What headers for 318 magnum in an A-body?

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J-MacsMopars

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I am going to be putting a magnum 318 with a four speed in my black dart sport. I am curious to know what headers have worked well for you guys? I am working on a short budget, but want something decent. Any help would be great.

Thanks, Jeremy
 
Jeremy they it is going to be the same options as the LA heads. Either the ones that hang low and are cheap or the ones that are expensive, but don't drag. :D
 
Summit headers; http://www.summitracing.com/parts/SUM-G9040/
Summit exhaust; http://www.summitracing.com/parts/SUM-680144/

The above, is *About* the cheapest and certainly the easiest way to do this. Unless you do not care for the full Summit exhaust, you can always purchase your own mufflers, 1 or 2 4ft. lengths of exhaust pipe and a "U" bend to exit the exhaust out the side to help keep the cabin clear of fumes. I suggest a set (sold in pairs) of these pipes that make clearing the tranny cross member cut out area a easy thing to clear.
http://www.summitracing.com/parts/HED-18804/
(Chrome tips extra ;) )
 
I am going to be putting a magnum 318 with a four speed in my black dart sport. I am curious to know what headers have worked well for you guys? I am working on a short budget, but want something decent. Any help would be great.

Thanks, Jeremy
What year Dart and does it have power steering?
The Summit ones basically suck on fitment ....
 
It's a 74 with manual steering, manual trans. I will have a mini starter, so hopefully tere will be enough clearance.
 
All the 3 tubes under the front end linkage headers suck for fit. Some of the best fitting headers I have had of this style are also some of the most offending fitting headers I have had.

Quality control of these basic 1 size fits all header is poor on it's best day.
The summit headers fit best, bar none on my old Duster. While the same header a year later was the second most horrible thing I have ever had the displeasure of cutting and denting.

Hookers are said to be the best. On my Duster (Last one) they fit OK. There was a fitment issue at the power steering box's mounting bolt. I had to revers the bolt in order to fit them on.

The up most worst were Black Jacks on my first Duster.
The best were the Hooker Super Comp headers for my E body 4spd Cuda, but they are not the style above.

The best fitting headers are Doug's and tti's at a steep price. While worth it, cost may be an issue.
 
I used the doug's on mine. 72 dart with p/s and a four speed. They fit great except for the z bar interference. I got them uncoated to save a few bucks.
Jon
 
It's a 74 with manual steering, manual trans. I will have a mini starter, so hopefully tere will be enough clearance.
I have a 74 also,It has a flaming river box and milodon pan and you can view my butchery to get them to fit.I just going to use them to break-in the motor and then make some custom headers after that.
Here is a link to my (on hold) build,page 2 half way down.
Passenger side not to bad just one small ding.
http://www.forabodiesonly.com/mopar/showthread.php?t=133981&page=2

With stock manual steering and no milodon pan the summits will probably work on yours...I do not know about the 4 speed.mine got a 727 in it.
Martin
 
Hooker headers work well and are cheap, the only thing I would recommend before install, is to paint them with some VHT header paint, otherwise they will start rusting faster then you can blink. Use VHT header primier followed by VHT header paint followed by VHT header satin clear then follow VHT's procedure for using the heat off the engine once installed for curing the paint.
Besides having to disconnect my center link and run it through the header pipes on the driver side, I also needed to install a clockable starter because the mini starter was not providing enough clearance, but then again my car has 727 in it.
I have pn#5901 Hooker Headers on my 68 Cuda 340 with power steering and deep oil pan(Kevko), these headers cost about $175.
 
I have heard guys who say that the one tube that hangs low on this install that they measured the distance between the header and the road and it was only 4 inches off the pavement. The only real solution is to build a "skid plate" like the ones on 4wd trucks. The problem has become so bad that several header companies are offering the drivers side only header.
I would like to suggest using manifolds. I was in exactly the same situation as you I needed to choose an exhaust set up. I made a list of pro and cons.
Cons

Access to plugs 5 and 7
Lots of heat coming from the floor, will need fatmat or something like it
periodic gasket replacement
periodic paint/coating
need really good plug wires because of the heat
overall fit, may have to ding or resection sections of pipe
crunching them because they hang so low

pros

extra horsepower
no substitute for the delicious sound of headers
easy to find the rest of the system mufflers, pipes, etc.
good horsepower per dollar spent

I spent weeks trying to make a decision and went with this set up:
a 340 (68-71) exhaust manifold for the drivers side
a 360 Magnum exhaust manifold on the passenger side

I was concerned that the manifolds were mismatched in terms of flow until I found a website where a guy had run dyno test on 340 and 360 Magnum manifolds. There is a difference in the Magnum manifolds. In 92-93 only the RT Dakota had a 360 with manifolds that were 2 1/2 outlet. The horsepower rating dropped 10 horsepower from 94 on. The 94 on manifolds have a 1 7/8 outlet with the outside appearance almost identical to the larger outlet manifold. The dyno test showed that the 340 manifold was VERY close in flow to the 360 manifold.
I realize that I am losing about 20 horsepower by running the manifolds instead of the headers, but will make it up somewhere else. By the time you buy the headers, gaskets, collectors, mufflers, etc. and get everything installed you would pay less for a 3.55 or 3.91 ring and pinion. The biggest horsepower gain and the biggest bang for the buck was going from a 2 barrel to a 4 barrel. The second best bang for the buck is changing from say a 2.76 to a 3.91. Why don't you put the header money towards lower gears. Seat of the pants feel and actual performance would be greater with lower gears instead of headers. You will get more bang for your buck going with gears instead of headers. I have seen guys get more than a second quicker in the 1/4 by doing a gear change. 20 horsepower is 2/10 of a second in the 1/4 which you might feel. Going a full second faster is DEFINITELY something you would feel.
If you're mind is definitely made up for headers, I agree with Rumblefish. Summit headers are very reasonably priced. are not too bad on fitment issues. You could spend 5-600 for TTI headers which don't involve the link but I rememberd that you are like most of us, want to go fast or boil the hides, but need to do it on a budget.
 
I use the Summit headers that Rumble posted a link to in my 74 Sport. They are a bit of a challenge to install, although I have power steering. As far as dragging, personally I have not had that problem.
 
JTG, how low do them hookers,or do they fit up nice without dragging?

Driverside is the lower hanging header, I've had no problem with dragging whatsoever, but common sense would dictate not to launch ones car up curbs and over speed bumps, plus I have the front of my car adjusted to stock hight specs. Since steel headers radiate more heat then ceramic, it would be wise to put the protective heat socks on the end of each ignition cable. These Hooker headers(5901) are a tight fit (especially with power steering), but they didn't require any modification or persuasion by beating the tar out of them with a hammer on my 68 Cuda 340, the header does sit extremely close to the P.S box.
 
Thanks everyone, I think I will be going with hookers. My front end will sit a little higher as well as I will be running 15x7 front wheels. Sounds like they are the best bang for the buck.
 
Do you have a pic of your headers next to the PS box? I used the hooker5901 and needed to dent them up to fit & they still hit occasionally. And do the summit ones hold their shine?
 
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