When I got around to putting headers on my Project SuperBeater Dodge Mirada a few years ago, I got lucky in the fact that none of the tubes needed a tap to fit anywhere. They were still an absolute nightmare to fit in, due to the suspension being in the freaking way, but overall the Hooker headers I slapped on fit fine. Two weeks later, as I was driving it around, I rang the bottom tubes on a speed bump and left them nice and flat. I remember laying on the ground, looking at the damage, and cursing myself out because I had probably just offset ever horsepower I had gained by restricting airflow. But did I really need to worry?
I hadn’t pinched the tube shut, I had just flattened the bottom out. If you remember back to the Roadkill episode where Freiburger and Finnegan built the big-block Duster with the help of Dulcich, they killed an expensive set of TTI headers and had to actually rebuild them, because they were so bashed in. But did it hurt the power of the 440? In this episode of Engine Masters, the theory is put to the test. Using the tunnel-rammed 400ci Blueprint Engines block from a previous episode, a set of Hooker Headers are going to be caved in, all in the name of science. They start out with one of the most likely smacks, where the steering box presents a fitment problem, and…well, that is a pretty stout-looking sledgehammer…
Boy does this ring a bell with me. I had hooker headers on my 1969 Torino Super cobra jet with drag pac. One tube hung WAY down and I must have flattened the bottom of the one tube about 6 inches long about a foot before the collector every couple of months as it was a DD also.
Finally added flanges and made it removable and easier to replace.
I had the same result as these NO change in ET before or after the bash.
I feel better about re-contouring the shorties on the Volvo now – not that there was a choice. Darn steering shaft.
Dan
Yeah it doesn’t matter – it just looks like a TURD.
No big deal I guess – to some.
Fabricated for many years, hitting hardened surface to hardened surface is asking for disaster. And no safety glasses? What fools!
Judging the way DF was swinging that maul he has never split wood. Real suprised at the results. They really hammered those hookers!
So, make headers out of convoluted tubing. They would run cooler b, and be easier to bend because of the surface area increase in the tubing.
So what would be the difference between headers and stock manifolds?
i think the motor was just breaking in they should at the end put undented heades back on and see the difference