Quote:
Originally Posted by sick472
You have asked a question that may very well verge on asking for opinions rather than facts. There are just too many variable to consider and I'm no fine toothed gear head...so I'll give you my opinions...
I can't say what the gas mileage will do, at 10 to 15 mpg with these old trucks there's not much to hope for.
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Agreed. No real help on fuel mileage, and I'll be happy to add my opinions.
Quote:
Originally Posted by 68 P.O.S.
Since you're using your truck as a cruiser, stock manifolds will be just fine. However, if you still want go with headers, get a set of tri-y's, like Doug's or Doug Thorley. They'll help where you'll need it and drive it; increased low to midrange rpm torque and increased throttle response. Not a huge increase, you may not even really notice. As long as you get a high quality set of headers, which aren't cheap, you'll have no more problems than you would with stock manifolds. All the problems people describe are from cheap, $99 headers. This is the area where quality really pays off. But again, your stock manifolds will work just fine for your purposes.
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Agreed again. Stick with manifolds for a cruiser. There's little to no gain from headers,
unless your engine is really built for performance.
I have owned exactly one set of headers in my 50 years of driving. I owned a '65 Corvette with a very lively 327, pretty quick car back in the day. I put a set of Hooker headers on it (nice high-quality parts) and they woke the engine up even more (and sounded fantastic to my 19-year-old ears). Never had any trouble with them but sadly, I didn't own that car long enough to know how they would hold up long-term. Insurance rates got the better of me....
Gotta add this tidbit. We installed the headers near Fresno on a weekend and couldn't find anyone to weld up the reducers on Sunday after we had done all we could with wrenches. I had to be in Barstow Monday morning to work. Made the ~240 miles with open headers dumping onto the footwells. Steady cruising wasn't terrible, but any amount of throttle made it really, really LOUD! Backing off the gas resulted in a deep rumbling cackle that only a teenager can fully appreciate. To say that was a memorable trip is an understatement.
