Running open Shortys?

[Guest zfan]

If they are real short shorties I would not recommend doing it as you could damage your valves/heads.

 

Mike

[QWKDTSN]

I think you'll veto the idea yourself once you fire it up with open shorties. The possibility of damage is fairly small (I think you're really only supposed to worry about running no headers AT ALL) but I may be wrong. However, the racket you will generate is ungodly and I know I wouldn't have the gall to try and drive it on public streets.

[Guest Anonymous]

I think your right, I may be wrong too, but I ran them around the block and didn't suffer from warped valves. I suppose if it was real cold out and you went out and really got it hot maybe, but I think people mean no headers as well where the air can get right to the valve, in a shorty header air won't be cold once it gets up to the valve after they've been running for only a minute or two trust me I have the burns to prove it.

 

I think its also true once you start it and drive it, you won't drive it long. It sounds ok when your accellerating but once you let off, you'll know find out how nasty a SBC sounds with open headers letting off the gas, they pop and backfire and generally make the car annoying at best to be in.

 

Regards,

 

Lone

[Guest Anonymous]

I would be more worried about the heat and catching something on fire.

[Guest Anonymous]

As Lone said your problem is very cold air getting to the very HOT valves.It should be a lot of fun screaming around blasting out both sides before the policeman hauls you in front of the Magistrate to pay your dues.

[Guest Pegasus76]

I am changing out the exhaust that the previous owner used...I bought competition headers 1 5/8" primary tubes, my new headers look similar to the old ones but the flange just doesn't want to line up. So I might hhave to run open shorty's for a while until I get some more money. Would that hurt the car at all if I ran open shorty's...I know long tubes are fine considering the tubes extend under and out past your engine bay. So would open shorty's not be a good thing?

[mobythevan]

I ran directly from my rams horn manifolds on my van when I first stuck the motor in. Put the motor in at my father-inlaws shop and then drove home with no exhaust. About 4 miles through town, it is one of my most memorable hot rod experiences. Of course it sounded like a monster truck. This Harley guy was setting at one of the stop lights so I gave it a little rev, since they do it all the time. You should have seen the look he gave me

 

Then at another stop light I ended up first in line next to a Z28, oh crap, this is not a good situation, way too tempting

 

Well, I didn't even have throttle linkage hooked up. So I am running the throttle with my right hand (cover removed from the doghouse, its a 68 van) and steering with my left hand. TH350 tranny. So the light turns green and I go WOT. HOLY CRAP, I bet three people had heart attacks that day. Since I was at the mercy of the tranny switching gears the camaro got about a half car length before it hit second, then I started a steadily pulling away. Then the thing over heated at the next stop light.

 

The only other trip the van made without exhaust was to the muffler shop about two blocks from my house. What fun though, I would have been up a creek if I met a cop that day, but oh well young and stupid....