RSpeed

I am helping my brother put in a 350 we just built for his El Camino.We got the engine in,but can't get the damn headers in there.Steering shaft in the way on one side and AC condensor on the other side in the way.Have to keep the A/C,we're in Texas. Any suggestions? Smaller headers,etc?

jrr

This may not be what you want to hear, but I'd go to the junkyard and try to find some of the good stainless steel SBC exhaust manifolds. They have a greater internal volume, flow better than the cast iron jobs, and would be a LOT easier to install than headers. It sucks to buy and plan for using headers and then not be able to install them. It's almost like GM engineers went out of their way to make some of their cars unrepairable, much less impossible to put on cool stuff, like headers. I have a parts gofer, a 1985 Olds 88 wagon, and there's NO WAY that headers will fit!

Hopefully, somebody out there has the answer for you.

84FTA

On some cars you need to hang the headers on the sides of the engine compartment with ropes/hangers so that you can slip the engine in between them. Not all headers on all cars can be installed from above. The thing that stinks is you have to pull the engine again....

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1984 WS6 Trans Am Hartop
Former L69 Car under restoration
1984 WS6 Trans Am T-top car
4-bolt main 350, headers, Holley 650, T-5 and 3.23's.
Daily driver and restoration

junkyarddog

ok.. I know I'm speaking from experience from a different car('84 Trans Am) Im sure I don't have much more room in my car. I installed Headman 1 5/8"shortys'82-'92Fbod. they are cheap headers,but they went on perfectly,the guy that did them for me,said he usually has to jack the engines up an inch or two on most cars(disconnecting the 'mounts, of course),he cut the bracket for my AC/PS on the part where it wraps around to bolt onto the stock manifolds,normally a spacer can be used without cutting anything,but this guy was kind of a hack.It is easier to cut that piece of though,and the AC only needs the bolts on the front to be secure. I don't know what kind of headers you have,if you don't have shortys of some kind,your prabably hurt'n! the Headman non-smog shortys without the Y-pipe are $179 last time I checked.if they can fit on my engine,I'm sure they can fit in an El Camino. you could easily meet the collector flange with dual 2.5" pipes!good luck,...where theres a will, theres a way.or.......after a case of beers,you could just get crazy with a cutting torch,sawzall ect. and just make it happen!

RSpeed

Hey guys,thanx for the replies. We got the headers in finally.It only took a couple hours to devise a plan of attack,couple cases of beer,and some bruised and battered knuckles,but we got it ( oh yeah,and a cutting torch!). We got the pass side in okay after about 30 mins of playing around with different positions.But for the driver side, we had to drink a few more beers,then cut off a portion of the engine mount to get it to mount up against the head right. Whew! What a nightmare.

junkyarddog

way to go guys!,congradulations!! a few beers,a little insanity.....anythings posible.

happy El Camino-ing!