This may be a childish rant, but I'm angry enough not to care.

Putting long tube headers in my car was the worst decision I think I've ever made.

Change spark plugs you say? Not without unbolting the headers!

Exhaust leaks are garunteed. Bolts never stay tight. Headers don't fit of course.
Bolt in?? HA! Try trimming the a-arm brackets and dinging the primary tubes to no end.

From day one these things have leaked, the ceramic coating is peeling off rapidly and the whole damn setup vibrates terribly.

Never mind the fact I chose to go with long tubes and a T56.

Manifolds all the way! I wish I had gone LS1 auto and stuck with factory manifolds!

These are hedman long tubes by the way, and from what I've read the hookers look worse.

This isn't my first set either. I've yet to get a good set of headers. The closest thing I've had to "good headers" is edelbrock crap.

Rant over.

Thanks for reading.

 

Well, no one ever said LTs were a direct bolt on. Shorties are hardly even a direct bolt on. And the ceramic coating is probably coming off because you had to dent the tubes to get them to fit, which you should have done before getting it coated. You should have made sure they fit, or done what you needed to make them fit, and then sent them off to get their coating.

 

should of gone with a good pair of shorty headers. You may lose a little bit of power, but its worth the ease of installation.

 

You guys are both right.

I got it put back together. The driver side header took a good deal of modifying to fit with the slave cylinder. The biggest bitch was I got the header bolted back on and couldn't get to two of the spark plugs to tighten them!

I'd go with a good set of shorties if I did it over, although I've heard the SLPs are also overrated.

I think a major consideration for long tubes is having a tubular k-member. Or being ready to beat the hell out of your stock k-member. Of course different heights of motor mounts due to wear/mileage make every install difficult.

In regards to coating. I'd probably just go with the uncoated headers and get some type of black hi temp coating and run with that. The ceramics do look nice, particularly the side I didn't have to modify.

No one ever told me long tubes (or shorties) were an easy install. However from my experience they are more trouble than they are worth.

 

Dyno Don's 1 3/4" shorties are some of the best headers out there.

 

it really doesnt help that the headman lt's ar ethe worst fitting Lt headers, and on top of that, they are not designed to work with a manual trans, so hence the issues you ran into with the slave.

Shorties FTW! though i will be swapping in a set of Doug's LTs at somepoint

 

I'll have to check out Dyno Dons headers.

 

Here ya go:

 

I run Don's shorty headers on my car with 370rwhp. I don't feel I'm giving up much to long tubes and I have zero problems with them with excellent ground clearance. My next build will have Don's shorty headers and I expect the power to be well North of 400rwhp.

 

That's just a picture of Don's single-cat non-AIR headers. He also offers a dual-cat y-pipe with or without the AIR tubes.

 

I bolted in a set of hedman LT's and only had to grind a few spots on the factory K-member. I really didn't have any problems installing them, didn't even dent the tubes. I have to use a wrench to tighten my spark plugs and so far no leaks after 800 miles.

 

Same here. Mine were surprisingly easy to install and I was expecting the worse. No denting the primaries, just grinding down the k member a lil

 

many people have not understood that after 20 years motor mounts can/will sag . this in turn causes clearence problems with headers . stock motor & tranny mounts are cheap enough . a PITA to change motor mounts but i would replace old ones while installing headers . with exhaust manifolds etc. out of the way gives a little more room . i did this on my previous camaro , and will be doing it on my present one . another part of installation prep. is to clean/chase threads on cylinder heads . make sure all mateing surfaces are clean and smooth . use correct & quality bolts , and a good thick copper gasket . tighten/torque headers from center out with a small drop of locktite on each bolt . retighten/torque several times from center out , let locktite dry/set over nite before starting engine . do it right , do it once . has always worked for me . good luck .

 

good points tom... sounds like you've turned a wrench or two. Also I recommend the header bolts w/the locking retainers. They DONT back out or loosen. What type of pricing are on dyno don's headers?

 

I'd like to know the pricing too, as well as the y-pipe diameter. Or, if you know a web address, that would be cool too.

 

No website address. Just send Dyno Don a PM or email and ask him.

 

Headers can be a problem, certainly. I'm fought my for almost a month before I realized that the engine didn't sit in the center of the subframe (previous owner accident) and that the 3rd gen Energy Suspension trans mount is taller than stock, which creates a tail-up attitude for the entire drivetrain. This is usually not a problem with shorties, especially smaller diameter ones, but on long-tubes it is a disaster.

Also be aware of problems if you are running Vortec style heads, as their plug locations are a problem with all but Dyno Don's headers, he has revised his for Vortec style head plug clearance.

It just depends on what you are willing to go through for a few H.P. If I had to do it again, I wouldn't even start.

TA