Headers!

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doopdoop67

doopdoop67

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I just got my 67 dart running and driving. Now it’s time for exhaust so I thinking I’m going to put headers on my 318. Any recommendations? I’d like something that won’t be super expensive. Under $300 wold be best.
 
Hooker headers, they have a tighter exhaust port to seal against the smaller 318 exhaust ports , they are a 318/360 app
Hedmans are on the big side, they will leak out the bottoms most definitely and are for 340/360 exhaust ports only, even lifting them up ends with minor leaks underneath.

The catch, if you have later yr heads that have the air injection boss aka more sealing surface...it helps. More than likely you'll have to lift and adjust the headers when torquing them down to get it lined up with enough lower port surface to clamp against

TTI sells a expensive set with the 318 flange that will seal guaranteed.
 
I've had a set cheap Summit headers that I worked just fine. 11-5 on the dragstrip and no road rash.
2 tricks I've learned with these cheap headers that make them work and last. First by the good $36 thick carbon gaskets. And I raise my torsion bars just a little bit not crazy like Jack it up to the sky but just a little higher than stock to keep them up off the ground. And the obvious don't go jumping around like Dukes of Hazzard over railroad traction crap like that or you will hit them on the ground.
 
MOPAROFFICIAL said:
Hooker headers, they have a tighter exhaust port to seal against the smaller 318 exhaust ports , they are a 318/360 app
Hedmans are on the big side, they will leak out the bottoms most definitely and are for 340/360 exhaust ports only....
Click to expand...
I ran into this exact problem with $$ Hooker 5208s. Made for the narrow a and the application says 273-360 but I think they are more suited for the 273/318 port size as my 340 was always blowing the bottoms out of the header gaskets and finally pulled one and checked the blow out to the flange prints and determined that the exhaust ports were larger than the "ground o-ring" sealing surface of the header flange. Boo Hooker! Either you drilled mine too low or your flanges dont fit small port heads.
 
IMO
a stock 318 will not benefit much with headers. Firstly the overlap period is only 20* and the valves at those degrees are barely open. And secondly, you didn't mention 4bbl or gears, so I'm guessing this will be a low-rpm engine, and a low exhaust gas output.
So even if you got a couple, or a few, horsepower, out of the deal, it wouldn't be until up in the high 3000s nearing 4000 rpm; so say 40mph with 2.7s. Headers might help the torque output tho from stall-rpm to maybe early/mid 3000s........ but so would HO manifolds with way less hassles.
But if you are planning gears and a 4bbl, well then put me on ignore,lol. But again not much of a power-booster, and not until the engine is really cranking.
The duals tho,with free-flowing mufflers, would be a good improvement.
IMO
I think, if it was my $300, I'd sooner put it into gears or a Torque Convertor. Those will give you way more bang for the buck.
My teener came alive with a 2800. And 3.55s brought the TM up 30% over the 2.73s that were in it, and accordingly the action started 30% sooner. Actually even better than that, cuz now it actually spun the 245 tires.
Those early 9.2cr engines make pretty good torque, having more low-rpm performance than a low-compression 360 2bbl. Meaning; it doesn't take much to wake them up, and 3.55s is plenty.
If you have an early 904, the stall on those is already about 2200. So I would do gears first.
>In your case, with the 9.2/2200 teener combo; I think I would do the upgrades in this order; gears/Suregrip, 4bbl, tires, headers/dual exhaust, stall, small-cam.
>But if you have an 8.0 low-C teener with a 2000TC, then; gears, stall, tires, HO manifolds/dual exhaust, 4bbl, SureGrip, no cam unless it would be a solid flat-tappet, and with about the same net-ICA, hardly worth the cash and time for the 15hp or so that you might get.
I know you didn't ask but I know how much it hurts when I spend money and the improvement is disappointing.
Happy HotRodding

Ps; you can tell which 318 you have, by a compression test
and which year trans by the PN stamped on the passenger side pan-rail.
 
Last edited:
After crushing many sets of Hooker super comps, I went back to exhaust manifolds...

However I helped a friend build an engine with Doug's headers and they were worth trying... Wait until they are on sale or big discount to get them to save a couple hundred...
 
AJ/FormS said:
IMO
a stock 318 will not benefit much with headers. Firstly the overlap period is only 20* and the valves at those degrees are barely open. And secondly, you didn't mention 4bbl or gears, so I'm guessing this will be a low-rpm engine, and a low exhaust gas output.
So even if you got a couple, or a few, horsepower, out of the deal, it wouldn't be until up in the high 3000s nearing 4000 rpm; so say 40mph with 2.7s. Headers might help the torque output tho from stall-rpm to maybe early/mid 3000s........ but so would HO manifolds with way less hassles.
But if you are planning gears and a 4bbl, well then put me on ignore,lol. But again not much of a power-booster, and not until the engine is really cranking.
The duals tho,with free-flowing mufflers, would be a good improvement.
IMO
I think, if it was my $300, I'd sooner put it into gears or a Torque Convertor. Those will give you way more bang for the buck.
My teener came alive with a 2800. And 3.55s brought the TM up 30% over the 2.73s that were in it, and accordingly the action started 30% sooner. Actually even better than that, cuz now it actually spun the 245 tires.
Those early 9.2cr engines make pretty good torque, having more low-rpm performance than a low-compression 360 2bbl. Meaning; it doesn't take much to wake them up, and 3.55s is plenty.
If you have an early 904, the stall on those is already about 2200. So I would do gears first.
>In your case, with the 9.2/2200 teener combo; I think I would do the upgrades in this order; gears/Suregrip, 4bbl, tires, headers/dual exhaust, stall, small-cam.
>But if you have an 8.0 low-C teener with a 2000TC, then; gears, stall, tires, HO manifolds/dual exhaust, 4bbl, SureGrip, no cam unless it would be a solid flat-tappet, and with about the same net-ICA, hardly worth the cash and time for the 15hp or so that you might get.
I know you didn't ask but I know how much it hurts when I spend money and the improvement is disappointing.
Happy HotRodding

Ps; you can tell which 318 you have, by a compression test
and which year trans by the PN stamped on the passenger side pan-rail.
Click to expand...
Bullcrap headers will be an improvement.
 
For a street driver leave the manifolds on. Headers on an A body are a pain it the a$$. If you really just gotta have headers do yourself a favor and spend the money on GOOD headers. Next will be mufflers, then tailpipes, ect. Buy a good complete system and be done with it. TTI or Accurate Exhaust make great stuff that fits and doesn't leak or hang low but trust me your not gonna go it for 300 bucks.
 
Last edited:
AJ/FormS said:
IMO
a stock 318 will not benefit much with headers. Firstly the overlap period is only 20* and the valves at those degrees are barely open. And secondly, you didn't mention 4bbl or gears, so I'm guessing this will be a low-rpm engine, and a low exhaust gas output.
So even if you got a couple, or a few, horsepower, out of the deal, it wouldn't be until up in the high 3000s nearing 4000 rpm; so say 40mph with 2.7s. Headers might help the torque output tho from stall-rpm to maybe early/mid 3000s........ but so would HO manifolds with way less hassles.
But if you are planning gears and a 4bbl, well then put me on ignore,lol. But again not much of a power-booster, and not until the engine is really cranking.
The duals tho,with free-flowing mufflers, would be a good improvement.
IMO
I think, if it was my $300, I'd sooner put it into gears or a Torque Convertor. Those will give you way more bang for the buck.
My teener came alive with a 2800. And 3.55s brought the TM up 30% over the 2.73s that were in it, and accordingly the action started 30% sooner. Actually even better than that, cuz now it actually spun the 245 tires.
Those early 9.2cr engines make pretty good torque, having more low-rpm performance than a low-compression 360 2bbl. Meaning; it doesn't take much to wake them up, and 3.55s is plenty.
If you have an early 904, the stall on those is already about 2200. So I would do gears first.
>In your case, with the 9.2/2200 teener combo; I think I would do the upgrades in this order; gears/Suregrip, 4bbl, tires, headers/dual exhaust, stall, small-cam.
>But if you have an 8.0 low-C teener with a 2000TC, then; gears, stall, tires, HO manifolds/dual exhaust, 4bbl, SureGrip, no cam unless it would be a solid flat-tappet, and with about the same net-ICA, hardly worth the cash and time for the 15hp or so that you might get.
I know you didn't ask but I know how much it hurts when I spend money and the improvement is disappointing.
Happy HotRodding

Ps; you can tell which 318 you have, by a compression test
and which year trans by the PN stamped on the passenger side pan-rail.
Click to expand...
The reason I’m asking about headers is I need exhaust on the car, I plan on putting Indy RHS heads LA x on it down the road. I am look around for a 8 3/4 read end
 
Well you can let people scare you with their hearsay stories that they've heard from other people or you can take it from someone with real experience. It's your choice. I'm not going to go back and forth with these guys. I've had cheap Summit headers on my car for 4 years. They work perfectly with no leaks and not one scratch on the bottom of them after hundreds of miles of Street driving and drag racing. Anyways make sure you make your decision based on facts and experience not anything else. I love my cheap Summit headers that work perfect and I'd beat people with Doug's & tti headers all the time. Don't let these guys cyber spend your money....
 
Sanderson dd7, 550 with ceramic coating, 360 without it. They are shorties, so you don't have to worry about dragging them.
 
j par said:
Well you can let people scare you with their hearsay stories that they've heard from other people or you can take it from someone with real experience. It's your choice. I'm not going to go back and forth with these guys. I've had cheap Summit headers on my car for 4 years. They work perfectly with no leaks and not one scratch on the bottom of them after hundreds of miles of Street driving and drag racing. Anyways make sure you make your decision based on facts and experience not anything else. I love my cheap Summit headers that work perfect and I'd beat people with Doug's & tti headers all the time. Don't let these guys cyber spend your money....
Click to expand...


well i don't know who you are refering to but i speak from personal experience and those cheap headman and hookers suck. never had them leak but it is a undeniable fact that they hang low. maybe you have perfect roads where you are or you have your torsion bars cranked up some to make them clear but with roads around here and a normal ride height (hell even when i had my bars up some) those bitches hit all kinds of things while out on normal cruises.. when i put the TTI's on my car i'd still cringe and tense up when i hit a dip where that cheap **** used to hit and afterward exhaled with relief when i realized i no longer had that hang low garbage om my car...
 
look at that.. no blocking the plugs like that cheap ****..

DSC06178.jpg


cheap junk
69170ca1286c92d5d96dffbd9901fe06.jpg


look how nice and high they sit. i hear dougs sit a little higher too..

DSC02553.jpg
 
The more expensive headers does fit a bunch better and are also made out of thicker gauge tubing and gives you better groundclearance.
Cheaper headers tend to fit alitle worse,has alitle worse ground clearance and are made out of thinner gauge metal. personaly i must say i very much prefer the higher end versions but i also understand that everyone cant afford them.
Checked summit and Dougs are available at 450something dollars uncoated.
If you get any of the lower end versions make sure they work with powersteering if your car is equiped so,some of the cheaper ones does not work with PS and dont run the frontsuspension any lower than stock.
 
Ran cheap hookers for 10 years. The bottoms were completely flat from hitting the road and they leaked from day one. Two separate exhaust shops tried to stop it from leaking and I threw every gasket known to man on the engine and they still leaked...even after using different heads.

Now I have a set of tti headers and they aren’t on the engine yet but if they leak they are going straight back.
 
Blackhatguy said:
Sanderson dd7, 550 with ceramic coating, 360 without it. They are shorties, so you don't have to worry about dragging them.
Click to expand...
Mine hit the rag joint and required a $200 fancy U joint in its place to get the clearance I needed. Could have got TTI headers after all that trouble and $.
 
Lelo Dart said:
Mine hit the rag joint and required a $200 fancy U joint in its place to get the clearance I needed. Could have got TTI headers after all that trouble and $.
Click to expand...
That sucks!! Good to know though. I got the DD9 so I will see what happens...
 
krazykuda said:
After crushing many sets of Hooker super comps, I went back to exhaust manifolds...

However I helped a friend build an engine with Doug's headers and they were worth trying... Wait until they are on sale or big discount to get them to save a couple hundred...
Click to expand...

Just get the 20% discount that autozone throws up now and then. Summit price matched for me.
 
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