rrt898

I have an 1986 coupe. I want to install a set of Hooker Long Tube Headers. I wanted to know how low does the collector hang down to connect to the Y pipe. Is it lower than the Transmission pan? The car is low enough now, I don't want to scrape the exhaust.

thanks for the information

Benny42

Is your car stock ride height? If not, ignore the rest of this post
'86 coupe too. Mine's a 6-speed so i can't address the pan question exactly. The
collectors hang about 1" lower than the stock pipes were on my car. If i go REALLY
slow over speed bumps they don't touch. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend them.
The HP improvement is worth every bit of the parking lot issues you may have.

c4cruiser

I have Hedman Elites on my stock-height '87 and the headers are about an inch lower than the stock pipes. The lowest part is the collector flanges but that's typical for most all header installations. Most headers will use 3" diameter collectors but if the tube size is more than 1-5/8" you may find they will sit a bit lower.

As a side note, one thing you may want to consider is to replace the OEM large starter with a mini-starter, especially one that is "clockable". Getting the OEM starter in and out once the headers are in place is a royal PITA. I installed A Summit Racing mini-starter and it was a direct bolt-in with no changes to the wiring. Plug-n-play!!

3JsVette

I have Hookers on my '85 and I would guess I lost less than 1" of ground clearance. I haven't rubbed the collectors yet. The front lower air dam is more of an issue.
As stated above the increase in performance is well worth the additional caution to not scrape the headers.

rrt898

I wanted to know if you know the model number of the starter? Also, did you shield the starter from heat?

thanks

c4cruiser

The part number I used was SUM-829100. It's a pretty generic starter for Gen-1 SBC motors. But double-check for the number of teeth on the flywheel (manual) or flexplate (auto trans) Should be 168 teeth.

I didn't use a heat shield wrap on the starter itself but I did use some on the wiring in the area. Also used some wrap on the fuel lines where they went by the header tubes. I have done a number of track days with the car and I haven't seen any sort of heat issue.

One other thing I did was to install some spark plug boot protectors (SUM-350119) to keep the plug wires and boots from burning.

vader86

You won't lose more than an inch or so.

You can just buy an 88-91 starter. I did not use a heat wrap of any kind on the 86.

dizwiz24

Absolutely zero issues with tpis or arh 1 7/8" headers i have now.

Those products arent like old school headers on a 78 trans am or something.

The days of header scrapes are long gone

gerardvg

My hedman headers scrape the larger speed bumps sometimes.

I have learned to "fly" over the larger speed bumps or go slowly, or floor as the front wheels are about to hit the speed bump.
Using the brake pedal to limit how quickly the front wheels drop down and limit suspension movement, really helps.

The headers sit 1 inch lower for sure, however the Y pipe is tucked up nice.
I can just "adjust" my coilovers for more ride height but that looks crap.
I say ban speed bumps, they descriminate agains sports cars.

DanZ51

I used to purposely peel-out just a little on top of these stupid portable ones used at the exit gate. Just to kick the damn things out of the way. After a month or so the MP's got tired of straightening them out and tossed them aside.

gman35

I hope your install goes better than mine.. I have not been able to get the passenger side slid in by myself.. may have to try to get some more height.. I hate to raise it to high while working on it alone... arggghhhhh

rrt898

I am renting a lift at a shop. It is well worth the money!!!