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What headers for a Ca smog car?

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Old Oct 12, 2007 | 05:45 PM
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Default What headers for a Ca smog car?

Ok im thinking about getting a set of headers now......Ill want to do it in the winter while im having my carb rebuilt.
Anyone know of a good set for my 350..needs to be smoged.
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Old Oct 12, 2007 | 06:08 PM
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I don't know that they are still available, but my Hooker Super Comps were available with the provisions for OEM AIR tubes option.

I bought these years ago though.
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Old Oct 12, 2007 | 07:56 PM
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What ever headers you buy make sure they come with a CARB (califionia Air Resources Board) sticker certifying they are SMOG legal. Other wise you will fail the visual and never even get to the actual smog test. Been there done that. Also, in order to pass the visual you'll need to route the exhaust through a single cat.
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Old Oct 12, 2007 | 11:24 PM
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i lived in CA last year and put headers on my 06 Mustang GT. you have to put shorty headers on newer cars (not sure what year this starts) and long-tubes are not legal - freakin tree-huggers you car will also have to be below a set dB level so be careful what exhaust you put on your car in CA - good luck.
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Old Oct 13, 2007 | 09:45 AM
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[QUOTE=DJordan442;1562283352 you car will also have to be below a set dB level so be careful what exhaust you put on your car in CA - good luck.[/QUOTE]

State DMV code is 95 db for permormance exhaust...my 69 is "borderline".... ,but never an issue...

Rich
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Old Oct 13, 2007 | 10:16 AM
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Sure sounds like they make it a lot of trouble.
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Old Oct 13, 2007 | 11:01 AM
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Originally Posted by ptroxx
Ok im thinking about getting a set of headers now......Ill want to do it in the winter while im having my carb rebuilt.
Anyone know of a good set for my 350..needs to be smoged.
The short answer is, not many. Hedman used to have headers with smog tubes. From a post above, apparently Hooker used to have these as well. I think that both have discontinued them so you'd either have to luck out and find one sitting on the shelf of a speed shop, or go the route of having a set fabricated by adding tubes to the set that you can find with a CARB sticker.

The real problem is the 2:1:2 exhaust. The cat is the real bottleneck and you probably won't get all that much from the headers because of this. I think you'll get far more return by getting a high flow cat.

Now comes the hard part. The above assumes that you want to do what is more or less legal. The truth is that depending on how thorough and knowledgable your smog facililty is, you may have far more latitude. As long as your creation can pass a sniffer, you can get away with considerably more BUT, there is always the risk that you'll come across a tester that takes his job seriously.
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Old Oct 13, 2007 | 11:43 AM
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Im not worried about the shop... I have a good shop to get my smog done. A fellow hot rodder..
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Old Oct 13, 2007 | 11:45 AM
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Originally Posted by CA-Legal-Vette
The short answer is, not many. Hedman used to have headers with smog tubes. From a post above, apparently Hooker used to have these as well. I think that both have discontinued them so you'd either have to luck out and find one sitting on the shelf of a speed shop, or go the route of having a set fabricated by adding tubes to the set that you can find with a CARB sticker.

The real problem is the 2:1:2 exhaust. The cat is the real bottleneck and you probably won't get all that much from the headers because of this. I think you'll get far more return by getting a high flow cat.

Now comes the hard part. The above assumes that you want to do what is more or less legal. The truth is that depending on how thorough and knowledgable your smog facililty is, you may have far more latitude. As long as your creation can pass a sniffer, you can get away with considerably more BUT, there is always the risk that you'll come across a tester that takes his job seriously.

So your saying that just by getting a low flow cat I can get better HP. ? Im geting ready to have it dynoed for the heck of it and would really just love a few extra HP.
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Old Oct 13, 2007 | 01:56 PM
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Default here you go...

every exhaust system that has been CARB exempted. you can seach via the word "corvette".

Take a look at Executive Order D-167-27...

not sure what year your car is...but if you search for Corvette you'll find all the exemptions.

http://www.arb.ca.gov/msprog/aftermk...rmktdevice.php
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Old Oct 13, 2007 | 02:28 PM
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Default Looks like part number 68301...

is the one with AIR tubes...


this first website actually says they come with AIR tubes....
http://www.sportcompactonly.com/part...08.htm?k=68301


Below is the summit page; I don't know why they say they're not legal in CA if there's an actual exemption for them in the CARB listing. Not only that, but the picture (which is a representation only) doesn't show the AIR holes/tubes.

http://store.summitracing.com/partde...view=32&N=700+
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Old Oct 13, 2007 | 02:41 PM
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Default Doug Thorley headers.

I have Doug Thorley headers with smog legal tubes but for '74 and earlier. They won't sell for '75 and later due to the single cat/exh pipe on those years. But the quality is great and i have used DT headers before with Air Injection tubes on a late model pickup without any problems/leaks that cheaper headers have. Maybe give DT headers a call to see what will work.

Good Luck,
cardo0
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Old Oct 13, 2007 | 02:57 PM
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I use these on my 78. They act like headers and the pass visual.
http://www.castheads.com/corvette_systems.php#manifolds
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Old Oct 13, 2007 | 04:09 PM
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Originally Posted by Erik016
I use these on my 78. They act like headers and the pass visual.
http://www.castheads.com/corvette_systems.php#manifolds
Question: Do those come with the AIR connections ??? Often wondered...
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Old Oct 15, 2007 | 02:40 PM
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I think i remember someone telling me that if you call the company and tell them they'll make a.i.r. provisions for you.
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Old Oct 15, 2007 | 04:17 PM
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Originally Posted by Erik016
I think i remember someone telling me that if you call the company and tell them they'll make a.i.r. provisions for you.
That would be great for Cali smog vettes...

Rich
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Old Oct 15, 2007 | 10:53 PM
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Default Headers and EFE

One thing you might need to take into account is the EFE. In the picture in the thread below, it's the round silver thing at the bottom of the picture about a third of the way in from the left corner:

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show...&highlight=efe

If you have it, you need to keep it. I found a couple of threads with some info on headers that allow this, and even part numbers:

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show...&highlight=efe

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show...&highlight=efe

Thanks for asking the question! I had looked into headers, and somehow thought because of the EFE, I was out of luck. Now I've found a couple of choices

Mike
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