Hey guys has anyone ever tried a set of fenderwell headers out on these old trucks? I'm thinking about ordering some to try on my 62 c10 because i really like the idea of not having to route exhaust around the X frame so why not just take up and over the down the outside of the rails. I must add that i intend to dump the pipes just in front of the tires too. The only problem i forsee is the steering shaft might have to be altered and re routed with some borgeson type flex collars. Thoughts on the idea Anyone?
I used a set of 3/4 headers and had my exhaust guy attach the collectors to a dump tube that was capped just behind the front wheels. A Y connector just before the dump tube ran the exhaust down the outside of the frame rails, into a set of Smithy's and over the rear end, all on the outside of the frame. The 3/4 headers allowed the exhaust to be run to the outside while staying tucked up under the bottom of the frame rails. DV
Hey DV thanks for the fast reply. Any chance you've got some pics of this setup i could take a look at? It would be greatly appreciated. thanks Scott
Scott I don't have any of the completed system. This is the set of Chevelle cermanic headers I used. I moved the motor forward 2 1/2 inches so stock headers wouldn't fit. The Chevelle headers worked good with only a small amount of tweaking to ckear the left motor mount. In this picture you can just see the 3 bolt dump tubes behind the front wheel. Not the kind of pictures you were hoping for, but that is the best I have. Dennis
Thanks for the input Dennis it gives me a starting point to look at. So i gotta ask how much room did you have to spare for the mechanical fan after moving the motor forward? I am doing a 80 chevy front end swap as well as a v8 swap. so my motor mount placement has yet to be determined. what advantage did you find in moving the motor forward?
Sorry for the delay... Been in Maui for 10 days tannin my buns ! I moved the engine forward to make acess to the HEI distributor less of a pain. I ditched the long style water pump that comes with the HO 350 GM crate motor, and used a short style chrome one. There is still plenty of fan-to-radiator clearance, I just trimmed a bit off the fan shroud to get the fan blades where they need to be on the shroud for best cooling. One unplanned advantage in moving the motor forward was the placement of the Lokar nostalgia shifter used with the 700 R4 trans. With the motor forward, and the lokar shifter adjusted to it's farthest forward position, the shifter came up right through the old hole for the SM420 Granny shifter. For your motor mounts, just use the V8 mounts you have now. After you do the front end swap just drill the crossmember for the lower bolt holes. You could also use your stock crossmember. Just swap the 80's upper and lower control arms , spindles, center link and idler arm. Val
