This book I have says that the Corvettes that came with L98s had Tubular exhaust manifolds as opposed to the F-Bodies restrictive factory style maifolds.

Can these be found easily in a junkyard then? Are they any good or are they kinda lame as far as headers go?

 

OEM sux

 

So in other words, they were better than the F-Body manifolds, but they still did'nt hold a candle to aftermarket tubular headers?

 

by the way the vettes tubular manifolds looked, i highly doubt they would fit into an f-body

 

oh yeah, they are lame compared to real headers

 

Oh ok 'F' those then =D
I am interested in a set that will easily fit, resulting in the least possible downtime, and thought theyd fit right up but it seems thats not the case.

 

edelbrock TES

 

My interpretation of what I have read over the years has been that those, and Ram's horns manifolds are the two best flowing exhaust manifolds that are Gen I. I most people I see selling them want at least $75 for a good set. I was offered a set of Ram's Horns for free. Guess which set I went with?

PS. Headers are most likely way better (flow-wise) than either of those. They are just the lesser of the other evils...sorta speak.

 

No I understand, and I would have only gone with an OEM 'performance' manifold if it could have been obtained next to nothing.

 

Well, there were two versions of the Ram's horns...2" and 2 1/2 (I think...maybe 2 1/4). Only the Vette's got the larger ones, and the prices on those are usually failry outrageus too. I am not really sure of what this style will support. The ones I got are the smaller ones, so we will see. I am gonna run these right from the start when I get the motor put in as opposed to sticking with the TPI manifolds.

 

Corvettes got the tubular stainless steel headers beginning in 1982. They actually don't flow too bad for stock. The reason you cannot use Corvette ram's horn or later tubular stainless headers on cars like the f-body has entirely to do with the location of the front upper control arms; in the Corvette, the engine is set back for handling purposes, while conventional cars like the f-bodies have the engine up and over the control arms, hence the rearward exit of the OEM f-body exhaust manifolds.

Just an FYI - If I'm not mistaken, I read somewhere that beginning in 1987 the TPI engines got a better flowing exhaust manifold with 2 1/4" outlet and smoother casting entrances. The 305HO L69 engines all got a similar manifold also.

Dave

 

The vette manifolds will hit the k member. As will any manifolds along that type. You can get around it with an aftermarket k member, but what the hells the point of spending 2000 on a k member and 75 on manifolds. Cheapest would be edelbrock. I really liked my old slp's(costly though)

 

Edelcrock headers are crappy too, dont bother with those.

The Corvette manifolds were designed for the Corvettes frame only, and will not fit f-bodies.

 

Well - that is correct about the 87's and up getting better exhaust manifolds. Lets not beat around the bush tho - better only compared to other OEM manifolds... still pathetic when looked at from a free flowing standpoint.

And that is also absolutley right about the K-Member and the cheap manifold lol - wouldnt make sense.

TES I have heard are not the exactly great headers, however they are dirt cheap and snug to the block, and when compared to even the best OEM manifold they still win by a long shot, but...

I went over to the exhaust boards and asked about Dynomax headers - I have a fancy for this company and would like to do Dynomax exhaust all the way (headers to supercat to catback) b/c I think thats cool hehe, and also b/c GMHTP mag said they are a lesser bitch to install compared to most other headers. Plus - they come jet-hot coated for a good price.

Can anyone confirm the ease of install or performance of Dynomax headers?

 

Yup, the manifolds I took off of my '87 vette looked like shortie headers for the most part. They were dinky compared to the 1.75" hookers I put on though, I couldn't believe how small they were.