hello all i am looking at installing some lake header on my 1929 ford coupe, we are just looking for any pros or cons any info would be a great help. and if anyone knows good or bad about a company called gear drive speed and custom. they are on the hamb the owner matt seems like a good guy. thanks
He will do a good job for you. I am a past and will be, a future customer. His baffles are good as well.
They're loud, even with internal baffles. Consider adding turnouts on the ends to divert the fumes & noise away from the car & to the people driving next to you. If you park your car at a show, don't leave it until it cools down so some kid doesn't burn himself on the pipes. For that fact, don't burn yourself. There are threads here concerning these things & the companies that produce them...do a search. Not all of the reviews are great on either front. Other than that, they're a ball. Also, if you haven't already done so, don't forget to introduce yourself.
I have a set of Pertronix ceramic coated lake style headers on my 31 Ford Model A Coupe. I also have turnouts. I used Car Chemistry baffles in the header cone. Pros- -Lake style headers just 'look right' on Model A's. I definetly think they'll look good. -There are plenty of companies/styles to choose from -You can purchase a kit and make your own, or purchase a set that are ready to bolt on. -You can spend anywhere from a few hundered up to $1,000. They are reasonably priced. I went a little crazy and have almost $1,000 into my set. -Easy to maintain (polish or header wrap) or whatever you may need to do as they are out in the open. Cons- The following are suggestions of things I highly recommend you take into consideration. -Purchase a set of headers that have the dumps (or drop downs) where you atleast have the option to bolt on full lenght exhaust at a later time. -Purchase or make baffles to install in the header cones. Also, wrap the baffles with SS wrap and fiberglass. It will be rather loud inside your car if you don't. I wore ear plugs for a while, then wrapped the cones. -You may smell like exhaust, which leads me to... -Even with turnouts I had exhaust fumes inside my car. I brought a carbon monoxide detector with on a cruise. 15 minutes into my drive the detector activated. There was atleast 40PPM CO in the car. Think of where the tip of the lake style header is...it's in close proximitry to your window. I can assure you exhaust will enter the cabin...period! There are plenty of people on here that will tell you they "never noticed it". Yeah that's great, but I can tell you they are being exposed to CO. As much as it sucks, I brought my car in and had full lenght exhaust installed (this is why you get a set with the drop downs) I like my family, my brain cells, my lungs, my heart, and my life. I think you should get a set, I'm glad I did. You will definetly like the look. Good luck Speedon
Good point SpeedOn makes about the fumes. You won't need a CO tester...you'll get a big hackin' headache. Here's what I did to minimumize the exposure. First, as SpeedOn indicated, I added dumps & pipes with regular glass pack mufflers. It was a bit too quiet after that, so I let a bit of the exhaust come through the headers by adding a plate (from Home Depot) with a 1" hole...just the right noise level. Now, some exhaust comes through the headers & some goes through the pipes. I don't get headaches, so it must be working to some extent. Also, I can plug the holes up in 30 seconds if I want all of the exhaust to go through the pipes.
First off, Matt is a pleasure to deal with and goes WAY beyond to take care of you and answer any questions you might have. We bought some components from him and he makes great stuff and will even tell you little secrets to help you build them. If we didn't have such an odd shape we would have simply had him build them, but you really needed the car to be there to make them fit right. Now, as to how they are on the street, I have run them on my 27 for over 20 years, but through a full exhaust system. They are Sandersons, ceramic coated, and they have been exceptional in all respects. I do run them uncapped very often on the street and since mine are aimed down a little the noise is not all that bad. I had them on my 23 with only baffles and they were somewhat annoying until I put turnouts on them, then they were fine, even on long trips. The ones on my Son's rpu are pretty loud, even with Car Chemistry baffles (also from Matt) but we feel the loudness is because he has a top on his roadster and the sound is bouncing around inside the cockpit. He also has a 468 Olds engine, which probably makes more noise than my sbf makes. My cars have no top so the sound goes right past you. Don This will give you some idea of how loud the ones on my Kid's rpu are. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jQ-akqdncZU&feature=plcp http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8vcKYV69JR4&feature=plcp
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