I am a very unhappy camper right now. I bought Hooker supercomps undercar 2 1/8 inch primaries and just drove the car for the first time with these and every bump no matter how small causes contact that I can feel in the floor. I thought I made the right decision when I got these but now oh how I wish I got the sidemounts. How is the ground clearance with the sidemounts? I guess there would probably be less heat under the floor with the sidemounts also. What are the muffling options with sidepipes since that is the major reason I went with undercar to run a true 3 inch system for my 502. I have seen that the sidepipe mufflers are only 2 inch inserts. Please give me your thoughts. I hate to spend another 1000 dollars for sidemounts after i just dropped 630 for my undercars. Thanks.

 

If they are close enough to be bumping the undercar, I would be very worried about what they may be burning !!

 

$630????? damn... I have Hedmen's 2" primaries, 3" collectors that are coated, I have no problem with clearance and about $100 less.

Sorry to hear about your situation, with that type of money, I'd be pissed too.

 

no, I think he means the headers are scraping the ground! I have heard both stories - some folks claim 4 - 5 " of ground clearance which would be plenty.... under 2" I think is a problem. Maybe you can adjust them somehow. I nixed mine when I went to a car show and saw several vettes with headers and they looked too low to me. (I have limited ground clearance with stock exahaust so was worried about problems with headers). So, I have approx $800 of new unused exhaust components in my basement! :mad: MJ


$800?? sorry, more like $950...... ouch! sale coming soon?


[Modified by MNJack, 1:21 PM 9/5/2001]

 

THere must be a big difference between the 1 7/8 primary header and mine with 2 1/8 inch. Yes I am scraping the ground but that pushes it up into that metal plate holding the insulation under the floorboard. Yes I am pissed. I dont see any way I can adjust these except putting my car on stilts. How about the sidemounts what kind of groud clearance do you have?

 

69.. I don't have sidemounts, mine are the normal "underneath" header. Just food for thought - what pad mounts are you using (motor mount)? In essense - what originally was in your car. Is is possible that if yours was originally equipped with a small block that it may be different then what I have in mine (Original BB Car)? I know Hooker always has a food note about using original big block mounts, maybe this could be the reason why.

 

The flange can be the lowest point by making the upturns in the largest part of the reducers. Did you upgrade the springs?

 

I just put Headman HTC Coated Sidemount (HD PT# 69286) headers on my 72 small block. They were about $290 which includes shipping from Summit. As I'm in the process of a repaint, I haven't hooked up the side pipes yet (haven't ordered them yet), but I don't anticipate any clearance problems. They hug the frame, but still leave plenty of clearence. Passenger side went on easy after removing AC compressor, drivers side took a while, but fit after taking off a few things. These headers have 1x5/8" primaries and 3" collectors.

As for sidepipes, you might want to check out the hooker's, if you like those. I'm going for the original 69 style, which they sell in 2" or 2.5".

 

I can't find that part number anywhere for the headman sidemount headers? I looked on summit's and headman's web page.

 

Purple LS7 and Ganey, as far as I know my car was originally a Big Block as it has a rear sway bar and I just replaced the distributor and the number was for a 435 horse 427 although I do not have a 6500 rpm tach. I did not put the motor in but even if I used different mounts to raise the engine wouldn't that put the collectors even more up in my floor. I also just replaced the rear spring with a steel 7 leaf. Would the front springs help. I can't believe I just spent over 600 dollars for something undriveable and I don't even have the rest of the exhaust system on yet. Please keep the ideas coming. Worse yet is I already dimpled the headers to get them off my frame so they cannot be returned to Jet-Hot.

 

Sorry to hear that :( Evidently there must be a big difference in how low the 1 7/8 headers hang compared to the 2 1/8. Hope you find a satisfactory solution.

:cheers:
Pat Kunz

 

Sidemounts practically eliminate cabin heat. The sidemount tubes are 4" and there are a number muffler options. I am using spiral, probably the least restricitive on the market that also have a killer sound.

 

If you go with the Hooker sidemounts don't waste your money on there
muffers get a set of JCL'S spiral baffels....1RED1

 

Sorry to hear your problem. The problem is the headers are 2-1/8 inch. I had these on a 67 and same problem, hit everything on road and WORST part also hit floor of car, again, problem is tube size, this is race only size, not street. :(

 

Well thanks everyone for your replies. I have cooled off alittle after a nights tossing and turning about what to do. I can either go with sidemounts or run the stock manifolds. I guess I will go with sidemounts but I am curious if there are any ground clearance issues with these. I am paranoid now I guess. I gotta tell you though the car sounded unbelievable on the drive I took open headers. What a sound except for all the clanking and banging and scraping of the headers. GDaina can you give me a little information about the spiral baffles, are they like the car chemistry inserts or different? How loud are they and how do they attach to the collector. Thanks.

 

Don't know Car Chemistry inserts but the spiral are about the right decibel level. When cruising you can talk and carry on a conversation, yest have a deep distinct sound that people turn around when they hear you coming. This past summer, Jim and I just finished installing the baffles in my 68. I commented about a guy whacking weeds up the road. The light turned green and under light acceleration, the weed whacker guy stopped to see what was coming, and he just stared at the 68 as we went zinging by.

If you'r intersted, contact JCL79383@AOL.com. Get the headers, don't buy the tubes, Jim supplies the tubes also. If you get the whole kit, he installs them, all you have to do is mount them. A number of guys have these baffles. Chucky "Cheese" Harmon, MassVette, me, and others.

 

Thanks GDaina I will contact JCL. Has anybody dynoed these baffles. How does it compare with the previous exhaust you had on your 533 BB in terms of horsepower.

 

Ever have a stuffed up nose and ya can hardly breathe? Ya blow all that snot out and voila, you can breathe again. Well the hooker insers were snot.

 

You are reinforcing my decision to have chosen Hooker side pipes for my L88. I had super comps when I was running a small block. I kept hitting the pipes all the time too. I get into trouble because I think the car looks better and better the lower the front sits. But I prefer the looks of the car with the pipes going under the car and out the rear. The only place I can drive this combination is at a very smooth track! Less cabin heat and ground clearance are major advantages of the side pipes.

I have Jet Hot coated Hooker side pipes now. The Hooker mufflers are either very restrictive in the reverse flow configuration; or, restrictive and LOUD in the glass pack version. The spiral baffles JCL developed are much less restrictive and somewhere in between the sound level of the reverse flow and glass pack Hooker mufflers. I know the back pressure is less because I am no longer getting exhaust blow by at the collector joint with the JCL baffles. The continuous open area inside the tube is greater than an open 3” pipe. The JCL system is not quiet, but it is what you would expect from a high hp Vette. Even my wife AND mother-in-law love the sound!
He also has a very nicely designed and high quality heat shield for the side tubes that I would strongly recommend. Side pipe owners always say you learn it once and that’s it. Well, that really is delusional thinking. My 10 year old daughter got a very ugly and painful 2nd degree burn from her first ever ride in the Vette. The tears, guilt and medical expense make the shields a bargain. The shields get warm, like passing a hot dish at the dinner table, but not anything like the literally flesh melting temperatures the pipes make!

Check out Jim’s web site for sound files and pictures.
http://www.spiralturbobaffles.com/

Chuck

 

Definately consider stiffer front springs if you have clearance problems. The VB&P TVL add's a lot of flexiblity for ride height.