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Posted: Tue May 11, 2004 1:46 am Post subject: Headers kissing you off as much as me???
Ok heres my story of the header moster i bought about four sets of headers for my 78 elk and still cant seem to make one set fit.
Now the set was flo tech 1 5/8in with 3 inch collectors and they were very close to fitting but i thought it would be smart not to go with my natual instinct and beat the Potty Mouth out it until it went in so i brought them back and bought dyno max headers and they wernt close at all, but summit claims they would "fit like a glove"but i saw no glove fitting in this project soooo i brought these back as well.
So then it was up to hedmen headers that didnt want to go in to my car as well, so i was just about to give up until a went to my local car auto parts store {car quest} and the gentlemen was looking in the book and keep in mind the flo tech were very close, so he found ploblom for me. all the other headers i tried were 1 5/8 inch with 3 inch collectors and the ones ordered were 1 1/2 with 2 1/2 inch collectors that hopefully will give me the little room i need to make them slide right in with minimal work.
Necoa #: 572
Location: 10(IL,MN,WI)
Joined: Jan 28, 2003
Posts: 3617
Year: 1984
Model: El Camino
Posted: Tue May 11, 2004 2:46 am Post subject:
You should have bought a Hooker! Set of headers that is! Where we're the brands you tried hitting? _________________ "The day we lose our will to fight is the day we lose our freedom" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TG4fe9GlWS8
everyone of them except the flo tech were hitting anywhere and everyware and i honestly cant tell you how many things were in the way.
I get my new flo techs on friday and will write again to let you guys know how it went
Huh that doesn't sound like much fun, I guess i got lucky then. I used a pair of coated headers my dad had left over when he went to a BBC in his nova. I really didn't think they would fit since they were from a 69 nova but i tried it and they fit pretty good, just some minor hammer work. I think they are either Hedman or Hookers not sure.
Chris _________________ camino81
'81 El Camino (Now in less pieces all over the garage!)
Where two liters of displacement refers to soda
Same thing--I got a set of headers from wrecking yard for my 5th gen. The guy said they came out of an '84 Monte but weren't close to fitting. Then a set of FloTech "almost" fit. The long pipe from #3 cylinder to the collector hit the upper A arm. Took a combination of new motor mounts, grinding down the A arm, and a little hammer to that pipe to make it fit.
Necoa #: 1690
Location: 7(AL,GA,TN)
Joined: Oct 24, 2003
Posts: 99
Year: 1980
Model: El Camino
Posted: Fri May 21, 2004 9:05 am Post subject:
I bought a set of flowtech headers years ago when I first started workin on my Elky.. They fit the original 267ci snail and the two 350's that came later.. They fit my ZZ430 too but I had to cut the flange off and replace with a d-port version.. Still, fit like a glove! Using stock lt-1 manifold gaskets and Breslin Header lock bolts I'm still drivin' leak free after 10k miles! I guess there is quite a big difference in the manufacturing tolerances between our Elky's or the headers! Good luck! _________________
Tom
80' Elky (IROC SS) 430hp - T56 6-spd
96' Cadillac STS Diamond White
02' X1 Sportster
Necoa #: 2682
Location: Pittsburg, California 94565
Joined: Mar 19, 2004
Posts: 149
Posted: Fri Jun 18, 2004 7:48 pm Post subject: This whole thing is scary......
I was thinking of adding headers on my 84 ekly, but after reading about the stories of how almost all headers won't fit most El Camino's , I am not sure it's worth all the fuss. Yea, the extra bost will be great , but I am not looking for all the head akes either.......
For all of thoes who added Headers, was the effort worth it ????? _________________ Yaba, Daba, Doo, How Sweet it is.......Or was!
Necoa #: 2321
Location: 15(AZ,NM)
Joined: Jan 30, 2004
Posts: 1168
Year: 1974
Model: El Camino
Posted: Sat Jun 19, 2004 1:29 am Post subject:
All the magazine articles are always pushing headers. Oh they do so much this and so much that. Yeah but they don't fit so what use are they!
What they gloss over as you look at all that shiny metal is the absence of things like an AC compressor or a heater box or the fact that they swapped in a corvette front end underneath. Those are just minor details to them but get some stock dimensioned accessories hung on that motor
( and a sanden AC compressor with a custom evap setup is not even near the dimensions of a stock A6 based AC system) and see how easy the headers fit.
I would like to have some too on my 74 but it's just not worth it when you look at all the crap I'd have to get out of the way.
I guess an alternative is to buy one of those weld it yourself kits and build your own that fit but I'm not much of a welder so that's out for me.
would be nice tho.
_________________ 74 El Camino Classic - project car #1
96 Camaro - RIP, Traded 10-16-2007
2008 Mustang GT, It ain't a Chevy but at least it's American!
Necoa #: 2540
Location: 7(AL,GA,TN)
Joined: Mar 02, 2004
Posts: 752
Year: 1971
Model: El Camino
Posted: Sat Jun 19, 2004 1:47 pm Post subject:
My 71 has Hedman's on it, they were on it when I bought it. I've had them off once or twice and they weren't too bad to work with. One pipe is dimpled a little bit on the drivers side because of being so close to the end of the a-frame, but that's the only modification to them, otherwise it would rub slightly. Who ever put them on had to leave the lower rear a/c mount off that bolts to the exhaust manifold, but between the front mount and the top rear mount the compressor doesn't move.
Tip #1: jack the car as high in the air as you can get it (be sure to use jack stands)
Tip #2: remove all spark plugs, drain the coolant and remove the water temp sensor so it's out of the way.
Tip #3: be sure to buy gaskets that match the shape of the welds on the header flanges.
Tip #4: use a pair of long bolts that you can turn easily with only your hands, so you can get the headers lined up with the heads and drop the gaskets in place before installing those short little header bolts.
Hope this helps some.
Necoa #: 2321
Location: 15(AZ,NM)
Joined: Jan 30, 2004
Posts: 1168
Year: 1974
Model: El Camino
Posted: Mon Jun 21, 2004 1:06 pm Post subject:
I'd say run studs into the heads if you can. Might make it easier to get the headers on than fumbling with those damn bolts that always seem to slip out of your hand and get eaten.
As for the smog question, I'm pretty sure you'd either have to run your exhausts either into one cat and then split out from there on (kinda like the factory setup on a 78-81 Z28) or run dual pipes with two hi flow cats. It's really a question of mounting locations and flow. Although the single cat setup would probably balance your exhuast pulses kinda like an exhaust crossover. Probably keep the smog police happy too since it would look more stock.
_________________ 74 El Camino Classic - project car #1
96 Camaro - RIP, Traded 10-16-2007
2008 Mustang GT, It ain't a Chevy but at least it's American!
ok here is the scoop, flow tech hedders from holly will fit your fifth gen
ekly.......... but to get them to fit , and it's real close to the upper passenger side a-arm....... is the saggy motor mounts, it drops the motor down in the frame to far to let the hedders fit........just a little bit of lift to the correct position on the motor and they will fit like a glove as the manufactures and retailers say, try that and you should have the success your looking for.........just did the same to my 80 elky and figured out it was the motor mounts _________________ Drive it like you stole it !!!
This subject came up before and I think I was the only one who installed Sanderson headers. They've been trouble free and easy to install. Anybody else have them?
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Where we're the brands you tried hitting?
