79 headers
Thread Starter
Intermediate
Joined: Apr 2011
Posts: 41
Likes: 0
79 headers
new to this sight and bought my first corvette recently.My question is. I need to wake up my stock 79 L 82.will be removing stock exhaust and putting on true duels .But do the stock headers not flow enough that I would need to put some kind of different header on? I looked at some mcjacks headers and they look a lot similar and wondering where it is that makes them flow better or for that matter any of them over stock. not afraid to spend some money if it actually improves throttle response.but also want something that fits. thanks
Melting Slicks
Joined: Sep 2004
Posts: 3,216
Likes: 665
From: Northeast
Interesting read in Chevy High Performance concerning headers:
http://www.chevyhiperformance.com/te...ase/index.html
I recently changed to true duals but did not opt for the headers. With the particular driving I do, the duals were enough for me. Forum member jb78-l82 has McJacks and perhaps he will chime in. Headers will help. Whether the cost without engine work is worth it?
good luck
http://www.chevyhiperformance.com/te...ase/index.html
I recently changed to true duals but did not opt for the headers. With the particular driving I do, the duals were enough for me. Forum member jb78-l82 has McJacks and perhaps he will chime in. Headers will help. Whether the cost without engine work is worth it?
good luck
Safety Car
Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 3,736
Likes: 56
From: anchorage ak
i went with true duals and hooker long tube ceramic coated headers, love them. if you don't plan on building the engine up later, then you might want to think about going with like 2 1/8'' exhaust. on another note if you have to pass eco **** emissions you want a carb number on the headers and would need to go with high flow cats. if you do go with long tube headers you probably want to go no bigger than 1 5/8'' primaries 2.5'' collecters. just my two cents.
Drifting
Joined: Oct 2010
Posts: 1,972
Likes: 6
From: Chester Virginia
My shop has four guys who race using vette engines and years of experience. For my L48 with a then cracked cast iron oem exhaust manifold we were replacing with a whole new true duals through two bullet cats and flowmaster 40s....they said that if I didn't get into the engine with cam, heads, rollers, perhaps different intake manifold the original cast exhaust manifolds were fine. We were getting more out of eliminating the old pellet cat, the 2-1-2 system and expanding exhaust output by more than double. They were right. In my case I got about 750 more rpm and 5-10mph more in each gear over the previous system. How much due to getting rid of older pellet cat versus the true duals? No way to know but it was demonstrably better and the power was much more uniform in each gear as you worked through the gear in addition. Our conclusion, shop and mine, was: if we stayed out of the block stick with stock. worked perfectly for me. If I went in the block I'd have gotten headers like Hedman's or something like that but wasn't necessary.
lance
lance
Le Mans Master
Joined: Oct 2010
Posts: 6,900
Likes: 833
From: melbourne florida
2023 C3 of the Year Finalist - Modified
as long as you don't just bolt them on and expect 100 horse power they will give you more than you think. you have to make changes or adjustments to carburetor and timing that's where the power gets unlocked. a worthwhile modification.
Drifting
Joined: Oct 2010
Posts: 1,972
Likes: 6
From: Chester Virginia
I have the recurve kit for my hei distributor to put on one of these days with lighter springs and different weights so it hits the bigger advance earlier in the rpm cycle. Will do it after I return from the track day May 5 as I don't want to screw anything up now. It's bad enough washing the yellow pollen off that somehow gets inside the garage as is! the kit was from Summit and was only $19 or so. I'll get to it.
Lance
Lance
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Thread Starter
Intermediate
Joined: Apr 2011
Posts: 41
Likes: 0
thanks, all helpful .just need to know which headers would be the best fit. meaning they dont interfere with plugs and so forth in a 79 vet.which of them just bolt on without any modification needed under the hood as long as I string in new exhaust to meet up with the headers?
Melting Slicks
Joined: Aug 2010
Posts: 2,487
Likes: 10
From: Palm Beach Florida
St. Jude Donor '12
I have the recurve kit for my hei distributor to put on one of these days with lighter springs and different weights so it hits the bigger advance earlier in the rpm cycle. Will do it after I return from the track day May 5 as I don't want to screw anything up now. It's bad enough washing the yellow pollen off that somehow gets inside the garage as is! the kit was from Summit and was only $19 or so. I'll get to it.
Lance
Lance
Safety Car
Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 3,736
Likes: 56
From: anchorage ak
i went with hok-2456-1hkr, which are hooker comp, ceramic coated, 1 5/8'' primarries, 3'' collecters, it was for future planning. you can call summit racing tech line @ 1-800-230-3030. You might want to check into tri-y's which is a 2 into 2 into one which according to dyno test's on horsepower tv picked up more bottom end torque & didn't rob top end power to do this. remeber if you don't plan on getting rowdy with your engine later, you might wan't to stay with a 2 1/2'' collector. On another note, youll probably need a lift to change the headers.
