Anyone used these headers?

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tomcopbar

tomcopbar

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Im looking for an easier way to have headers on a mild engine and happened across these 'tight tubes' Hedman says they fit, I am wondering if anyone can vouch for that... If they work they will go into a '71 Dart, 318-904 column shifted.
http://www.jegs.com/i/Hedman/500/78500/10002/-1
Hedman also states that you need a mini-starter. Is a dakota starter considered mini? Or might this Powermaster be small enough?
http://www.jegs.com/i/Powermaster/713/9300/10002/-1

Any help is greatly appreciated, I am working odd hours for a while and havent been able to call JEGS/summit/manufacturer.
by the way, how is the service/knowledge on the tech lines for mopar items?
 
I think I remember reding that those headers have a super tight clearance issue on the drivers side. I'm not to sure about that, I'd wait for tjose that have had them there headers.

A Dakota starter would considered a mini.

The MP tech line can have it's up's and downs since the person answering can change. On a norm, I have found them very very good. But not a know it all place since everyone has something different and non MoPar parts on there car.

I did know one ex-tech line guy. WOW! He was full of answers. However, like I said, when it came to non-Mopar parts mixing with MoPar parts, he would need help with the parts diamentions or applications and other such info.

The MP line is very focused on there parts, not other manufactures parts.
 
These headers will fit the engine, but they were made for street rod applications. I think the problem is on the drivers side because the collector and the steering box want to occupy the same space. I could be wrong, but I haven't seen center dump anything on the drivers side of an A body that worked.
 
rumblefish and grumpus, thanks, those are precisely the reasons i am waiting on an answer, in the intructions for installing the headers it says at the top they fit a, b and e bodies.
http://www.hedman.com/products/Default.asp
i thought maybe it was to good to be true, you know, minimal clearance issues, installing from above and not underneath, not needing the car a mile off the ground, and not having the cost of tti's. o well, you can have headers or steering, im leaning towards the former.
 
tomcopbar said:
rumblefish and grumpus, thanks, those are precisely the reasons i am waiting on an answer, in the intructions for installing the headers it says at the top they fit a, b and e bodies.
http://www.hedman.com/products/Default.asp
i thought maybe it was to good to be true, you know, minimal clearance issues, installing from above and not underneath, not needing the car a mile off the ground, and not having the cost of tti's. o well, you can have headers or steering, im leaning towards the former.
Click to expand...


tomcopbar,

I Had these on my 73 Duster w/360 and 727, normal starter and had no clearance issues at all, but i also have manual steering and manual brakes.
 
That sounds good, why would they say it needed mini starter? Do they own the other company that they say to buy the starter from? I think I'll see whats going on around xmas time, spend my holiday cheque on the dart.
 
tomcopbar,

I'm running these headers on my 1970 Swinger. I'm running a 318 with a 904 column shift, I have manual steering and power brakes. I read the same literature you did, so when I went from the long tube headers to the shorties I also upgraded to the mini starter. I was happy to be rid of the old coffee can starter any way.

If you can wait a couple days I'll take some pictures so you can get an idea of how they'll fit.
 
TomCopBar
I spent a hour on the phone with headman Tech guys in August discussing the Tight Tube Headers. The guy told they will work great. I have 72 Swinger and dropped in a 340 with the tight tubes power steering and power brakes, small starter. When I took the car to the muffler shop was shown the only way to run the exhaust pipes which would make them lower than the regular headers was to go under the steering linkages on both sides. My recommendation is stay away from them unless you have a rod.
Contacted Hedman again, talked to the manager and I was able to return the headers, but he said he would definetly not recommeded those headers for my application and wasn't sure why I was told those would work.
 
As they are not going to be my permanent headers I am not very worried about how low they hang, the car is not driven that often, maybe once or twice a week, and the roads where I drive have basically all been repaved this past year. I am still pondering in my corner though, some pictures would really help but I still have until christmas to decide.
 
Sorry for the delay with the pics, I've had some health issues to deal with lately. I will certainly get the pictures this weekend at the latest... I have to pull the car out and get it ready for winter storage anyway.

BUT... if you're not worried about how low they hang then you should probably go with the long tube headers. They're cheap, and you'll get better torque than you would with the shorties.
 
Here are the pictures of my headers. I initially had long tube headers and the whole reason I went to these headers is because I wanted to lower the car and I needed the ground clearance. When I had these headers put on I gave the guy at the exhaust shop strict instructions to get me as much ground clearance as he could, and that it didn't have to look pretty.

The first picture shows that there is a lot of room between the small starter I have and the header, but not so much room between the starter and the exhaust pipe. In the second picture you'll notice that the exhaust pipe goes above the steering components. The long tube headers have 1 tube that goes below the center link, which kills the ground clearance. Notice that the pipe coming out of the header is smaller than the rest of my exhaust. He couldn't get 2.5" pipe to fit around all the steering components, so he had to go with 2.25". The third and fourth pictures show how the pipe makes a severe turn right after coming out of the header. There are also a couple pictures on the right side, but that is not as much of an issue.

These headers are good quality... they have a nice thick flange and thick wall tubing. BUT, if ground clearance is not an issue for you then go long tube. They cost about $200, they sound great, and will give you great torque. I think the ones I used to have were hookers. They weren't super high quality, but they go the job done. If clearance is an issue I would officially recommend that you to save your money and get TTI headers, but if you want to try to do it on the cheap these pictures show that it is possible!

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From those pictures the front pipes look very restricted,and a big headache,you'd be better off running exhaust manifolds..better yet at $280.00 the price of the tight tubes,and seeing as you say your not keeping them on,save your money and buy yourself a "nice" Christmas present of tti's or Dougs in the longrun you'll be glad you did.. :-D
 
I was also thinking of doing exactly that, tti's, i dont think doug's work for column autos, then again, i dont know if tti does either... but 600-750 US$ is kind of steep when my $ is .8somthing in value. plus the only reason i am looking at headers is that i want to switch the stock heads i have that came with the engine to 302 heads i have lying around, and if i do that i need to change the cam (2bbl cam, stock everything engine)to better use everything and all that stuff that goes along with the cam change etc. im still debating wether or not to get all this stuff or just take off the a/c and throw on my streetmaster 318 and the demon carb. sometimes this is a frustrating lifestyle to be involved in.
 
tti's work just fine with a column shift,thats what i have in my duster...
 
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