Not a need but strongly a WANT. Shorty Dakota Headers.

[Michael Harrington]

I have a1995 Dakota 2wd sport. Will eventfully have a 430hp 360 Magnum. Cam is hyd roller 1200-5700 rpm. Weiand 142 Blower probably 5psi boost. I currently have the desirable 1992-1993 large outlet manifolds. Id like long tube headers but ALL are out of production and have been for possibly now a decade. I see on a mild (stock cammed 318/360) shorty headers provide only a tiny increase in power. But what about at 400 hp and higher? I am at a point in life where I actually have money to spend on things and I dont have to strangle and bludgeon every nickel. My budget is not Frieburger/Dulcich but not Uncle Tony either. I want a nice rumbly gutsy exhaust note. I would skip all the $129 ebay shortys. I would consider Gibson or JBA. I will run a pair of old school Turbo style mufflers and not a crackly droning style of muffler. Will the shortys deliver a "Better" exhaust note than manifolds? I'm disappointed that at least one of the above name brands has a smaller ID collector outlet than the desirable manifolds. But I want to hear from people in the filed that have done it and thus thats why Ive not contacted the manufacturers. Catylyitic converter is long gone and Im running true duals that dump at the diff. Middle pic is the Gibson headers. Bottom is JBA

 

[TT5.9mag]

I would be willing to bet that both of those headers gain very little over a large output manifold. If sound is your only concern they will add a little crispyness to the exhaust note but imo that’s all they do. At the 430hp level the shortys and manifolds both give up a significant amount of power to a good long tube header.

 

[Michael Harrington]

I would be willing to bet that both of those headers gain very little over a large output manifold. If sound is your only concern they will add a little crispyness to the exhaust note but imo that’s all they do. At the 430hp level the shortys and manifolds both give up a significant amount of power to a good long tube header.

The problem is NO long tubes exist for my generation of Dakota. None. Once in awhile a set of Hooker 5803s appear on MP but they are rotted and bashed....all for $500 plus shipping. The latest group buy of TTI Headers is for the NEXT gen Dakota- will not fit my 1995.

 

[DartDave73]

Long tube - mid to high RPM range improvement, more modifications to exhaust and other components, possible mpg decrease (drag strip oriented)

Short tube - low to mid RPM range improvement, less modification to exhaust and other components, better mpg response or neutral (more street usage)

I'm sure there's a lot more pros/cons for both. Cams, stall, gearing, and other modifications also come into play. There's no real "one size fits all" thing. Just $$$$ and time.

 

[TT5.9mag]

The problem is NO long tubes exist for my generation of Dakota. None. Once in awhile a set of Hooker 5803s appear on MP but they are rotted and bashed....all for $500 plus shipping. The latest group buy of TTI Headers is for the NEXT gen Dakota- will not fit my 1995.

Yea I understand that the chassis you’re working with presents limitations but my tiny little brain says there is no way in hell I’m building a 430hp small block and sticking shorty headers or manifolds on and knocking 80hp out of it. If I were in your shoes I’d build a set of headers or find someone that could.

 

[TT5.9mag]

Long tube - mid to high RPM range improvement, more modifications to exhaust and other components, possible mpg decrease (drag strip oriented)

Hog wash. Complete malarkey.

 

[Michael Harrington]

Im Willing to buy some used long tube Hooker 5803s or the TTI units if they're not destroyed.

 

[racerdan80]

Would dougs 453’s possibly fit with a lil minor work? Do you know anybody that has a set you could borrow for mock up? Otherwise, maybe custom build might be better so you’re not leaving power on the table

 

[DartDave73]

Hog wash. Complete malarkey.

You mean there's no higher RPM improvement with long headers? Man, there's a whole history of racers that were just duped. That's ok. We all have our opinions. Doesn't mean mine is invalid. Shame on you.

 

[TT5.9mag]

You mean there's no higher RPM improvement with long headers? Man, there's a whole history of racers that were just duped. That's ok. We all have our opinions. Doesn't mean mine is invalid. Shame on you.

Long tubes produce train tracks on a dyno. They are literally better at every single point in the rpm range than anything else not just mid and top like you said. And the possible mpg decrease? Long tubes make the engine MORE efficient and make the engine pull harder on the booster so you can DECREASE jet size in most cases. If you get worse mileage when switching to long tubes, you can’t tune for ****. So like I said, malarkey.

 

[Michael Harrington]

I'm very handy but making my own set of long tubes is far above my skill set. I will have to run my manifolds or a shorty header. The frame comes so close the the engine on both sides. In fact the hooker 5803 Super Comp long tubes were only 1 5/8 primaries tells Alot. The cluster of tubes had to fit thru a cramped tiny space.

 

[Melon340]

Here was my solution, these were to be for a rear mounted turbo charge tube thru the cab race truck (96 Dak) I took summit brand headers, cut off the collectors and ran 3 inch tubes to open them up. Drivers side necked down to 1 7/8 to fit around steering column, to make 3 in. tube fit there I simply slotted the column firewall mount and slid it over, never affected steering and squared up the steering wheel to driver. I know you don’t get the scavenge of long tubes but a boosted application bigger tubes help.Could probably work with either header pic above

 

[Inertia]

I'm very handy but making my own set of long tubes is far above my skill set. I will have to run my manifolds or a shorty header. The frame comes so close the the engine on both sides. In fact the hooker 5803 Super Comp long tubes were only 1 5/8 primaries tells Alot. The cluster of tubes had to fit thru a cramped tiny space.

My son puta 360 in an early 4whl drive Dakota, - we had more difficulty in the oil pan/diff clearance, and the axle mounts.
I know it had long tubes, never knew which, didn't know it was an issue.
He passed (rip), - I'll try and track down the new owner, and get what info I can.
I wouldn't be surprised if they Doug's 453s, they fit just about every model for over a decade+ .
Cheers

 

[Michael Harrington]

Man the clearance on the driver side due to the steering shaft is tight and I cannot see the Dougs 453 even getting partially in. Heres the long discontinued Hooker Super comps.
Pardon Our Interruption

 

[Michael Harrington]

Here was my solution, these were to be for a rear mounted turbo charge tube thru the cab race truck (96 Dak) I took summit brand headers, cut off the collectors and ran 3 inch tubes to open them up. Drivers side necked down to 1 7/8 to fit around steering column, to make 3 in. tube fit there I simply slotted the column firewall mount and slid it over, never affected steering and squared up the steering wheel to driver. I know you don’t get the scavenge of long tubes but a boosted application bigger tubes help.Could probably work with either header pic above

View attachment 1716537235

Very interesting.

 

[jos51700]

The real important question is, what headlights are those, and where'd you buy them?

 

[Melon340]

Yeah I used a die grinder and slotted the mounting holes and slid the column over to fit the 3 in. tube during mock up, later I noticed the steering wheel was more square to the driver, every one I drove after that I could tell the column was angled from the factory for easier fit

 

[YY1]

What is different between the 92-96 and the 97-04?

A LOT of the sheet metal "bottom" of the cab and bed remained unchanged, even into the 05 and up design, except for the trans hump.

 

[Mean416]

Long tube - mid to high RPM range improvement, more modifications to exhaust and other components, possible mpg decrease (drag strip oriented)

Short tube - low to mid RPM range improvement, less modification to exhaust and other components, better mpg response or neutral (more street usage)

I'm sure there's a lot more pros/cons for both. Cams, stall, gearing, and other modifications also come into play. There's no real "one size fits all" thing. Just $$$$ and time.

This is all a myth that REALLY NEEDS to die

 

[Mean416]

You mean there's no higher RPM improvement with long headers? Man, there's a whole history of racers that were just duped. That's ok. We all have our opinions. Doesn't mean mine is invalid. Shame on you.

You're right. A whole generation of guys HAVE been duped. Look at the wealth of data out there that supports this.

 

[MopaR&D]

Since you'll be running a blower the engine won't benefit from the scavenging effect of long tubes. The key will just be fitting the biggest diameter pipes in there that you can given the limited space.

As for long tubes and low RPM performance and efficiency... I put long tube Hedmans on a stock-cammed 360 in a '72 D200 reg cab long bed running 3.54 gears and 33" tires. Picked up 1-2 mpg and had noticeably better throttle response and part-throttle torque in addition to the increased WOT power throughout the rev range. Barely had to touch the gas pedal to get that 4600-lb truck moving.

 

[jbc426]

I put a set of these on a Magnum in a 1995 Dakota frame with a '57 Dodge D100 chassis. I had to make a custom passenger side motor mount and clearance a thing here and there to get them not to rub on anything, but it wasn't that hard to do and once installed, they look great.

I ordered them raw and painted them with VHT High Temp spray bombs

Dakota R/T, Durango Long Tube Headers Dakota, Durango Long Tube Headers [] : Southeast Performance R/T | Because Knowledge Breeds Winning Power

Dakota R/T, Dakota, Durango Long Tube headers. 1 3/4 primary x 3" collector, 4 into 1 designed header's exclusively for 97-03 Dakota, Durango V8 2-wheel drive vehicles.

southeastrt.net