I was thinking about purchasing a set of hedman elite headers. Are they worth it? If so where is the cheapest place to buy them?

 

I have a set of Hedman long tubes... they are great, but it was near impossible to run an exhaust with good ground clearance. I still need to rework my exhaust to get some ground clearance back. But the headers are excellent.

 

I've got the headman longtubes on my 89 GTA. They give you really noticeable gains on the freeway, and every intake mod you do from that point on will give you better results than if you had manifolds. Only problem with them is the fit on the driverside. I ended up notching the A arm mount, and "dimpling" two of the primaries. After that, they fit fine, and spark plugs are actually easier to get at (just need a spark plug socket, and the wrench that fits on the outside of those.

Ryan

 

how does the coating hold up? it look ceramic?

 

I had to dimple one tube, but it was for #3 spark plug, as I have angle plug heads. They deffinetly required some cutting on the a-arm mount, and i had to pu a notch in the crossmember under the #1 primary tube. Deffinetly worth the work for the long tubes, not worth the work for the true duals.

later, justin...

 

is there any longtubes available that will fit without any mods?

 

there are no headers PEROID that fit without mods to somthing.
its just part of the territory

 

I have the Hedman longtubes, 68460, and they fit without many modifications. No dimpling the pipes, no cutting any mounts. However, you will have to fabricate some spacers for the alternator and A/C mounts, not a big deal. As for the exhaust, good luck...

Here are two threads in which I talked about my installation:

https://www.thirdgen.org/techbb2/sho...hreadid=167613

https://www.thirdgen.org/techbb2/sho...hreadid=158802

Since you have the 700R4 which I originally had with the Hedman's, they're an easy fit, as long as the LT1 and the regular SBC mount the headers the same, which I can't comment on. If you were to use a manual trans. with a hydraulic clutch, then you'll run into some problems with the driver's side collector hitting the bellhousing. This was the biggest problem I had which I solved by heating the tubes and bending the collector down about an inch. I'm sure someone makes headers to fit specifically with a manual trans., but at the time I installed mine I was using the 700R4, so I didn't have a need to use the manual-trans-specific headers.

 

What about the Hooker long tubes?

 

I have hooker LT's And they fit without any modification to the header. But my motor is bare-bones as well as the engine compartment.Manual steering box. I had no problem with the alternator. There are a lot of mounting choices here. As for running an exaust you cant go straight back becaus the tranny X-member gets in the way. But Im just running mine with turndowns so it doesnt really matter for my application.

 

I just got done putting these on my car and wow they are a pain. I had no idea how do do it though. You will need to take out the motor mount bolts, jack up the engine, relocate the knock sensor and get rid of the oil cooler if you have it. Also you will need shorty spark plugs and it would help a TON if you get a ministarter.

 

Do you need a mini starter to fit the Hedmans? I have a 406 I am getting ready to put in, and I want to make sure I don't have to get a mini starter first.

Thanks,
Adam

 

get a ministarter save yourself a lot of trouble...make sure of your bolt pattern... 400 blocks have the staggered bolt pattern. some hgave a third hole drilled some dont. If you dont I can tell you Where to get a good fair priced ( under 150.00) staggerd pattern ministarter. I bought one and it saved me from drilling the third hole in the block. (Yes, they are for the 168 toothed flywheel)

 

First off, they were not bad at all to put in, although you need to jack the motor up on each side to slip them in easily.

You do need a mini starter.

The oil cooler can stay if you use the short style fitler

the knock sensor does NOT need to be relocated, mine is still in place and hooked up, i ran some wire insulation over it and all the other wires that run along the block

and most of all, your deifnately do NOT need shorty spark plugs if you have angle plug heads. striaght plug heads will need them. On the other hand, you definately have no reason to be installing long tubes on stock heads..

but honestly your wasitn gyour time with lt's unless your running higher hp levels, like over 400...

 

Do tell Riley. I have a third hole drilled in the block, but im not sure if it is the right one. I have heard of some blocks having that hole but it not being in the right place. I don't believe that it is tapped either, and I don't want to have to mess with that. I will check and make sure when I get home.

Adam

 

The pm300 is what you want. 79.99 buy it now. 1 year gaurantee.Outstanding customer service,( I sent 2 back before I ordered the right one) and I recieved it in 3 days paying by paypal. Mine has been very good this far. I had to use one provided shimm.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...tem=2479083158

Mine had 3 holes just not in the right place.

 

I dont know.....15-30hp gains seems worth the time to me!

I agree on evertig else you posted.
The #1 plug is the worst for clearance issues.

 

Who says I have stock heads? Also the plugs came out right under each header tube and there was no way any boot could get in there. I couldn't even get the wrench around it.

 

I had the same problem with a cheap-*** set of Summit shorties. The hookers are very easy to get to. Althogh a shortened wrench does come in handy.

 

Well maybe you should list the head syou have. the hookers are ment to work with angle plug heads.

 

no post, sorry