots on those two plugs to keep wires from burning. Then more fun trying to get them to seal to the heads. And more fun dealing with muffler shop idiots who said pipes laying up against frame rails isn't a problem?
You might have to adjust engine position to get long tube headers to clear. My TTIs fit with zero denting but I had to run spacers / shims between motor mounts and K Frane to raise engine some.
You might have to adjust engine position to get long tube headers to clear. My TTIs fit with zero denting but I had to run spacers / shims between motor mounts and K Frane to raise engine some.
B3422w5
Well-Known Member
Doug’s, as has been already mentioned, is the right answer.high quality, fit great, excellent power, and if you look around, very reasonably priced.
And to somebody above who said.. I will just by cheapies now and replace them with good ones later… no you won’t. It’s a pain in the arse, and it’s the last thing you will ever upgrade in a typical streetcar once you installed headers in the first place.
And to somebody above who said.. I will just by cheapies now and replace them with good ones later… no you won’t. It’s a pain in the arse, and it’s the last thing you will ever upgrade in a typical streetcar once you installed headers in the first place.
It’s amazing. I’ve been running headers that guys say hit and drag on everything. Oil pans too.
Yet none of my **** is smashed.
They can’t drive or don’t pay attention or whatever.
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