I got my headers used for 80 bucks. hooker super comps. Granted mine are for a BBB, same thing applys. I was working at a machine shop at the time so I surfaced the flanges, then media blasted them. I bought some coating stuff and actually used an oven to cure as recomended. I think I have like 150 bucks into them. all the machine shop stuff was free, but to a paying customer it would have probably been less than 50 bucks in labor. after some street time they look about the way most headers do. but they are hardly visible from up top anyway. I wouldn't spend the big bucks on a set.
Didn't mean to get pissy, sorry, but some people just have to make due with what they can get. When I posted the link they were 125, I saw it closed at 172. I wouldn't pay 175, but 125 I'd deal with the scrapes until I had cash for new ones.
I just wanted to say that rear end gears made more difference than anything else that I put on my car. I rebuilt the engine, raised the compression, and switched from a 2 speed to a 3 speed, and none of these things made as much difference as that $275 set of rear end gears. it's the first thing that I would recommend doing to your car, then add the headers. Good Luck, -Clay
Depending on how bad the scrapes were, wouldn't that disturb the equilibrium that the equal length tubes create among the cylinders? I think there are some pretty complex physics in headers. What do you guys think?
I don't think "scrapes" or small dents are going to cause a problem that results in real world decrease in performance. You'd be surprised how many guys with nice fast cars drive around with banged up headers and never have issues.
All that stuff did make it a lot faster, but since I did them one at a time, I didn't really notice much. I'm just saying that if you want to go fast now, the rear end gears are the best bang for the buck. You won't feel a huge difference with any other speed part, unless you cheat,.....um, I mean, add nitrous. Or, once you get your motor lined out and built up, go from a worn out quadrajet to a chokless holley 800 double pumper. Talk about a seat of the pants upgrade! Let me give you an example. My friend has a 66 Ford fairlane station wagon. It has an engine from a 5.0 mustang, in which he stuck a bigger cam and plopped a single plane onto, with a 750 holley. At the 1/8th mile track here in Abilene, the best it would ever run was a 9.90 with the stock 3.00 rear end gears. After he put a set of 3.50's in it, It ran a 9.00 Flat, with no other modifications. That's almost a whole second shaved from the E.T. of a car that weighs more than 2 tons. It sound far fetched, but I saw it with my own two eyes. Watching him build his car made me realize that gears were what my car was missing. Like I said, besides nitrous, there's no greater bang for the buck.
Thanks Chase. love the look of yours as well. have a look at the below thread its alook at the install of my new motor. also sme new shoes. Mike http://www.v8buick.com/showthread.php?t=134046
CAn someone post some links on the rear end stuff? maybe stuff I could get off ebay, and about what the prices should be? my rear is 10-bolt 2.56 pegleg. The rear change is what I want to do first I just don't know how possible it is, its a pretty expensive deal. but I know my exhaust isn't 'too' restrictive right now, because im pulling no vac @ WOT. So maybe I should do the rear first. GEEZ, talk about indecisive huh?ou:
Gears will always pay off. Save up and get gears+posi. Its expensive but gears can make a stock motor car much quicker. Since you have a an 8.5 10bolt rear it will be cheaper for you, but i have an 8.2 10 bolt and its gonna coast almost 800 for new gears and posi since i cant find anything used. Just remember taller gears will get you worse gas mileage and less overall top speed. As long as you get there quick who cares about the rest...right?
Yeah! Top speed really doesn't concern me much... There are alot 5 speed mustang owners around here that brag about pulling there cars up to 140 or so.. HAHA! thats freaking genius. :Smarty: :birthday: I've never seen a mustang that was wrecked at 140 and don't want to... thats freaking dumb. I've never pulled my Buick above 85 since I've owned and I won't pull it up any further than that unless im on some closed course/sanctoined(sp?) track.
You can go 120 with 3.55's in the rear end,.....not that I would know personally .p Chase, your car should have the 8.5 rearend, and if I'm not mistaken, there are 2 different differential carriers for this axle, one for 2.56's and down, and on for 2.73's and up. I found this article that talks all about these axles, and I'm sure theres a ton of other ones. http://www.chevyhiperformance.com/techarticles/48518_posi_10_bolt_upgrade_install/index.html This is a very popular axle, as there are not that many 12 bolts around anymore. Anyway, this article suggests looking in the junkyard for 71-81 firebirds and trans ams, as these were most likely to come with positraction. You might also try looking in a truck for the gears. A lot of the trucks with straight 6's came with numerically higher rear end gears, and I'm sure some of the V8 trucks also did. Anyway, keep doing research on this. you may decide that you want to do the exhaust work first after all. Good luck on whatever you do, though. -Clay By the way, I've been in a wreck in a 5.0 at 30 mph, and it was bad enough. A wreck at 140 would tear one of those tin cans up.
Vacuum reading at WOT has nothing to do with the exhaust. It is used to see if your carb is adequately sized in your case, which it is. Hook up a gauge to the exhaust and see how much backpressure you have for an accurate test. My 72 showed significant gains going from 2" press bent duals to a mandrel bent 2.5".
so hey did you buy anything yet? and to tell you if i knew what i know now i'd also go with a nice gear/posi change, then headers/exhaust then intake/ carb and cam, next step would be shiftkit and stall converter, and lastly rims and tires! sure beats, carb and intake, then tires, then headers and camshaft, then bigger tires, still have yet to put my stall, posi, gears and shiftkit in...so i naturaly spent alot of cash and feel no difference in performance...well not what i should have if i would have did the gears and posi first! get my drift
No. I haven't bought anything yet. Im still think of what gears i should use, i don't know if i should go with low, mid, or high 3 series. so what do you guys think? I also think the guy that had my car, went the wrong direction too... he put a cam in, and a shift kit, and thats all he did.:error:
