Hooker sidepipe hel
Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: Jul 2007
Posts: 269
Likes: 0
From: WV
Hooker sidepipe hel
Well my wonderful luck continues. I was extremely excited to find a set of hooker headers and sidepipes for a reasonable price in my area that I have always wanted. Went and purchased them and they were in decent shape and showed signs of neglect over the years. Spent 8 hours cleaning them only to find out today that the inserts in the pipes are different! One appears to have a hole in the center of the insert that has a spiral twist to it with small like half moon shipped pieces sticking out while the other has an offset hole that has a bunch of small holes maybe a glasspack. I am completely bummed out and don't want to run these both different but don't really have money to buy new inserts at the prices I have seen. Even worse I can not get the glass pack out to run them open. It seems really stuck
Racer
Joined: Feb 2012
Posts: 333
Likes: 2
From: Aurora Colorado
Drop the collector side of the pipe on a piece of wood a few times and it should fall out. Make sure the one that looks like a glass pack isn't welded in. Get them out and order Sweet Thunder inserts for $150 plus shipping. Got mine for 170 shipped and love them.
Race Director
Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 17,676
Likes: 201
From: Who says "Nothing is impossible" ? I've been doing nothing for years.
Save up for a few weeks and get the inserts you want, I know how you feel when you are all pumped up and ready to go, happens to me all the time, I just close the garage and tell myself there's nothing I can do right now.
Look online, maybe you can find used ones for a 1/4 the price.
I am sure your gonna be grinning ear to ear in a short period of time
Look online, maybe you can find used ones for a 1/4 the price.
I am sure your gonna be grinning ear to ear in a short period of time
Drifting
Joined: Jan 2011
Posts: 1,853
Likes: 81
From: Hamilton Virginia
I know how you feel when money is tight. I myself bought the sidepipes from one member on this site at a great price, then waited untill someone else had inserts for a great price and bought them..
As said before, tap the collector end down on a piece of wood, they should come loose.
Wonder why the pipes have different inserts, kinda weird.
As said before, tap the collector end down on a piece of wood, they should come loose.
Wonder why the pipes have different inserts, kinda weird.
Burning Brakes
Joined: Feb 2012
Posts: 925
Likes: 7
Could you post a video of your car with the Sweet Thunder inserts in it?
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Racer
Joined: Feb 2012
Posts: 333
Likes: 2
From: Aurora Colorado
Search YouTube for them. Problem is cheap video microphones (like mine) don't do a good job of accurately reproducing the sound. That being said, one of the you tube vids sounded pretty close. And it depends on your compression. Mine is a pretty stock 71 350 and I have the 2 1/2" inserts. They are not quiet when you hit the gas, which is what I wanted, but much quieter then open. Idle is not so loud on mine just a nice rumble.
Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: Jul 2007
Posts: 269
Likes: 0
From: WV
Well I was able to get the on out by using a piece of wood and dropping the pipe on it for about a half hour. It spit out a large amount of rust along with it. Then I tried the other side probably dropped that pipe over 100 times along with soaking of every penetration oil I own and it just will not move at all. I don't see any welds holding it in there it is just stuck! The pipe doesn't appear to be rusted or have any dents. Any suggestions?
Race Director
Joined: May 2006
Posts: 18,736
Likes: 2,582
spray tons of a rust penetrant let it sit overnight and proceed with the drop the open end on a piece of wood. Assuming you are using a relatively soft wood that pipe can stand some severe pounding in order to get the insert out. Can you see the other end of the insert through the exit end of the sidepipe, if so try inserting a pipe against the end of the insert and hit it with a hammer then go to the dropping on the wood.
Last edited by MelWff; Jul 11, 2012 at 03:45 PM.
Racer
Joined: Jun 2011
Posts: 383
Likes: 21
From: Greenville Ohio
I helped my Dad get one of his mufflers unstuck. What we had to do was put a chain through the muffler and then put a bolt through the chain so it couldn't slide back out. Attach the chain to something sturdy enough that you can put alot of pressure on the chain. And finally, use a air hammer and a steel bar to vibrate the muffler out. We tried everything else before we came up with this solution.