I'm curious: what's the poop on fenderwell headers? Do most folks twist up their own or do brands like Hooker, etc. make them for different motor/bodystyle combinations? Anyone able to shed some light on this stuff for me? STONER
Good question. I'm sure sanderson is selling some . Not sure of other folks. I will call my dad and check who made his tomorrow.
they've been offered by header mfgs for years, but mostly only for the popular engines/cars/swaps. some guys roll their own for those oddball swaps, like the poncho/studes, etc.
see if you can find some header flanges to fit the heads, then get a bunch of Ubends, and learn to gas or tig weld, and you'll be able to make your own.
I have a pair of doug thorley tri-5 sbc fenderwell headers that i've been meaning to put up for sale, never used and far too nice for me to chop up...i'll wind up making my own from scratch...
I depends on the application. Some cars can only accomodate fenderwell headers. Example 63-66 Mopar A-body V-8s. Hooker makes them.
Here are some fenderwell headers: http://store.summitracing.com/egnsearch.asp?N=700+400002+4294918680+115+4294869917
I have a set of speedway fenderwell bbc headers for a 55-57 chevy , they are raw ( not chrome ) 2" tubes w/ 3 1/2 collector , nice thick flanges .. I have used them on a bunch of customers rides as well as my own ..... they are awesome !
Here are the ones that came on my '48. I have been thinking about getting rid of these. They look great on A's and gassers, etc. I am not sure they are good for my car. The guy I got the car from used all kinds of junk as heat shields. (license plates, etc) It seems they are very close to the body of the car, I have noticed that heat is an issue. (the floor gets HOT!) They have a block off plate and are connected to dual turbo mufflers near the rear end. (you can see the welds but not the tubes in the pic) Anyone have thoughts? Pro's and Con's for keeping them? Just go with a "normal" block hugger set up?
Here's a pair from Speedway Motors on a 540 BBC in a '55 Nomad. I clipped the front frame though so yours may be a bit different. I believe in a stock frame they will be a bit highes as my motor sits about 1.5" lower than stock. Still some minor trimming to make sure the inner fender well won't burn the paint off. It was a bit of work trying to figure out where the pipes would exit through the inner fender wells. I cut an oversize hole first and then started to add back in metal as I fit them tighter. There are also removable planels on each fender well in the rear lower corners. This allows the front sheet metal to be removed without having to pull the headers; that will be appreciated later I'm sure. The only problem with fenderwell headers is that you're usually stuck with rocker panel exhaust and dumping infront of the rear tires. Now if they were just a bit higher, I'm sure you could come off the back of the collector area and pipe some 3" tubing back between the frame rails and get a complete exhaust in there. The other possible issue with a 572 in a '55 is that the rear suspension will have to be modified to handle the 620 hp and that usually means 4-bar or 4-link, or at least lots of other obstructions to deal with when routing the exhuast pipes. Hope this helps you some.
Thanks for droppin' knowledge, y'all. Danny's post got me thinking: is it possible to have the best of both worlds? What I mean is, can a standard-style set of fenderwells be installed, plumb a set of car-length exhaust (including mufflers) into the back of them from somewhere above the collectors and cap the ends of the collectors (cut-out style) so that they could be opened up whenever you want to "use" them? I love the looks of them, but I know they wouldn't be practical on a daily driver unless you could do something like this. Am I just nucking futs? STONER
Im running a set of coated ones on my 48 fleetline and there from speedway aswell they seem to fit pretty well here s a few pics
Something like this? It's all homemade (so are the headers) so you could adapt them anyway you needed. Speedway sells Patriot Headers. I think Summit does too. You might look at their website for application.
I might add that if you are using angle plug heads is to install the plugs during mock up of the headers. Don't be a bumb ass like me.
stoner- look at my post from above. I have exactly what you are talking about. See the 2 patch welds in the picture? The lower one is hooked up to a dual exhaust that has 2 flow masters near the rear axle. (the top one is just a patch) another shot;
I brought mine off of Ebay for about half the price of new. Guy never used them. Brought all the parts to build his car all at once and then lost his job, so he was selling everything at no reserve. Brought a few items from him. They were a little scratched but at half price I didn't care and I added a few of my own. I believed they were Hedman header's? (too many cars and too many projects ago.) If I remember correctly I got the gaskets and cutouts from Summit.
Heres what I have, I made flanges out of stainless and welded them to 3" T's, full exhaust out the back. Duke
Right ON! That's exactly what I was envisioning. Now, here's another question: has anyone seen a set pre-made for a small smallblock--like a 302 or 289? Your stuff looks good, y'all--it's an inspiration, for sure. Also, if you make your own, do you have to worry about reducing the tube diameter, equal lengths, etc.? I know you can get donuts from places like Chassis Shop, etc., but I've never twisted up my own... STONER
Bring this back up... Does anybody run the Patriot/Speedway/Summit SBC over-the-frame headers in a 41-48 Ford? pics would be nice. Even with rams horns my power steering box is really close, and I kinda like the fenderwell dump look anyway.
stoner, what the hell are you doing? i thought you were a hemi guy. haha closest thing i've seen to over the shelf fenderwell headers for a small block for were for a v8 Ford courier application, they were made by hooker headers, not sure if they still make them. what are you working on???
this is an old post, but trying to get advice on my header problem. I have a 57 chevy truck with 79 camaro subframe and 427 BBC. I am trying to fit headers onto it and so far I tried Doug's D325 one side fits but drivers side wouldnt allow me to move engine back as one tube wrapped around lower a-arm attachment. Next I tried hedman 65105's and driver side fit good, but pass side hit a little bit and didn't like how thin they are made. Currently I put on Sanderson's 6sec long tubes and drivers side fits well, but pass side #2 tube hits the subframe as it flows back. Is there anyone that has found a set that works best for this swap or do you think it would be a crime if I notched the subframe for the #2 tube? I think a 1/4"- 1/2" notch would give me enough room I really don't know if it would be a good idea for me to try making headers my self, they would probably look like shit and I only have a mig welder and gas welder, but need practice.
I looked at a putting a set for a tri-five on my '59 pickup, and it looks like they might fit, but my frame is stock, and even then, I think the emergency brake rod will have to go. I am assuming you are trying Camaro headers and they won't work because the engine is not sitting in the stock position on the subframe.
Hope to not mess up this thread but Why are sbc tri-five fenderwell headers so expensive vs. BBC tri-five fenderwell headers? I am looking for cheap sbc headers, thanks Ron
We ALL hear you on this issue!!! Why, because they realize, nothing else is out there anymore, and they want to make a killing! Their "research" has shown they can sell more BBC headers than SBC headers; we have to change that. A couple of years ago, I sold a set of Tri-Five fenderwell headers really quickly on the want ads here on the HAMB; and only for what I had into them (the guy got a DEAL!, as did I). The tubes were too big for what I really wanted, and we all know finding a set of Stahl's for a Tri-Five Chevrolet is almost impossible. Why, at least one header company, would start making them again, is hard to understand; they would sell a LOT of them. Personally, I don't want to hack up my inner fenderwells, and I have chassis outlet headers on the Sedan Delivery, but the tubes are still too big for the small CID engine I want to drop in the car (truck). They are Hooker Competition Headers, and at the time, were all I could find locally. I have bought a set of "mid length" headers, chassis outlet, and the tubes are fairly small, but they are not what I really want either. It's no longer the 60'as/70's, when every header company had them available. Maybe if WE ALL sent letters to Hooker or Hedman , they might make a few runs of them? That's all I've got. I am Butch/56sedandelivery.
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