Advice on Hooker Sidepipes needed...
Thread Starter
Le Mans Master
Joined: Apr 1999
Posts: 6,134
Likes: 46
From: Raleigh North Carolina
Advice on Hooker Sidepipes needed...
I am replacing the exhaust system on my 70 454...
I have chosen the Hooker Sidemounts.. headers & pipes-
Anybody have experience with these?
Installation Issues?
Problems?
Special parts needed?
I am not concerned about people touching the hot pipes.
If they're dumb enough to touch them, then they don't belong in or near my car.
(The pipes are for me, not for them.)
I have A/C, P/S, P/B and a radio.
Thanks in advance.
Tom
I have chosen the Hooker Sidemounts.. headers & pipes-
Anybody have experience with these?
Installation Issues?
Problems?
Special parts needed?
I am not concerned about people touching the hot pipes.
If they're dumb enough to touch them, then they don't belong in or near my car.
(The pipes are for me, not for them.)
I have A/C, P/S, P/B and a radio.
Thanks in advance.
Tom
Burning Brakes
Joined: Nov 2000
Posts: 948
Likes: 0
From: Johnston Iowa
Re: Advice on Hooker Sidepipes needed... (Tom454)
The only bad thing that I seem to have with the Hookers sides right now is there lack quality control. On the set that I purchased for my 69 big block I had problems with the drivers side not even coming close to bolting up. When I tried tightening down the header bolts the top inside header tube right before it went into the collector would hit the lower fender. The passenger side bolted right up with no problems. They sent me a new drivers side and it bolted up but I had to ding it in a number of areas still due to clearance issues. It still sits closer to the lower fender than the passengers side. Hooker moved its manufacturing to Mexico and I heard that since then quality control has gone down. I'm still PO about the way that the drivers side fits!!!!
Pray that you get a good set when you order them!!!!
Good luck!!!!
[Modified by James, 12:58 PM 10/14/2002]
[Modified by James, 12:58 PM 10/14/2002]
Pray that you get a good set when you order them!!!!
Good luck!!!!
[Modified by James, 12:58 PM 10/14/2002]
[Modified by James, 12:58 PM 10/14/2002]
Safety Car
Joined: Apr 2001
Posts: 4,795
Likes: 1
From: Regina Saskatchewan, Canada.
Re: Advice on Hooker Sidepipes needed... (Tom454)
The stock mufflers that come with them apparently suck and hold back alot of horsepower. I'm sure others will tell you the same thing.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 6,640
Likes: 287
From: Ann Arbor Michigan
Re: Advice on Hooker Sidepipes needed... (Tom454)
I had no problems bolting them on my 78' small block. Buy the Spiral Turbo mufflers and forget the Hookers, they are very restrictive.
Instructor
Joined: Dec 1999
Posts: 195
Likes: 1
From: Van Buren AR
Re: Advice on Hooker Sidepipes needed... (Duke94)
I have to agree, buy the Spiral Turbo Specialties inserts. They are a lot less restrictive than the Hookers and sound really nice. You might also consider buying the sidepipes from the same place. They mount a lot nicer than Hookers. You don't have to take off the rocker panels.
Thread Starter
Le Mans Master
Joined: Apr 1999
Posts: 6,134
Likes: 46
From: Raleigh North Carolina
Re: Advice on Hooker Sidepipes needed... (Arkansas Flash)
Thanks JCL for the link via IM ...
http://www.spiralturbobaffles.com/
I'll check them out.
Thanks for the quality control info.. now I will know enough to send them back if they are messed up.
Tom
http://www.spiralturbobaffles.com/
I'll check them out.
Thanks for the quality control info.. now I will know enough to send them back if they are messed up.
Tom
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Thread Starter
Le Mans Master
Joined: Apr 1999
Posts: 6,134
Likes: 46
From: Raleigh North Carolina
Re: Advice on Hooker Sidepipes needed... (Maco Shark)
It's not exactly clear from their web site...
Do they have a kit that attaches directly to the Hooker sidemount headers?
The kit includes everything for mounting?
So.... I would order the sidemounts from Hooker, and the rest from Spiral?
Tom
Do they have a kit that attaches directly to the Hooker sidemount headers?
The kit includes everything for mounting?
So.... I would order the sidemounts from Hooker, and the rest from Spiral?
Tom
Le Mans Master
Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 6,563
Likes: 2
Re: Advice on Hooker Sidepipes needed... (Tom454)
The flanges on the headers are made for the cast iron BB heads. The Gen VI aluminum head bolts stick up a little further, and the flanges need to be clearanced. Also, I had to ding a d/s header tube to clear the steering box.
Oh, yeah. DON'T buy Hooker's ceramic coating; it rusts in weeks! Get it done afterward, or buy the Hookers from Jet Hot....They'll sell 'em to you for about the same $$$$$, plus they'll be coated properly, inside AND out.
Plus, use the JCL baffles. The Hooker glasspacks cost me 95 hp on the dyno run- I'm NOT joking! BTW, use the set with the 2 1/8" primaries, too. All the stuff the other guys told you is right on the money.
My 2c.
:yesnod: :chevy :chevy :yesnod:
Oh, yeah. DON'T buy Hooker's ceramic coating; it rusts in weeks! Get it done afterward, or buy the Hookers from Jet Hot....They'll sell 'em to you for about the same $$$$$, plus they'll be coated properly, inside AND out.
Plus, use the JCL baffles. The Hooker glasspacks cost me 95 hp on the dyno run- I'm NOT joking! BTW, use the set with the 2 1/8" primaries, too. All the stuff the other guys told you is right on the money.
My 2c.
:yesnod: :chevy :chevy :yesnod:
Safety Car
Joined: Mar 1999
Posts: 3,715
Likes: 1
From: VASS, NC, USA
Re: Advice on Hooker Sidepipes needed... (MassVette)
Tom, Before you met me, had the black hooker side mounts:
Pros: They sound great
Less heat in the cockpit
Cons:
Fit: I had, and alot of folks have said, the fit is almost perfect, but not quite. Where the collectors come out the side, and come up against the floorboards, you have to grind just a little bit of the fibergalss side covers, just in the front near the wheel well
Upkeep: Pain in the butt. The black ones get sand blasted from the front wheels, and its a constant fight against rust. The chrome ones get beat up by the sand from the wheels as well. Rust really gets in the nooks/crannies where the headers snake together
Pros: They sound great
Less heat in the cockpit
Cons:
Fit: I had, and alot of folks have said, the fit is almost perfect, but not quite. Where the collectors come out the side, and come up against the floorboards, you have to grind just a little bit of the fibergalss side covers, just in the front near the wheel well
Upkeep: Pain in the butt. The black ones get sand blasted from the front wheels, and its a constant fight against rust. The chrome ones get beat up by the sand from the wheels as well. Rust really gets in the nooks/crannies where the headers snake together