Hooker Super Comp Race Headers on the Street

[garyv]

Have a 66 Fairlane and will need to upgrade my headers for the 427 TP that is going in it.
running FPA tri-Y's right now but will need more flow.
Anyone running the Hooker super comp race headers on the street?
Just wondering about clearance and fitment. what little I could find wasn't great.
running quicktime bell housing and toploader 4 speed.'
these things are very expensive and if something else is a better option I'm open to it.
appreciate any info.
garyv

[thatdarncat]

Check out REF Headers in Kingman Az. ( phone 928-692-0111) They have become the popular item in stock and superstock dragracing and one of the reasons are that they have much better ground clearance than the Hooker race headers. They aren't cheap, but neither are the Hookers and REF has multiple options for tube size, step header, O2 sensors, etc. I bought a set for the Cougar race car I'm building and they are excellent quality.

[cjshaker]

Does REF have jigs to make them, or do they need the car to custom make them? I've always wanted to go to the Hooker Race header, but road clearance isn't enough.

[thatdarncat]

They have jigs, they don't need the car, although they may do custom work too. When I bought mine in 2009 they were made when ordered though, they weren't "on the shelf" so there was a wait of a couple weeks.

[jayb]

I agree that the Hooker competition headers are not suitable for the street; they are just too low, and will sometimes interfere with the steering linkage when turning.  I took the approach of modifying a set of the 2 1/8" headers when I built the first real strong motor for my Mach 1 back in 2005.  They are no longer equal length primaries, but dyno testing didn't shown any significant difference between the unmodified headers and the modified versions.  Here are some pictures; the first two show the left and right headers after modification, next to an unmodified set.  The modified headers were ceramic coated so they are nice and shiny 





Here's a picture showing the difference in ground clearance you might expect with the modified headers:



I went a little overboard with the ceramic coating and did the whole exhaust system, as shown in the photos below:









If you can acquire a beat up set of the Hooker competition headers for a reasonable price, modifying them for better ground clearance might be the way to go.  Worked for me; I'm still running those headers on my Mach 1.

[ScotiaFE]

Those pipes look wicked!
I flanged behind the mufflers, makes rr ing the rear pipes much easier.

[garyv]

Great looking set up Jay !
I see you are not running an X pipe.  I may do away with mine once I get into this a little deeper.
Easier to run straight pipe with a balance tube.
First have  to figure out this header deal.
garyv

[cjshaker]

I took the approach of modifying a set of the 2 1/8" headers when I built the first real strong motor for my Mach 1 back in 2005.

Ha, modified he says. Looks like the only thing left was the flanges and a few inches of the down-tubes.

While I custom made the exhaust on my Mach in stainless, just getting around the staggered shock was a PITA. I shudder to think about what it would be like to cut and tack weld pieces together for headers in a shock towered car. Throw in some clutch linkage to boot. I do have a modified factory oil cooler/filter adapter to work with the down tubes on the race headers.....if I could find it. The rear hose port has to be cut and re-welded at a 90* angle to clear the front tube.

Sorry, Gary, didn't mean to hijack your thread.

[garyv]

You didn't hijack anything.
I appreciate the info.
This is what I was looking for.
Hate to build a hot motor and kill it with an inadequate exhaust system.
garyv

[Lenz]

Gary, out of curiosity, which way did you end up going? 

I'm running Hooker super comps on my Galaxie and can attest to Jay's input concerning street suitability.  Even on a car with that much room several packaging issues had to be addressed, and the collector flanges are the lowest point under the car.  I renewed the front suspension and have sufficient ground clearance but that's only because there's no way (yet I'm going to yank the front end off the ground.

I'm trying to picture how you'd get Medusa's snakes into your Fairlane without performing some serious "adjustments" (not unlike those in Jay's photos).

[garyv]

Lenz I am going to go with the REF headers. 
Have talked to one of the forum members here that is using them and he said they
had plenty of clearance and weren't really that difficult to install. Had nothing but good things
to say about them.
Also have talked directly with one of the guys at REF.
The Super Comps are just not going to be an option after researching it.
It will be a while before I get this project completed but will post some pics and info once
I get into it.
garyv