header weight

Ill weigh my cast Iron tommorow for ya but I can tell ya that the kooks is a hell of a lot lighter!!! ill repost the weight tomorrow
 
lessonintorque, That would be great if you could get me the stock
header wt.
With the mods I have I dont think it would be much of a benifit for me
to buy headers,just for a HP increase.My heads are stock.But I would
do it if headers would nock off enough wt.

Headers seem to be just to costly (kooks) I feel they are just flat
gready to ask that kind of money for them.And I would need down
tube on top of the headers.To much money when all is added up.

Any one know off another good header choise other than kooks.
 
You know I have 4 of these SCs and buying 2 more. I think the same thing. My son and I are wanting to come up with a less expensive header. First we intend to send 2 sets of our cast iron to "tbird88" out of Houston who machines the collector to 2". He also lists the weight after all his work which includes removing bosses etc. I have heard of using Stang V6 headers but that there is some mod to be done to get around the steering rod. If I find a way to cut the price on headers then will let you know. I am talking to some local builders. I have enough of these to make the search worth my while.

The stock exhaust is detrimental to a stock engine!!!!!! I would start at the header and build back as you have cash. Get the hard part done.

Doug
 
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Quality

Randy, the headers are quality man. Ive had mac and hooker headers on various cars and i was pretty impressed with kooks. And iregardless the stock manifold ported or not is still crap, Ouur cars have enough problems with pressure s if you dont tune that exaust man some of those cylinders have to really fight to push out that exaust. Ford has done some dumb S#IT but that exaust manifold and that 90 degree cat have to take the cake. Plus I love the sound of full tuned exaust, you just cant beat it. Good luck. Ps ill weigh that this afternoon
 
Avibank-SPS,Thanks for the reply. My main concern is wt.
I have been tring to get together parts to lightin my sc.
And install this winter.
I am shooting to reduce the wt. by 1000lb+.

And I do not want to hear from the sceptic that do not think this can
be done,because it can.You have your uses for your sc and I have mine.

THANKS, positive thoughts are wecome Randy
 
Thats awesome!!

If you get it down that much without a sawzall, let me know your formula. If you can do it then I can do it, and Im down to try. Oh yeah we did a drastic weight reduction on a nissan silvia and did you know that we got out 17 pounds by removing the automatic seat belts motors and tracks. no S#it. It all adds up my friend. Do it up, then tell me what you did cuz Im very interested. Good luck, keep it posted.:D :cool:
 
Well the aluminum was just a thought.

I will probley make my own with steel ,with a 4130 flange.

I have made a lot of header pipes for bikes,but not cars.
 
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Guys go to the forum "Racing/Track Results" and follow the thread "The Before Picture (Road Racer)". Mansier is taking off parts and weighing them as well as logging the hours spent and the height increase of the car, as he does it. He is 500+ off right now and still working on it.

We have cars we are rebuilding & driving now and don't have time to wait for the cash to do the kooks headers on all of them. So on a couple of cars $135 to open up what I have and shave bosses and seams, and with the large new strait cats I bought and eleminate or replace the tight resonator will help a lot on my street cars. Yes some day I will get a set of Kooks, proabably for the 95. But the rest I will get a cheaper header some how. To me hot rodding is not fun if it is expensive, so I am looking for alternatives to kooks. "tbird88" is playing around with some aluminum hood hinges for a little extra weight off, if I can talk him into selling them then I want a set. He makes double intercoolers, so looks like he is a pretty good aluminum man. For me when you have 4 SCs, soon to be 6, and they all have the sorry exhaust, you have to find a cheap way. If one of you can make and sell one, let me know.

Doug
 
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One thing we'll never know...

Is exactly how much Kooks spends to make a set of SC headers versus what we pay for them. You gotta figure this.. as many sets of headers that they have made and sold, they have at least already paid for the cost of development. Now it's time for production. Chances are good that these headers are probably bent and pretty much entirely made by machines or computers as they are much more consistant than people and are less flawed. So, if that is the case, and let's just say that the production is 50/50, man and machine building these headers, that the labor isn't all that expensive (after all, you don't have to pay a machine, just mainain it right?). Next, materials. one would assume that places like Hooker, Dynomax, Kooks, etc. buy the building materials in bulk, greatly reducing the cost of the materials.

I guess what I am getting at in my very skeptic mind is this.. Are the header really WORTH the large price tag, or are we just paying more because there isn't a huge demand and they know they can make more $$ from us because we have hardly any other sources?

I am sure the quality is top-notch, because for that price, it had better bolt itself to my car and never have a problem!!

Opinions? Anyone??

Phil :)
 
Yes I beleive Kooks are a quality.They have been coated with a TBC. (thermal barrier coating)
That can lower under hood temperature up wards of 300 degees next to the header,inwhich
is below the IC tubes.So not only do you have an increase in exhaust air flow for more H.P.
or for a more economical running motor,(depending where you plant your foot)but the
IC tubes run much cooler for a denser air charge for additoinal power.

The only reason i see to buy kooks or any brand of header is the accessability
of the Sc to build my own.I would need to do it with the motor installed.

All though I would have extra room with the addition of a k-member.To straighten
the header out for better flow than Kooks and a longer tube run,its still a tight
area to work in.To fit up ,tack weld, take the off, and on, for a final weld & fitment.

I would really like to know the wt. of available SC headers.

The stock header isn't hard to port out.the removal and installation is the biggest
part of the job.To port the collector on a cast iron header you just clamp then on
a milling table.center it ,and cut with a boring bar.Then blend with a die grinder.

Since I am not going for big H.P. wt. is my main concern.But wt. savings sometimes
has a cost factor larger than H.P. parts.It is a fine line of cost between the two.
Sometimes you get both.But since I do not have endless funds.I need to weigh
the two and make a choice of the greatest gain.Hopefully the two can be combined
an be the cheapest route.
 
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I can't tell you the exact weight diference between the manifolds and kooks but i can tell you the headers are alot lighter. I should have mine on by the end of next week. I'll let you know if i can tell a big power increase or not.
 
I just HAD to get in on this... (3 pics below)

Readin' through the posts I tried to remember who said/asked what but cain't remember everything so in no particular order...

Average weights of stock vs ported SC manifolds

unported drvr - 7lbs-7oz
unported pass w/EGR - 7lbs-2oz
unported pass w/o EGR - 7lbs-1oz

ported/shaved drvr - 7lbs
ported/shaved pass - 6lbs-8oz

As far as Kooks goes, remember that they don't automatically come TBC coated. That's an extra cost option. I'd like to have the shorties myself but $450(std)-$600(coated) would buy a lot of other goodies.

Mustang headers etc...All I've seen are headers that either neck down at the inlets (just outside the head flange) or else they look like mid-60's SB Ford log-style manifolds (YUK!).

rplaster - Do you have long or shorties? Weigh them puppies & let us know whatcha come up with.

Randy & Connie - What K-member are you installing?
Also...aluminum melts at around 1250 so I'd hesitate to use it, especially if someone runs NOS and goes lean.

Gotta rest, my fingers are tired. Welding up a '93-1/2 intake plenum tomorrow...you know, an early plenum that bolts onto a late blower (yes, I did it! :))

'bird

Avibank-SPS, this one's for you
(there's 2 more in the back yard)
:)
4scs0946.jpg



2-1/4" pipes and manifolds ported to 2" max
8993pipes1466.jpg

xhaust2466.jpg
 
Originally posted by J57ltr
And you didn't tell me? Bout time!

Jeff
Spur of the moment thang baby, dust settled and there it was...an early plenum that bolts right up to a late blower and also accepts up to a 75mm throttle body.

sweet huh?

'bird
 
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