i did a bit of search on here on these headers (bbc swap hooker headers in a 3rd gen) but it seems all over the place..lol
I was wondering if i can get an idea from guys who use them...as to pros and cons to fitment and ease of install and if anyone has pics of the headers installed i would love to see them. Thanks in advance

 

Hey i just did a 454 in my 89 iroc I used the patriot h8012 headers, they fit pretty good for the price,under $200 had to clearance the pass floor,its close,still got the collector to fit for exhaust the driver side need about 1/2 inch trimed off the motor mount mine was plain steel header

 

i read the thread that was done before on the patriot headers ,with the pics. Not a bad deal but i am still not sure i want to beat the floor in. I would like to see how the hookers fit and see if there is any mods to make them ones fit. I might still do the patriot deal but if there is no hacking involved with the hookers i would spend the extra bit of loot

 

i have ran both hookers and pats fit good patsrun the exhaust under car easy im running pat h8013s which 1 7/8 tube

 

any differance installing the 8013s instead of the 8012s? Did you cut more of the motor mount? did you have to beat the firewall in any farther to fit the 8013s? did you keep the three bolt flange or use a slip on style for the exhaust?

 

pics.

 

 

 

 

 

Where are the collectors under the car? How much room is there for different exhaust options? Lowered cars?

 

As far as pros and cons, well there a little small (1.7/8 primarys) for a modded motor, but for fit, some 'massaging' was needed but mostly underneath cause I had more stuff to clear like two (2) pair of sfc's.

 

As mentioned above, they are a little small for an engine with any kind of performance. They're mainly designed as a basic swap header for a street engine. A 1-7/8 primary tube is large for a 350 and mild for a 383 or 400. Anything bigger than a 454 and that becomes small.

A performance BBC should have a 2" or 2-1/8" primary tube. The larger the headers, the more expensive they become. It's not uncommon for a set of large tube race headers to cost $1500+.

My Ed Quay headers are 2-1/4" primary with 4" collectors and I'm thinking they may be getting small for me. Next year I'll be pushing 588 cubic inches. 2-1/4" stepped to 2-3/8" with 5" collectors would be better.

Although I've never used the Patriot headers, I did once use the Hooker swap headers. Fit depends on a lot of factors such as engine position, heads etc. Some people can get them installed with no modifications, others need to do some sort of modifications. If you use a head with a raised exhaust port design, then no off the shelf header will be a direct fit without some sort of modifications. It usually just needs a big hammer to get things to fit. Even my 2-1/4" tube primaries have dimples in the tubes to clear suspension components.

The best fitting headers are a custom built set. They may cost a little more but they're built to fit your car perfectly. Getting any header coated adds to the cost but also greatly increases the life of the header and reduces under hood temperatures. Header paint and wraps are a waste of money.

 

The last pic shows where I had to cut off the collector flange on the drivers side to clear the left hand sfc. Also my motor sits about .5" higher than normal because I shimmed the engine side mount to mock-up a tall-deck motor in the future(525TT), so they use to touch everywhere underneath before "massaging". This 496 is mild, but these headers are still to small. I figure there costing me 40hp a side, but my 525TT will have totally different exhaust.

 

It's been several years since I installed them,so I may have forgotten some details.
I do recall having to grind the snot out of the lower control arm mounts,as well as clearancing the firewall with a body tool that looked very much like a 4lb. sledgehammer.
I was stupid and installed mine after the engine was already in the engine bay,and I had to jack it up off the mounts,without valve covers,until the back of the heads were crammed into the firewall.
Routing exhaust sucked,my basic gravel driveway got graded everytime I drove down it.
All said and done,if I personally had it to do again,(which I will)I would either save money and go with Patriots,or spend more and have a good set custom built.I intend to build my next set myself,with the speedway kit.

 

Ewww. I just looked at those Patriot H8012 headers and although some users may have gotten them to fit, they're even more restrictive than the Hookers. They only use 1-3/4" tubes. The H8013, if they'll fit, have 1-7/8" primary tubes.

 

Hey guys sorry for reviving a dead thread but anyone out there that ran an exhaust on there bbc car have pics? I have my 454 in and everything is ready go but i laid under the car today for an hour trying to come up with a way or a route to run the exhaust with no luck so any ideas would be nice thanks for any input in advance!

 

I will be doing the same thing too some time soon. After some searching I did find some pictures, they were not on here and they were not real helpful for what I wanted to do.
I believe that I only found them when searching "3rd gen big block headers" or "3rd Gen 454 headers".
If I remember correctly it was in a real old print magazine, like a hot rod or camaro craft issue from the 1980s.