Inliners International Forums General Discussion Hi Performance BEST HEADERS

Hi DUdes,¿ which are the best headers for the six chevy inlines?, I found headers from Dynomax, HEdman, Langdon's stovebolt, Clifford, PAce Setter and Flowtech...
I want long headers and i will really appreciate your info...

I want to put into my chevy 292ci 1987 C15 TRUCK..... THanks a lot

I have Clifford headers in my '68 C/10 w/ 292. Put them on new in '78. Last year, I had them bead blasted and hot tanked before I painted them to go back on after my new rebuild. OK, so along the way I did have the mating flange resurfaced in the '80s, and had to have a patch welded back on after I crushed # 5 downtube while out boonie-hopping, but they have proved worth every penny of the $93 I paid for them in 1978.

"Best" is a function of what primary purpose you want the headers to serve. Getting maximum overall HP from a drag engine versus getting the most low-to-mid RPM torque from your street engine, for example, will probably not come from the same header.

If by "the best" you mean longest lasting then the Stovebolts win hands down. Tom Langdon's cast iron headers are priced cheaper than Clifford's tubes - go figure. And if you choose to have the Stovebolt's ceramic coated inside and out they should last longer than any of us!

On a street engine running low-to-mid RPMs I recommend the Stovebolts. You'll probably get more HP and torque from your engine by using well designed tube headers but the Stovebolts will flow plenty well enough, and as I stated before, will last much longer than anything else made for these engines. If you're planning on drag racing then I'd stay away from the cast iron headers and move to the tube headers.

As far as the tube headers go I currently run a set of Dynomax truck headers on my 1966 half ton with a 292. I also have a set of "Doug Thorley" headers of the same pattern (they're basically the exact same header) and I have a set of the Clifford "Shorty" style headers. Of the three the Clifford is, by far, the best quality tube header. The flanges are thicker and they are heavier than the 36-inch Dynomax and Thorley headers. I have never seen or held the Hedman's so I can't speak for them. Others seem to like them. Hope this helps you out.

-magic mike-

Thanks a lot guys, the principal idea of use headers its that the fact who I am a daily driver, I want a visible change, i have the stock exhaust manifold and I want to conect the headers with dual exit pipes into two thrush glasspacks, I want great sound too with increased HP, so What you recomend?, Your replies was so valious to me..... thanks....

Ivan, Clifford has what are best described as drag racing headers that have long primary tubes and both collectors run down the left side of the engine next to the bellhousing area. They also offer a Street Rod set with shorter primary tubes and the collector flanges are about at the oil pan gasket level. These make it easy to run the rear set of tubes into an exhaust system along the left side of the car and the front set can be fitted with an exhaust pipe set up to cross under the oil pan and run down the right side of the car. You won't always be able to cross under the pan in every vehicle due to crossmembers and steering linkages so these won't work on everything you'd like to put them on.

I'd recommend checking their on line catalog to see the difference in what they offer and see what works in your truck. The street rod headers work well for what they are desigend for but ar not as efficient as their drag headers. One look at the variety of tube lengths and shapes of the street rod header set will make that clear.

I mention the Clifford headers as they are one of the few who offer choices for Inline Chevy tube headers. I'm running a set on a 250 in a 37 Chevy and the quality is excellent compared to most of the other ready to wear tubular headers.

Mike

Let me tell you what I have. I have long tube headers (by Dynomax) that are joined together just past the center crossmember by a 'Y' pipe. Then the exhaust is dumped into a single Flowmaster muffler with a 3 inch inlet and dual 2 1/4 inch outlets. From there I have two exhaust pipes that go all the way out under the rear bumpers. Sounds like a 283 or 327 to everyone who's heard it. Deep muscular sound. Everybody's surprised to see a straight six when I pop the hood.

The muffler is a Flowmaster DeltaFlow 40 series muffler. Not too loud at idle, opens up a little above idle to about 3500 rpm - never gets to raspy.

I decided not to do true duals because I wanted a nice deep, "near v8" sound. I didn't want the typical inline 6 dual exhaust sound. Nothing wrong with that sound, I just didn't want it.

-magic mike-

THANKS A LOT, I REALLY APPRECIATE YOUR INFORMATION........

Dudes, another question, which is the difference between long tube and shorty headers?, I mean, in therms of Horsepower and sound....
Where do u recomend me to purchase a header?
If I want to conect the dual exit exhaust into two thrush glasspacks, which is the best, Long or shorty header?

Thanks a lot, I really appreciate your time and info.