Jedro

OK, so I've decided to throw some headers on my 289 V8 4 barrel . I'll probably end up doing the entire exhaust, too. While I've seen a variety of choices for headers, is there anything I should be concerned with? Clearance? Fitment? I read that someone had a hard time with a header sitting against the starter and experiencing starter problems. What should I concern myself with?

And is there a way to tell what shape my ports are before removing my manifold?

And, feel free to chime in on the rest of the exhaust...

Thanks in advance!

Starfury

A couple questions first.

1) What's your budget?
2) What's been done to the motor?
3) Why do you feel you need headers?

If you're running a mostly-stock motor, I probably wouldn't recommend full-length headers. A set of repro hi-po manifolds, shorty's, or tri-y's might gain you a bit of improved exhaust flow, but your real bottleneck is the exhaust ports in the heads. You won't see any noticeable improvements in performance until you open those ports up, no matter what kind of exhaust you're running.

Cast iron manifolds aren't all that bad. They're the best option for maintenance-free operation, and they keep heat and noise out of the engine bay pretty well. They're also the most affordable option. Cheap headers (like typical Hookers or Heddmanns) offer improved flow, but they tend to suffer from warped mounting flanges, poor fitment issues, and excess noise and heat in the engine bay. High quality headers (like FPA and Doug's Headers) will fit properly and insulate better against heat dispersion, but they're pricey.

Exhaust tubing depends on the motor as well. For a stock or even moderately modded motor, dual 2-1/4" pipes are fine. You don't need 2-1/2" pipes until you really start turning some rpm's, or switch to a high-hp stroker motor.

TomKat

id go tri-y, shelby used em can't be that bad!