Need to run in new cam but have no Y pipe as yet. Will it do any harm to run engine for half an hour with open header pipes or do I need to fit a Y pipe first? This means hiring a transporter to take the car to a shop to have one fabricated. ($)
If I can run the car without the Y pipe, I could SNEAK up the road to the shop when I have finished the body work.
p.s. I do have ear muffs but how loud would it be?

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84 Trans Am HO L69 WS6
5 Speed manual
Vortech Cherrybomb no cat
JR Headers
Comp Cams XE262H-10
Removed A/C A.I.R. Hdflap
H/made tri cld air induction
K&N
Underdrive pulleys
Otherwise STD
Currently painting

 

I installed headers this summer and i drove the car to a exhaust company to build a new system then i only had the headers on and it sounded like hell. I dont think it would do any harm if you drive the car wery carefully. But watch out for the police because they dont like it at all.

 

i've drove cars with open headers to the exhaust shop, i figured if i had an apointment the cops could verify and didn't mess around or show off i'd be ok.

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ICON Motorsports
1st & 3rd
MM Black Diamond 538 F&AM

 

It's not so much driving the car to the shop that worrys me, its the fact that I have to start the car and hold the revs at 2000 rpm for half an hour first that concerns me to run the cam in. Is this harmfull in any way to do this with open headers?

 

I don't see any problems with it... I mean, the player's challenge cars ran with side pipes that were pretty much "open headers", didn't they?

 

Not a problem at all. The thing that you might be thinking of is the deal of ruining the exhaust valves if they are allowed to have cool air rush back against them from the pulsing of the exhaust system. I wouldn't worry about it with a header on there. You would have to have a much shorter tube on the heads than any type of header - even a shorty, to allow that condition where the valves can be damaged to occur.

my $.02

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1987 GTA L98 MD8
355, TFS Heads, LT4 Hot Cam
My GTA

The Minnesota F-body Club

 

I broke my cam in with just shorty headers and even drove it around the neighborhood and beat on it for a few days before I got exhaust. No problems. You'll be fine. Have fun.

Brad...


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1986 SC Camaro
Mods: Threw 2.8 in garbage, put in rebuilt
350 .060 over, XE268H Comp cam, Edlebrock
Performer Intake and Edlebrock 600 CFM Carb,
Pete Jackson noisy GearDrive (which sounded
cool for about 5 minutes, now I'm sick of it)
Rebuilt TH350, 3.42 Rear Gears. LCA RLB's.
B&M Mega Shifter.
Now has T5 in it. YES!!!
CenterForce Dual Friction Clutch.

 

Well it turned out to be no fun at all. It did sound like hell, the neighbours were home, the burning paint on the new headers was choking me, I had an air lock which caused several eruptions of hot steam and water, the power steering pump did the same with hot oil, I had to shut it down by throwing a towel over the carb, and I cracked my thermostat housing when I was bolting it up after trying to eliminate the air locks.
I need a beer!:~

 

Hey but thanks for everyones helpfull advise.
At least I gave it a go!

 

I ran my car for 1400 miles with open headers!!!
I got pulled over about 2 times a week.