Hello. I am looking for header options and suggestions for '64-'66 chevrolet c10(half ton) trucks that have small block chevy engines installed... with the stock ride height(or not totally slammed) on the truck. my engine block and heads(as far as I know) is a '92, but it it has a aftermarket edelbrock performer intake and 600 cfm regular 4 barrel(not a double pumper - 4160) holley carb - with electric fuel pump. edit(07/19/2006) - this truck has a th350 3 speed auto tranny in it behind the 350. This is a daily driver, so any ideas appreciated. At the moment it has the stock ram horn cast iron manifolds on it. thanks. -W
keep the manifolds! but you could get some of the Hedman headers for those trucks, beware that you won't be able to lower the truck very much if you decide to later.
I put "folw-tech" headers on my "66"...with a 4/4 drop...no problems,yes they do hang down but if your not planing to "lay-frame" these will work...you can pick them up at almost ant large auto parts store.these are "cermaic" coated....
On my 65 c-10, I used cheap block huggers and turned my head pipes out under the kick up of the frame and ran the pipes on the outside of the frame, then exited in front of the rear wheels. My truck is dropped 4 1/2" front and 4" rear.
I have no plans to drop or lower this truck, I'm weird like that. The main thing is from the manifolds out, the pipe when it was installed is twisted and contorted so I know it isn't flowing as well as it should. so, maybe I should just go with new pipes and mufflers from the manifold out. Also, the current pipes are in the way of where I want to reinstall the spare tire mount under the bed. Hmn... -W
My '64 C-10 with a '72 350 4-bolt and 3spd manual has Hooker Super Comp Headers, Part Number 2801...they are great.
i'm not sure what my 69 C10 has, but they don't seem to stick out too much and as far as i know, there's not a whole lot of difference there from that year to mine. but you can get cheap headers from most speed shop/auto parts places. i know that in nashville i bought a set from a place called full throttle for $100 for my '66 Chevelle and there is a place outside of nashville called NitroPlate(www.nitroplate.com) that will coat them for $225 and you will never have a problem out of them and still not pay as much as you would for a set of nice coated headers from most places. if the price is still what i remember.
I did a search and found this old thread. Anyone have suggestions on headers for a lowered 1960-66 C10(3"F/4"R)? I don't want to have to deal with scraping headers. 69-up headers supposedly won't work because they exit right into the shift linkage for auto trans on 60-66's.
I run Hooker Competition headers on my '64. It's lowered 3 inches in the front and 6 in the back. I use to scrape pretty regularly when I ran 265/50/15 BFG T/A's. The truck has 275/40/17 tires now,and I haven't scraped a single time since I switched to them. The collectors are pretty small @ 2.5 inches IMO. I wish they were 3 inches. The primaries are 1 5/8 BTW.
I'm running Flow-Techs as well. They're very cheap..like about $100 a set & work just fine. I installed them myself in the driveway without even having to jack up the truck. I have the rear lowered by 3," but the front is stock height.
Do you know how tall the tires on it now are? Sorry-not too good at doing the maths in my head, and I don't have a calulator handy. Fleet, are the flow-tech headers long-tube or are they shorty?
They're 25.6 inches in diameter. They're only a quarter-inch taller than the 50 series tires I was running,but I might've dragged the headers once since I switched. Strange.
Keep the manifolds. I am DAMN SICK AND TIRED of header gasket maintenance and header replacements with properly bent and hung pipes. I don't have but 300,000 miles experience since 1986 in the subject truck. Rainstorm = flange gasket replacement even with better MrGasket Ultra gonna leak flange gaskets. Manifolds don't burn through or rust out. I have some kind of Hedman headers on my truck that help tuck the exhaust above the tranny crossmember and help keep the exhaust not visible from a 30 foot away side view, which is also better to view the "paint".
Take a look at 3/4 length headers, better flow than stock, but they exit close to where the original cast iron exhaust manifolds would.
Have you ever tried Percy's Seal 4 Good flange gaskets?? I switched to them,and I haven't had any problems. They haven't been on there very long though,and my truck is generally a fair weather ride.
My tires are 27 1/2". I never had any scraping problems. The headers are called "standard" by Jegs...their part #387-11500. It's a good time to change the plugs, too (ha-ha).
Patriot has a great header part #H8021-1. it is a mid length, so better power charactaristics than a shorty and better ground clearance than a long tube. About $300.00 COATED from Summit or Jeg's
On my Hooker Competitons,#5 is a PITA! #7 is no picnic either if I remember right. You should never scrape with those tires!
I'm trying to find some of the 'vette 2-1/2" ram's horn manifolds, but it's a lot easier to find a set of headers. Can't afford a set of $300 headers, either, so it's looking like flowtech may be my best option. My whole budget for exhaust is ~$300
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