Stage II heads

Discussion in 'Race 400/430/455' started by jim wilson, Feb 6, 2002.

  1. jim wilson

    jim wilson Well-Known Member

    Is the spacing of the exhaust ports of the Stage II heads the same as the Stage I 's. Can I cut the flanges off of my Stage I headers and weld on Stage II flanges?? And no, I can't just buy new headers. It's for a full tube chassis Skyhawk. We built the headers I am using now, and I will not do that again!!!!!! Thanks Jim
     
  2. buick535

    buick535 Well-Known Member

    The header flanges on stg-2 heads are in a totally different location than on stage 1 heads. I t looks like it will be back to the drawing board on the headers. Jim
     
  3. Jeff Kroeger

    Jeff Kroeger Active Member

    Save the headers !

    Jim,
    The spacing of the exhaust ports are the same, & Your headers can possibly be saved.
    Taking a FRONT veiw of the motor, there are two major differences in the Stage 2 exhaust. First, the Stage 2 head doesn't have the "dog leg" found on the std. casting. Secondly, is the angle of the flange. Whereas the std. & Stage 1 heads the exh. flange is perpendicular ( 90 degree ) to the deck of the block (or parallel to the centerline of the bore), the Stage 2 flange parallel to the outside of the head. I would say almost perpendicular to the valve cover rail, BUT, I don't have My TWO's in front of Me...... and I'd like to send photos to show You the difference, and I will just as soon as I can ( a picture is worth a thousand words ).
    So, in essence..........You'd have to form up " blending " tube on each cyl. to bridge to the gap in both distance & angular. I can't say for sure that it's possible without seeing Your current set-up.
    They might not end up being the prettiest set of tubes when You get done, but functional !
    Good Luck
    Jeff
     
  4. Jeff Kroeger

    Jeff Kroeger Active Member

    S-2 photos

    Hi Jim,
    Me again........I have the shots of the heads, but I can't attach a single one, due to the file size. I'll try to get them to You another way, but if not, You can e-mail Me at the adrs. below. I hope they give You a better idea of what's ahead, if You decide to make the upgrade. Nothing else, they show more than the TA catalog. I had intended on e-mailing them to You direct, but it seems to be shut down.
    Jeff
    jkalltheway7@juno.com
     
  5. Staged70Lark

    Staged70Lark Well-Known Member

    Jim,

    What is the primary tube diameter of your existing headers? If they are less than 2" OD then I wouldn't even think of using the same headers. The prefered size is 2 1/8" OD.
    The small block chevy exhaust port spacing is close to our Buick exhaust port spacing. So I would recommend that you try to find a set of chevy chassis car headers to cut up and make work.
    In fact I just purchased a set of 2" Stahl headers from the Canton High Performance swap meet that was held last week. I had planned to make them into Stage 1 headers for my chassis car. If you can use what I have and I can use what you have then maybe we can make a trade.
    Jim send me your phone number and I will call you. I know your out at Norwalk quite a bit so I am sure your not to far from the Cleveland area. If nothing else I will let you look at my Stage 2 chassic car headers for an example.

    Take Care
     
  6. jim wilson

    jim wilson Well-Known Member

    Hi guys: Thanks for the info, but I think I'm going to stick with my current setup. ( stage 1 ) That's a lot of money and work just to change the #'s on the windshield. Thanks again. Jim
     

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