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Purchasing my first corvette in a few days. This is a stock 350/300hp/4spd. Already has headers but they have seen better days. What are some of the top choices? This is a driver and I don't anticipate adding much more hp.
I don't think you would lose much power by going with the stock exhaust manifolds if your engine is stock. Headers will help you unleash the full potential of modifications such as heads and cam, but don't do a whole lot for a stock engine. I'm a fan of Stan's headers if you do decide to go that route though.
I put Hedman Elite Thermal coated header on my 77, and the yfit great. No clearance issues on the Steering box or my heavy duty idler. Good thick flange for no leaks. For different unrelated reasons I decided to go with Stainless Works headers, and they are even better, but are much more expensive. They also fit with even greater clearance on the idler arm, and use slip joint flanges IF you use their exhaust system. My Hedman Elites are on the C3 Parts for Sale section if interested.
Last edited by Shovels and Vettes; Feb 22, 2016 at 06:16 AM.
I put Hedman Elite Thermal coated header on my 77, and the yfit great. No clearance issues on the Steering box or my heavy duty idler. Good thick flange for no leaks. For different unrelated reasons I decided to go with Stainless Works headers, and they are even better, but are much more expensive. They also fit with even greater clearance on the idler arm, and use slip joint flanges IF you use their exhaust system. My Hedman Elites are on the C3 Parts for Sale section if interested.
Surprisingly, the cheap Summit headers I picked up from another member went on smoothly. Of course I primed, painted and cleared them with VHT first. No issues with clearances, spark plug clearances, or any other issues.
I don't think you would lose much power by going with the stock exhaust manifolds if your engine is stock...
A voice of reason.
To the OP, if you do want to stay with headers, beyond tube diameter and primary length, pay particular attention to collector length. Stubby collectors kill most everything that you were making good upstream.