This is for off road applications only of course....

I'm currently in the market for some turbo headers, but until I decide on a set, I needed to run something just for now to get the Camaro back on the street. I've had a set of Edelbrock TES headers lying around the garage, but they were still fitted with the AIR fittings, and although I simply could have capped them off, the tubing were directly in the way of my plug wires, plus I honestly don't like the way they look when they're capped off, and left like that. Soooo, here's what I did, and if you'd like to do the same, here's what you'll need.....;

* Hacksaw
* Drill with 5/16th bit, and 5/16th tap
* Vice Grip
* Plugs, and/or very short bolts
* ... and a six pack of beer (optional)

First of course, position the header in the most comfortable way so that you can hold it in place while you hack the tubing off. Cut nice and straight, and leave about 1/4 of an inch of the tubing sticking out from the top of the runner. When the AIR fitting is removed in tact, keep it, as you can always weld it, or have it welded, back on....



Second, using the 5/16th bit, drill a nice straight way through each and every opening. Don't assume that each tube is already straight from the factory, they're not, and if you start tapping before you drill, you'll wind up with a broken and wedged tap, trust me. Once all four openings have been drilled, clamp onto the back of the 5/16th tap with your vice grip, and firmly start to tap each and every opening. The tap will fight you a little bit, as it's cutting new thread, but if it feels like it bottomed out, do not proceed. Take it out, and drill nice and straight with the bit again, and repeat....



Now, when every opening has been tapped correctly, it will look like this....;



From here, it's just a matter of buying your plug fittings (or bolts), and your finished. Be sure to use some high temp orange gasket maker when you torque down the plugs. For those who might switch back to the AIR tubing later on, be sure to use anti-seize on your plugs. The whole process, with the headers already off, should take anywhere from twenty minutes to an hour depending on skill level. This of course isn't for everybody, it's for those who aren't running a smog pump, and don't necessarily enjoy looking at the AIR tubing not being used, not to mention, those with no access to a welder at the moment....


-Rob

that looks pretty good, you could also use thread cutting oil when drilling and tapping. keeps all the gunk out of the way, and the drill bit from getting too hot

Good tips....

Just got done sanding the hell out of them today lol....

... and here's the final verdict. Again, these are just temporary, but now very roomy.

Plug fittings are going in tonight....

Looks good man, what did you coat them with?

Had some VHT aluminum coating, pretty good stuff to tell you the truth....

Sweeet! I have a set of Edlebrock Headers smog legal headers on my Camaro. But I'm not gonna remove them to do this. So I'll stick to capping the air tubes off.

Ummmm.....WHY? You coulda sold the TES headers & bough 2 or 3 sets of non-TES headers. You threw away money.

Must you question every single thing that doesn't agree with you lol....?

The final step with this process, is to slip in eight 5/16th open end fittings onto the air tube, make sure each end of the tube is night and straight, then with a flare gun, flare the ends out, keeping the fittings on and in place. When you are finished, you will now have a set of headers that give you the option for either running A.I.R., or for removing them. I didn't get to this stage though because I plan on removing them when the turbo headers go on, but for the sake of this thread, I'll finish them the proper way now. Pics will be up soon....

-Rob

What's with the attitude? You coulda sold them for double the cost of brand new non-AIR tube headers and the buyer still woulda got a discount over buying them new. Win-win for both of you.

Just doesn't make sense to throw away money. Wish I had your money & could afford to do that.

Attitude? I used a winking smiley because I was kidding with ya.....

I know this mod isn't for everybody, but I needed to eliminate the AIR fittings to make way for the spark plug wires. The beauty of this mod is that it gives you the option to run the AIR tubes whenever you want to, as the flared coupling allows you to unscrew it whenever you'd like. It is imperative though to use anti-seize if one plans to remove them frequently. As for cost, these headers are extremely cheap. I couldn't sell them for $50.00 a few months back. Also, this mod will allow people to flip them upside down and turn them into turbo headers if they'd like (something I'm now considering), as the AIR fittings will no longer be in the way of the spark plugs themselves when you flip them over....

Sorry....You did have a smiley so I have no excuse.

Non-AIR headers are cheap...AIR tube headers aren't cheap by a long shot. If you had the Y-pip, I'd have given ya $50 for them.

I think you had a good idea for doing that.
Looks a lot better then having the tubes hanging off.

nice mod. great for egt probes.