Homemade headers installed on the 383

[Trevor]

 

found it here:

http://www.kitcarmag.com/techarticles/general/0707kc_keeping_it_cool/index.html

[Mike C]

Awesome job Terry. I'm gonna' build a header for my Jeep and you are making my future life easier!

[Careless]

so will this band clamp trick work on slightly radius-ed joints as well, or is it because yours are the wider 1/2 inch ones that make it easier to work with?

[blueovalz]

Mine worked (and I did have a couple of the more narrow ones, but I didn't drill holes in them) pretty well on anything larger than a 3" radius. When the radius dropped to 2.5 or less, positioning of the clamp required more time and skill in keeping the joint held together.

[Careless]

That's great. thanks for sharing that tip guys.

 

Now, as for the material used. Can you shed some light on your choice of alloys and why it was used, as well as preferred methods/settings for welding?

 

I have a 225 amp welder that can weld stainless and aluminum but it's a mig, and it uses the spray arc. Is this suitable at all? I would really like to try my hand at doing this. I read here that doing stainless welding with welding rod/stick is even easier and looks great. I'm not too concerned about looks really, but i'd like the headers I make to be radiused nicely with not too many straight cuts that interfere with positioning of other things in the engine bay.

 

I am pretty good at mig welding, and I'd obviously practice, but I'm wondering if welding them this way would suffice and hold up to a high-comp N/A application.

 

I'm sorry if this doesn't fit in this thread, but I'm sure some people are looking for some of the same information in regards to your own work here.

 

 

I was thinking of going for a small set of these blocks here:

http://www.icengineworks.com/icewmain.htm

 

they look good and I wouldn't mind making and getting paid for fabbing some headers up.

Thanks

[blueovalz]

I did the MIG thing with my first set of headers, and it doesn't look nearly as nice as this TIG set does. Material?...Nothing exotic or unusual. Simply bought some mandrel bent tubing (Hooker I think) and went after it. You won't be saving any money though. I spent as much on mine as a nice set of custom made headers, but then, NOBODY makes custom headers for the SBF in a Z, and if they do, it's got to be a one size fits all. So in the long run, it was still worth the expense and time to do this. And best of all (need I say this?), it was something home made and not bought outright.

[grumpyvette]

looks like very nice work, excellent spark plug clearance ETC., do you have pictures of the header collectors and under car clearances?

[Six_Shooter]

I was thinking of going for a small set of these blocks here:

http://www.icengineworks.com/icewmain.htm

 

they look good and I wouldn't mind making and getting paid for fabbing some headers up.

Thanks

 

 

That's VERY cool, I actually saved the link for future reference.

 

But for $750 for the "small" set, I could waste a whole lot of metal U and J-bends before that would save me any money.

 

While I was looking at it, I was thinking I would spend between $250 and $300 on something like that no problem, not that I think it would save me that much wasted material, but I could have lots of fun mocking up headers in a few vehicles. I have at least two I know I have to do.

 

Looks very well thought out, especially with the indexing, to determine if a section could be cut from one piece.

[blueovalz]

I shudder to think of what I eventually spent. Let's see...about $330 for tubes (yes, I had some extra, but not much), $110 for the flanges, $65 for the collectors (if that's what you want to call them), and $260 for the JetHot (includes shipping and all), so that is $765 EEE...GAD!!! Jeeze, I'm glad I wasn't keeping track of all this at the time I did it. And that doesn't even cover the time, grinding discs, and welding rods.

 

 

do you have pictures of the header collectors and under car clearances?

 

I've been meaning to get some photos out due to another request, so here they are:

These are the passenger side headers:

 

 

 

This is hard to make out but the tube comes inside of the frame rail by about 3/4"

 

The driver's side headers:

It looks like a header flange up against the frame rail, but that is the tube's reflection in the paint.

 

Another hard to make out photo. The tubes curve down an back in toward the engine about 1/2" (blistering paint I'm sure) above the frame rail in order to clear the steering rod.

 

The "tab" on the left is not a header part but instead the pigtail for the starter which is part of the engine plate.

[Six_Shooter]

Looks good, nice use of space and materials....

 

Oh wait this isn't an art exposition.

 

Seriously the way they fit is very nice, a little close to the frame rail for me, but when you gotta, you gotta, right? I had to build a header that only had about 5/8" clearance to the inner tierod end on a FWD, but had no choice.

 

Did you buy a box of bends from Hedman? That's what I usually end up doing when I need to build a set or two.

[blueovalz]

I attempted to pick and choose what I needed. I found out I needed more shorter radius bends (2.5-4") than I thought, and fewer 5-8" bends than I thought. I wanted to do the 4-1 typical header design, but with the wide road pan, I'd be right on the pan, and the T/C bushings, so Tri-Y was my remedy.

[Careless]

I did the MIG thing with my first set of headers, and it doesn't look nearly as nice as this TIG set does.

 

Would grinding them down be a good idea once the beads are laid down? Or does this promote any kind of early cracking and such?

 

Material?...Nothing exotic or unusual. Simply bought some mandrel bent tubing (Hooker I think) and went after it. You won't be saving any money though.

 

Not really looking to save money, I like the experience, it pays for itself. My flanges are 302 stainless... is 302 stainless suitable for the rest of the piping?

 

I spent as much on mine as a nice set of custom made headers, but then, NOBODY makes custom headers for the SBF in a Z, and if they do, it's got to be a one size fits all. So in the long run, it was still worth the expense and time to do this.

 

Only one person makes them for N/A RB30 Z's, and then again, they're in Australia/NZ, and they are also built using someone elses mounts...also something I will be making myself, as well as different cross member and different steering rack and u-joints... so... I'll try my hand at it

 

And best of all (need I say this?), it was something home made and not bought outright.

 

 

Built, not Bought! excellent.

[blueovalz]

Ahhhh, a hybrider that thinks like a hybrider. Sounds like we'll see your handywork soon enough.

[Careless]

Ahhhh, a hybrider that thinks like a hybrider. Sounds like we'll see your handywork soon enough.

 

 

I hope so. I'm waiting for spring to sandblast the chassis, then summer to get the engine head so I can start putting it together.

 

I'm slowly finding building engines more entertaining, or more relaxing. Headers being a part of it, I guess.

 

We'll see.

 

 

Any other complications with creating this piece? Also, what coating did you go for... There are a ton of different coatings so I'm not sure what to use. Is there anything that can be painted or polished to a gold finish?

[Evan Purple240zt]

Hey guys, don't know if its of any use but http://www.mandrel-bends.com sells stainless mandrel bent tubing. I got my mild steel stuff from them.

 

Evan

[Bowtiez]

Ok, Terry, enough, when are we going to stick this bad stroker motor in your car? Are you going to powder coat or chrome the headers? I have an extra can of Ford red VHT if you want to go cheap and fast. Little Rock Racing Scene Dyno Day is coming up soon.

 

Editorial comment: This seems like an awful lot of trouble to beat my poor little low performance stock Chevy 350.

[blueovalz]

Already talking smack and I aint even got an engine fully installed! When you see these bad boys glowing red from the gargantuan horsepower, you'll think back to your words and crumble as a mere shell of a man (whipped cream knees and jello spine) and wonder, how could a FORD do that?

[Bowtiez]

Already talking smack and I aint even got an engine fully installed! When you see these bad boys glowing red from the gargantuan horsepower, you'll think back to your words and crumble as a mere shell of a man (whipped cream knees and jello spine) and wonder, how could a FORD do that?

 

 

When do you need help?

 

I am getting bored. I just finished getting a friend's 1960 model Yanmar diesel tractor with burned up wiring to run and didn't even know how to turn the darn thing off when I got it started.