thorley headers
Thread Starter
Melting Slicks
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 2,528
Likes: 77
From: Toronto ohio
thorley headers
I was looking at the Summit catalog and they list a set of 14 gauge nickel plated Doug Thorley headers for Corvettes. Has anyone tried these? Or would buying a ceramic coated brand be better?
Also my alternator bolts to the manifold. I noticed in some of the corvette catalogs they sell a lower bracket for a 72 corvette that bolts to the head. I believe it would work better than the cheap bracket I see advertised.
Joe
Also my alternator bolts to the manifold. I noticed in some of the corvette catalogs they sell a lower bracket for a 72 corvette that bolts to the head. I believe it would work better than the cheap bracket I see advertised.
Joe
Race Director
Joined: Jun 2001
Posts: 16,483
Likes: 1
From: The Only Corvette in Gila Bend, Az.
St. Jude Donor '09
Re: thorley headers (70vetteinpieces)
I know that Thorley was a genius with his headers (tri Y ) for fords., so I bet he put just as much work into these. let us know if you get them.
and post the link.
and post the link.
Drifting
Joined: Apr 2002
Posts: 1,720
Likes: 19
From: Manhattan Beach Ca
Re: thorley headers (70vetteinpieces)
I have these and they are great. My alt did need some creative bracket work for the lower bolt into the head using small plate stock maybe .150 in thick.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Oct 2002
Posts: 7,098
Likes: 378
From: Las Vegas - Just stop perpetuating myths please.
Re: thorley headers (70vetteinpieces)
Hello '70,
I have nothing but good things to say about Thorley headers. Used them on my '90 s.b. chev. p.u.. Looked great and had no problems. Industrial chrome worked fine with min. blueing - won't waste money on anything else.
Thorley made some '74 vett tubes for me new with the A.I.R. fittings as none were on the shelf. Bought'm through Summit for $350 - no tax, no shipping. Thick walled tubes and thick flanged. Chroming looks good enough to be hot rod art for the living room. Haven't got them onto the vett yet so no intput about my output. They sold me a special bracket for the A/C compressor thats tiny compared to stock setup but I'll let it prove itself.
Don't think you could go wrong with Thorleys but I heard from a lot unhappy owners of the "other brands" except Dynomax.
I have nothing but good things to say about Thorley headers. Used them on my '90 s.b. chev. p.u.. Looked great and had no problems. Industrial chrome worked fine with min. blueing - won't waste money on anything else.
Thorley made some '74 vett tubes for me new with the A.I.R. fittings as none were on the shelf. Bought'm through Summit for $350 - no tax, no shipping. Thick walled tubes and thick flanged. Chroming looks good enough to be hot rod art for the living room. Haven't got them onto the vett yet so no intput about my output. They sold me a special bracket for the A/C compressor thats tiny compared to stock setup but I'll let it prove itself.
Don't think you could go wrong with Thorleys but I heard from a lot unhappy owners of the "other brands" except Dynomax.
Safety Car
Joined: Feb 1999
Posts: 3,630
Likes: 14
From: Fountain Hills AZ
Re: thorley headers (70vetteinpieces)
I've had my Thorleys on for over 9 years and they've been great. No leaks, EVER, and I haven't ever had to retighten the bolts. As is normal for chrome/nickel, the upper tubes will blue but it's protective qualities aren't dimenished. The lower part of the headers still look like new and look really neat through wheel wells. Even after 9 years, there's not a spec of rust. Their durability is in large part due to the heavy guage.
One the downside, the thicker guage does make them heavier than other headers and, while their plating probably provides as good or better rust protection as ceramic, it doesn't provide the heat insulation that the ceramic coatings do. If I were doing it again, I'd probably go for some 16 quage ceramic coated ones.
One the downside, the thicker guage does make them heavier than other headers and, while their plating probably provides as good or better rust protection as ceramic, it doesn't provide the heat insulation that the ceramic coatings do. If I were doing it again, I'd probably go for some 16 quage ceramic coated ones.
