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« on: February 21, 2019, 03:33:34 PM »
Bottom line up front: I had them on my '67 Fairlane. I took them off and put on some CJ manifolds.
They are good headers as far as making power. No question about it.
I got fed up with the compromises with these headers. The two low tubes on the driver's side weren't a real problem. I scraped them a couple times, but nothing severe. But man, just about everything was a problem with clearance. I had to change the driver's side engine mount. Can't get to the mount with the header in place. Okay, how often are you going to change the mount? Probably not again but still.... If you have power steering, the hoses need to be re-routed both at the pump and at the valve. The steering Pitman arm hits the header and will require you to dent a tube enough to clear and give you full steering. If you have a clutch, the lower arm will be either very close or will rub the tube. While one tube does come within a whisker of touching the oil filter, I don't believe this is a point of concern as air is flowing around the area while the vehicle is in motion.
Yes, the collectors do exit at different points back on the chassis, but this isn't a significant issue. It makes fabricating the exhaust a little tricky but it's really not that bad.
The passenger side header wasn't an issue at all. It cleared the factory starter and an aftermarket mini starter I later added.
They aren't very easy to install but most of the difficulty is from how tight it is around the tubes and the shock towers. There is usually some difficulty with all headers, so this is just the cost of doing business. It would be the same difficulty with manifolds since the shock towers are the biggest issue and they're still there whether you do headers or manifolds.
So, I guess the question is; Am I happy with the CJ manifolds? For me, yes. They are much better than headers because the manifolds addressed the issues that were concerns. The headers do make more power and I'm talking about the amount of power you can feel in the seat of your pants. That may be a significant point for some.