Unless you have an alterkation K frame those are the wrong headers.
A stock K frame needs D453
Best fitting headers
- Thread starter dannydart360
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Unless you have an alterkation K frame those are the wrong headers.
A stock K frame needs D453
dannydart360
Member
Will do. Having shop install I'll take pictures if I can. Will post finished product and any problems they might have had.
dannydart360
Member
The Petronix web page calls for D455 and states the D453 will not fit.
dannydart360
Member
Go to the catalog and read the footnotes. Install those on a factory K frame and you may be owing a shop a ton of money + down time for your car.
D453 fit the car with PS and factory K frame. The catalog and summit fit guide have been wrong for about 2 decades regarding D453.
1973 with D453's
D453 fit the car with PS and factory K frame. The catalog and summit fit guide have been wrong for about 2 decades regarding D453.
1973 with D453's
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Throw up all the pics you want. The website's wrong.
Sold enough stuff over the years to know when things aren't right...
dannydart360
Member
Not saying you are wrong, sent them an e-mail and they should say this on their website. Thanks would be a nightmare.
You do you... not my time or money with the shop.
I've had discussions with management 15+ years ago before petronix bought them out. They never fixed it. Sent the rep pictures of a dozen 73-76 cars with D453's on them. Same wrong fitment on the site/catalog to this day.
I've had discussions with management 15+ years ago before petronix bought them out. They never fixed it. Sent the rep pictures of a dozen 73-76 cars with D453's on them. Same wrong fitment on the site/catalog to this day.
dannydart360
Member
Thank you, they will be going back.
He's not. Geez, it's right up there in the footnotes. Be careful of the answer you get, too. Those people don't know squat about what they're selling.
Exactly. The “applications list” and cross references have been wrong about the 73+ cars and the D453’s since well before I bought mine, and that was like a decade ago now
I think it's been wrong since the info was put on the net. This has come up a good bit.
Yep. Installed Headman's in my 69 Dart, La 4 speed without denting them. I did take about an 1 1/2 out of the steering Colum collar because it was touching.
Yeah, those style headers ain't the devil everybody says they are. I've run several sets with zero problems. If I had ONE complaint, it's that on some fitments, two tubes will rattle against the torsion bars. But two big prybars to pry them apart just a little bit will solve that. As long as you use a stock height or taller front tire and don't ride the front in the weeds ghetto style, they won't scrub.
I like the stamped collectors too. No pfft from the exhaust!
D453's on my '76 360 Duster spool mounts. no ding needed, fit like a glove. I have a Dakota starter, changed it once without removing the header. 20 minute job
lol. The header flanges on my Doug’s are -3.5” off the ground, and at full suspension compression probably only -1”.
Hedman’s wouldn’t survive a single grocery store parking lot speed bump on my car.
If your car rides high and your roads are smooth I suppose they’re fine, but if you don’t like the 4x4 look they’re not a good choice.
And that's cool. Remember, not all of us like the lowered look. There's something to be said for a stance like this. I think your taste in cars is cool, but it's not for everyone.
Factory Hemi Orange: 1970 Dodge Dart Swinger 340/4-Speed
Learn more about Factory Hemi Orange: 1970 Dodge Dart Swinger 340/4-Speed on Bring a Trailer, the home of the best vintage and classic cars online.
bringatrailer.com
Somewhat subjective... The Darts on 205/70/14's up front with the nose down and no issues.
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To each their own for sure, but that car is higher than the factory setting, I promise you. And I can assure you it handles terribly, even compared to factory, because its alignment settings have to be absolute trash at that altitude. I get not everyone drives their car all over the place and putt-ing down to the local show is more than enough for lots of folks, but that things a 4x4.
And actually, a perfect example of cheap headers. I don't know what's going on in this picture, the wheels seem to be on the ground but the suspension is almost at full extension and the car appears to be VERY high off the ground. I don't see any stands or lift arms but good grief that has to be up on something, you wouldn't need to lift it to do an oil change. Anyway, you can see how low those under the steering link headers are on the driver's side. Even just looking at the passenger side, which don't go below the steering link, shows how much clearance you lose with that header design.
This is the underside of my Duster, those are 12 ton stands by the way so you get a feeling for how high that Dart is in the picture above. My suspension is at full extension obviously, although it's not as extended as a factory suspension because of some of the changes I've made, it's probably about an inch higher. The angle of the picture is a bit different so you can't see that the header tubes on the Doug's because they're higher than the flanges that you can see. Those cheap headers give up INCHES of ground clearance. And even at factory height that's not inconsequential.
You do you, but I think these pictures show exactly why the Hedman and under the steering link headers are so cheap. The Doug's are a much better design, and in this case you get what you pay for.
Nothing subjective about it, I listed the measurements. Now you don't have to run that low, but, the measurements on the headers are not subjective. The tubes on the Hedman's go under the steering link and are lower than the header flange on a set of Doug's, whereas the header flange is the lowest part of the Doug's headers. You can see exactly the differences in the pictures above.
If you drive your car in the real world and you don't run at stock ride height, the tubes on the Hedman's that go under the steering link end up smashed flat and you get to pay for the cheap headers and then a good set to replace them. Always cheaper to do it right the first time.
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I know it's higher than factory. I like that. You like um lower than factory. That's cool too. One's not better than the other. Just different. There's more to this hobby than canyon carvin. I like that stuff too, but I like to just cruise more.
I ran the cookie cutter under the centerlink headers for years as that was all I could afford and the first good bump and the tubes would crush....I agree the Doug's we ran in my son's 73 360 Duster were the best fitting.
But I'd like to see a dyno test before and after squished headers. I remember seeing a GTX with one of the primary tubes beat to heck to clear the power steering box and thought OMG. The owner said the engine was fine, and I've read here that smashing those tubes didn't hurt performance. Now Im sure a big hp engine may show a loss with a smaller tube but I'm thinking a 400 hp engine it won't hurt as much if any. It'd be nice to see a dyno pull with a new set and a smashed set!
Maybe it's not such a big deal?
But I'd like to see a dyno test before and after squished headers. I remember seeing a GTX with one of the primary tubes beat to heck to clear the power steering box and thought OMG. The owner said the engine was fine, and I've read here that smashing those tubes didn't hurt performance. Now Im sure a big hp engine may show a loss with a smaller tube but I'm thinking a 400 hp engine it won't hurt as much if any. It'd be nice to see a dyno pull with a new set and a smashed set!
Maybe it's not such a big deal?
abodyjoe
Well-Known Member
that 4x4 look is higher then stock it seems..
had headman on my yellow dart many years ago.. its was stock height and those damn thing hit everything.. i still cringe at some dips in the road where they used to hit even though this car has manifolds..lol maybe if i had 1" + bars it would have been better... i was running the 340 bars in it at the time.
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