Install engine with or without headers bolted up
Thread Starter
Race Director
Joined: Mar 2008
Posts: 15,161
Likes: 17
From: coffee
Install engine with or without headers bolted up
Just trying to get a feel for those with experience on a C3 small block. Is it easier to bolt up the headers on the stand and install it all at once, or do the engine first and then the headers?
Thread Starter
Race Director
Joined: Mar 2008
Posts: 15,161
Likes: 17
From: coffee
That was what I figured.
I removed the old rusty headers this past weekend, and it was really easy*, so I figured that it might be possible to do it all at once, but since the access is pretty good, I'm not going to chance it.
*my previous header install experience was with a '94 Z28, and let me just say, 4th Gen F-bodies are just about as inconvenient as you can get for such a task.
I removed the old rusty headers this past weekend, and it was really easy*, so I figured that it might be possible to do it all at once, but since the access is pretty good, I'm not going to chance it.
*my previous header install experience was with a '94 Z28, and let me just say, 4th Gen F-bodies are just about as inconvenient as you can get for such a task.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 6,247
Likes: 471
From: Glen Allen, VA
Yeah, full lenght headers weren't a problem on my 79. On the drivers side the dipstick tube, clutch Z bar and #5 plug had to be removed. On the passenger side, just the starter and A/C bracket that goes bolts up to the front of the header. All of the above you would likely not have bolted up to an engine you're dropping in anyway.
Team Owner
Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 40,422
Likes: 792
From: Redondo Beach, California
I didn't have the headers on my engine (ZZ4) when I dropped it in, but the headers where in the engine bay. I used masking tape to hold them out of the way while moving the engine into place. Worked out really well. (I taped the headers to the inside surfaces of the frame rails)
Instructor
Joined: Sep 2006
Posts: 211
Likes: 0
From: Searcy Arkansas
Senior Member
Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 12,146
Likes: 2,038
From: Easton, PA
St. Jude Donor '10
I didn't have the headers on my engine (ZZ4) when I dropped it in, but the headers where in the engine bay. I used masking tape to hold them out of the way while moving the engine into place. Worked out really well. (I taped the headers to the inside surfaces of the frame rails)
Great idea, and thanks for the tip. Did you have to change out your hood with the ZZ4 or did you not add the serpentine system?Just curious which way you went with your ZZ4.
Thanks.
David
Team Owner
Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 40,422
Likes: 792
From: Redondo Beach, California
I used the GMPP Small Block Serpentine kit on my ZZ4. I used a drop base aircleaner. Actually the bottom (the base) of the aircleaner is from a drop base Morosco unit, with the top of the aircleaner being the stock steel aircleaner top. The Morosco air cleaner was actually pretty cheap, forget exactly how much $30?? It all fits under the stock Small Block hood. I'm using the standard ZZ4 intake manifold also.
Corvette Stories
The Best of Corvette for Corvette Enthusiasts
Every 2027 Corvette Engine Explained
Joe Kucinski
Designer Imagines A Corvette That Looks More Like a Corvette Than the Corvette
Verdad Gallardo
10 Ugly Corvettes That We Still Kinda Love
Joe Kucinski
Top 10 Most Expensive Corvettes Ever Sold on Bring A Trailer
Brett Foote
10 Things Every Corvette Owner Needs (2026 Edition)
Michael S. Palmer
8 Most "Only Corvette Owners Understand" Quirks and Problems
Pouria Savadkouei
10 Reasons the C6 Z06 is Still A Performance Benchmark After 20 Years
Joe Kucinski
How Much Horsepower Every Corvette Engine "LOST" in 1972
Joe Kucinski
Top 10 DOs and DON'Ts for Protecting Your Convertible Top!
Michael S. Palmer
Senior Member
Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 12,146
Likes: 2,038
From: Easton, PA
St. Jude Donor '10
I used the GMPP Small Block Serpentine kit on my ZZ4. I used a drop base aircleaner. Actually the bottom (the base) of the aircleaner is from a drop base Morosco unit, with the top of the aircleaner being the stock steel aircleaner top. The Morosco air cleaner was actually pretty cheap, forget exactly how much $30?? It all fits under the stock Small Block hood. I'm using the standard ZZ4 intake manifold also.
David