M/T header ???

back in the late 60,s and early 70,s i had a 1967 SS chevelle with a set of M/T headers that were called super scavengers. does any one remember these and know why they quite making them.
i would love to find another set. they sounded great with a 4-speed and bbc.

 

M/T catalog, 1968........

 

Wow, havent seen these since I put them on my 66 chevelle in 1970. It had a 427 with 12.5 L-88 pistons and cam. It sounded wild barking in those collectors.As I recall, they were painted orange. They really never sold that well. A local shop here in Chicago discounted them if you bought Mickeys valve covers with the headers.Thanks for putting the catalog on here.Brought back memories. You could cut up some long tube headers and make that collector.

 

Cool. I dig the fig 1 illustration, looks like something a kid had drawn... it too funny!!!

 

what were different about them compared to alot of "other" headers... like hooker, heddman, etc. etc.

 

I ran a set...best sounding headers hands down.
With a big cam and high cylinder pressure it sounded like rattling a big tin garbage can!

 

They took a new approach to equaling the length of the primaries. Instead of running extra tube length on the short runs, they did it in the collector. It's a good idea. Don't know how it stacks up though and why it didn't last. The other non-traditional approach was to run the out of sequence cylinder straight into the collector after the other 3. (edit: called a tri-y)

Never did any testing, but I think the primary diameter and build quality have a lot more to do with power in a "hot rod." There are a ton of minor changes that can have major advances in full race motors.

How big are those m/t primaries?

 

1-7/8" on a big block Buick...

 

Thanks Pop.
Seems like it would be a pretty efficient design. Like a zoomie that you can attach pipes to.

 

ahhhh... i seeee... that pretty cool.. i would imagine if they were really that "ground breaking" they woulda stuck, expecially with the M/T name backing them up...

 

Patents, bad press, manufacturing, supply/demand, street cred...
There are a bunch of reasons great ideas fall to the wayside.

It took me 3 months and shipping from australia to get the best header bolts money could buy. Breslin Split-locks were designed, patented and made in the US, but the owner died and the family didn't keep up with anything. Found a shop in AU that sent me some. Definitely a worthwhile idea and in my opinion, the best design for header bolts backing-out problem, but there is a chance they will never be produced again.

 

thanks for all info and input. popstage2, if that is a current pic can you tell us what gauge the collector box is.
might just try to make a set.

 

my m/t headers are all gone as i switched to all stg2 stuff (Kustom brand headers).
But it will be easy for me to find out for ya. give me a few days.

I would think it would be easier to make a set of this type verses the conventional style header?

 

I think you're right. The only challenge looks like the making of the collector. Equal length pipes are easier than having to bend up the back (2) to make them approach the same value as the front pipe(s).

 

thanks again, nothing sounds like them..

 

My next door neighbor has a '66 Chevelle SS with a factory replacement, solid lifter, square port 427 that was replaced in '66. It only has 31,000 original miles on it now. He is doing a mild freshen up under the hood. Here are his M/T Scavengers. That's the paint that came on them in '66.

Later,
Kevin

 

We ran a set of these when they first came out on our record holding SS/EA '67 Camaro. They were given to us for evaluation with the promise of use in a national promotion No amount of tuning and driver tecniques resulted in an increase in speed or E.T.
However, they were the easiest installation of any brand that we tried on that car by making the equal lengths up in the collector saves the builder from forming several bends thus making for a very compact final form. You could install and remove both sides without raising the engine or having to put them in the chassis before installing the engine.

Frank

 

I was fortunate to work for M/T when the Super Scavengers came out. The concept was to create an equal length header without the hassle of running lengthly tubes all over the place to end up with the length of all tubes to be the same. Hooker and Stahl promoted the equal length concept. In fact the equal length headers did provide more HP as long as the intake was also of equal length, from the carb base to the intake valve. The early tunnel rams created by Bill Jenkins with help from Weiand was about the closest developed other that the fuel injector system.

The M/T Super Scavenger were very difficult to manufacture, trying to swedge that long collector proved to be a big project. Due to the surface resistance the tubing being expanded often split. Tooling was revised over and over, and the speed of the press played a major role, as the long swedging process created heat as the tool was pushed into the tube.

I created an ad showing a cartoon dragon, with the caption "Orange Colored Exhaust Sucking Mutha" The ad production was right on the Hot Rod Magazine deadline and was shipped directly to the printer. All hell broke loose when the Hot Rod started showing up at Catholic high school libraries all over the US. The Director of Advertising at Petersen lost his job over this as somebody had to take blame. It was really funny. The ad salesman was a new guy on almost his first sales call. His name was Sal Fish who went on to partner with M/T in creating SCORE.
The ad was toned down, and ran in all Peteresen books.
The Super Scavenger program was discontinued when M/T was sold to Holley a few months later.

I went to work at Hedman Hedders where the S/S concept was considered a joke, until due to space limitations a similiar layout was used on Roger Penske's Offy powered indy car ( won the Indy 500 1972 witht Mark Donohue) The cast stainless exhause manifolds were cracking on the dyno as there was not enough air circulation. Hedman made a hedder of equal lenght, with the tubing differece in the collector, another benifit was discovered ( and kept secret for a couple of years untill the Offy went away) One of the problems with the small cubic turbocharged Offy was that of "turbo lag", It seems that due to the fact that the # 4 hedder tube was right up against the turbo wheel ( it actually ended inside the cast housing) the turbo lag went a way as the exhaust pulse from # 4 was right at the impeller . Donohue could come out of the corner and instantly pickup a couple of car lengths on the field.

If anybody has a copy of that of that old Hot Rod ad, it was either late 1968 or early 1969. The orange colored Mutha one, I have the calmed down one. My email is tomcurnow@aol.com

Thanks

 

cool history, thanks for sharing!

 

I'll second that .Neat header history lesson ...

 

Nobody wants good anymore, just cheap.

 

This must be the "toned down" version you mention.