At some point, my roadkill 66 383 will need an exhaust, and considering headers. Just wondering what your experience has been in getting the twelve errant bolts out in one piece. Mine is pretty original and has not suffered too much from the weather, in general. So, just trying to prep myself for an easy out. I like the tried and true back and forth on old bolts....but even this may not suffice. Whaddayathink.
Header Bolt experiences please
- Thread starter 66furys
- Start date
Easiest way is not to touch them and just forget about the headers.
Headers can be a PITA and IMHO, not worth the minimal gains in a relatively stock engine that doesn't see high RPM.
Headers can be a PITA and IMHO, not worth the minimal gains in a relatively stock engine that doesn't see high RPM.
70bigblockdodge
Old Man with a Hat
Big block Mopar are all studs. Heat the nuts with a torch and they will usually come off. Do not try and pull the studs! They will break off and they go to water, resulting in a coolant leak. The bolts to the exhaust pipes are good because you just break them off as the studs on a GM do and then knock out the bolt halves. If the exhaust at manifold has been changed usually some effing gorilla tightened them and the flanges are often bent.
Now, let me open my gas can up here and throw some on the header fire. Headers always work better, period. They work at low rpms they work at high rpms. The gas mpg's they return in this age of high gas prices will pay for them in a few years of solid driving, not going to a local car show every 3 weeks for 3-4 months in a year.
However header prices are completely out of control. There are no cheap headers for a C body and thus no source for used swap meet headers. So with that info just keep the manifolds and a nice dual exhaust system. It is easier and the 2 pipes will help move air through the engine better resulting in better performance and mpg. Don't fall for the HP manifold trap, they do not work any better than the log manifolds on a stock low performance car. They still dump into a common chamber at random or opposite angles. This provides no scavenging for the next cylinder to exhaust and thus no advantage.
Now, let me open my gas can up here and throw some on the header fire. Headers always work better, period. They work at low rpms they work at high rpms. The gas mpg's they return in this age of high gas prices will pay for them in a few years of solid driving, not going to a local car show every 3 weeks for 3-4 months in a year.
However header prices are completely out of control. There are no cheap headers for a C body and thus no source for used swap meet headers. So with that info just keep the manifolds and a nice dual exhaust system. It is easier and the 2 pipes will help move air through the engine better resulting in better performance and mpg. Don't fall for the HP manifold trap, they do not work any better than the log manifolds on a stock low performance car. They still dump into a common chamber at random or opposite angles. This provides no scavenging for the next cylinder to exhaust and thus no advantage.
Well, I am learning here. Studs on the headers.....I had no idea....will look more closely tomorrow. But thanks for good points. I have pulled a lot of headers, but all so far had bolts. Learning at my age.....hmmm.
@70bigblockdodge nailed it. I have headers and I'm happy with them on my smog '77 440 with .484 cam and 3" pipes. It sounds great. But I also have the 2.5" pipes from my log manifold 383, it's a little more quiet, still sounds good when you get on it. The headers are not necessary, but I'd do it again.
I just looked up what I bought for my car, and the cost of the headers has only gone up 20% over a decade. The pipes have gone up 62%, they used to be the cheaper buy and now cost more than the header.
57fury440
Senior Member
The HP manifolds will make more horsepower than the logs but not a ton more. If you are building a car to race in a stock class that doesn't allow headers, then you want every bit of power you can get. In a stock motor you will see very little difference from the HP to log manifolds. I ran headers for years and find that they are a pain on a street driven car. The cast iron manifolds are pretty much bullet proof and rarely need any maintenance.
70bigblockdodge
Old Man with a Hat
I would love to know what maintenance headers require? I must have missed that bulletin. Mine have not required a thing in 5+ years and 20k miles. I did have to put a starter in, but it was a piece of crap when I built the car so I'll own that.
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