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Re: headers
IMO, you are killing yourself with the "inexpensive" word, especially with a small block chevy. You need 3/8 flanges with a blanchard ground weld on the inside for good and lasting sealing. Those flanges and grinding don't show up on the cheap block hugger headers, and are needed because of the way the two center exhaust ports are covered by only two bolts on small blocks. On the 305 you can easily get by with 1 1/2" tube primarys but the cheapies come with 1 5/8 or 1 3/4 because they sell better on the larger CID small blocks. That little extra room allows the bolts on the exhaust ports to be correctly tightened without mickey mouse methods that usually end up with leaky/loose headers.
The cheapies don't come with thermal coating or if they do, it's way inferior to what the independants will do. You need that high temp coating to keep the headers looking decent, keep corrosion down and help those close fitting plug wires last longer. To get an idea of cost vs happy ownership, look at the cheapies on E bay and Summit, then look at some by Sanderson and/or a few of the other "not mass merchandiser" header makers. This might seem a little harsh, but I've fought with cheap small block headers my whole life(to this point ; ) and now that the kids are grown I have had the pleasure of good ones and knowing what I know now, I'd have scrounged money a few more days and saved myself much frustration.
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