I just got my Hooker headers and sidepipes installed on my '81. One HUGE problem....I can't get my rocker panels back in. Is there a trick to it?

 

you might have to take the pipes off to get the rockers back on, just get a pice of wood and a hammer to put the pipes back on

Miles

 

???? the pipes are bolted to the frame to where the rocker panels would cover

 

REALLY? ok mine have a hook hanging down from the frame to clear the rocker pannels that the pipes hook to, sorry for the mis-understanding

might have to cut a notch in the rocker pannels if understand you correctly now

Miles

 

1st of all keep in mind that mine is a 68 and the rocker moldings are fiberglass but,I fed mine in starting from the back tire.

As long as they are you should be able to bend them enough without any damage.

 

Miles, Are yours sidepipes stock style or Hookers? I'm guessing stock style.

 

That was my thought...I am going to take my rear tires off and try feeding it through.

 

There has be someone that would share their experience

 

I had to cut the bolts that hold on to the tabs or the pipes because on one side the bolts where hitting on the bottom lip of the moulding as I was trying to slide it in from the top.

 

and just leave 1 bolt instead of 2?

 

No, I just cut right after the nut. Cause after fully tightened I still had about 1inch and a half of tread

 

and thats where the moulding was hitting. On that part of the bolts

 

Take off the rear wheels and slide the panel in. You will need to bend it a little but it will go.

The issue is the front fender flare at the back of the front wheel. If you trim the bolts about 1/2", you can drop the panel in from above right behind that flare. Then, just ease it forward, bending as necessary. A little tape on the rear wheel lip will help prevent scratches.

 

Take the rear wheel off and protect the paint on the bottom of the door and fendor with some tape. Also it helps if you can have someone push down on the header in the front (stand on it!) to get a little more clearance.

 

I also have the Hooker Header Comp Sidepipes, what a PATA to put the rocker panels back on. As stupid as it sounds I really screwed mine up which was a $250.00 mistake. I did mine a few years ago and somewhere I read that you have to trim the front a little bit to make them fit ( which I had to) but beleive it or not I was 30 mins into the driver side fit before I realized that I was trimming ( grinding away ) the passenger side panel to fit the driver side!!!!!! Finally I got them on ,no easy job and they looked OK. I took them off 3 month ago and had my car repainted so I purchased a used set of panels from e-bay and I am going to try to re-install the new ones without having to cut anything but with the new paint job I really want to be careful putting them on. I know it takes a lot of bending of the panel to do it. The problem that I had after putting them on a few years ago was the bolt that secures the aft end of the header to the front kept vibrating on the panel.
Actually even now that I have new panels I am debating weather it's worth the hassle of putting them back on. On a scale of 1 to 10 as far as difficulty putting them on I would give them an 8 and that's because you can really screw your paint having to take them off and on to trim them to fit !!! And I just got done removing every bit of chrome from my car including the T-top trim ,door handles and all , and these panels are all I have left to do and I'm scared of screwing something up. Even the T-top trim was a piece of cake compared to them. Good luck,

 

not stock at all, deffinatly aftermarket, and Im not sure if they are hooker either, bought the headers off ebay and had the pipes made from 4 inch pipe, bent then cut and hung by a family friend here in Joplin, not sure if it looks like stock is supposed to be hung, Id have to see a picture, a custom job if Id have to put a name on it

Miles

 

Took the rear wheels off and slid them in. I didn't have to cut the bolts either. The only problem I has was that I scratched them up a little when sliding them on. The bolt that tightens the side pipe to the header is where the rocker panels got scratched a little, good thing is you can't see it unless your up close looking down.

 

Not to hijack the thread or anything, but on what dariopop said, as well as my dad, do you have to cut the rockers in the front to have clearance for the 4 primaries?

I read the instruction PDF for them, and it said something like "Through 76(it may have been a different year) must trim rockers". What about later years?

 

I have an '81 and did no trimming

 

On my 78', I had to trim the bottom left side only. Ground off about a quarter inch to clear one or two header pipes.