Shortys vs longtubes

[Cobain03]

here my delimma. i currently have patriot tri y headers. because of the poor quality, i had to take a hammer and torch and bend one of the tubes cause the pitman was hitting it. that area is about half dented in. also cause of the headers, i had to jack my engine up about an inch to get the headers to clear the fenderwell.

so, would shorties be any better?

 

[Stanger007]

The shorties won't hang nearly as low and you'll avoid the interference w/ the steering but you will lose some lowend torque in the swap.

You'll also have to have your midpipe lengthened to make up the difference between the longtubes and the shorties.

Surely there are some headers that are a better fit?

Wes

 

[Spoofty]

I have posibly the cheapest header around and they are a perfect fit. Full length Flowtech for $89.
The only issuse was two of the bolts were alittle tight against the primary tubes. A small dimple in the tube fixed it.
I'm running a 302 C4 with power steering and have no issuse with the steering.

 

[bnickel]

i've got hedman shorties, actually more of a mid-length but they call them shorties, and they fit well and there is no interference with anything at all. they were pretty cheap too, i paid 99 bucks for them. i think the price has gone up since i got mine but not much.

 

[Max Power]

I have the Hedman shorties as well but I got ceramic coated, and even then, they were only a bit over $200.

 

[DukeGnarley]

I had the hooker comps in my coupe. they fit just fine, only needed to trim one of the UCA bolts because witht he shelby drop it stuck in a little too far in just the wrong spot.

 

[iskwezm]

here my delimma. i currently have patriot tri y headers. because of the poor quality........

thats not poor quality, most of the try-y's fit like that. You just put them on and deal with it. I doubt your losing any performance from "clearancing" a primary tube, unless its really smashed. Mine is beat in a little, but nothing i worry about.

 

[65ShelbyClone]

Surely there are some headers that are a better fit?

Yeah, Hookers. I had Comps in my old '65 Notch with a 289 and Toploader with zero clearancing needed. I now have Comps in my '68, but I had to dent them slightly to clear the frame rail and the scattershield.

Less expensive longtubes may fit well also, but I don't have experience with them.

EDIT: The losses between shorties and longtubes will be negligible with a mild engine. It won't sound quite as good if the exhaust is loud, but you gain lots of clearance.

 

[D.Hearne]

EDIT: The losses between shorties and longtubes will be negligible with a mild engine. It won't sound quite as good if the exhaust is loud, but you gain lots of clearance.

Well said. Even with a hotter motor, the difference can sometimes be only measured on a dyno or at a track. Last long tubes I had were on a big block Stang and they were an absolute pain in the ass to deal with, in every regard. To me they just ain't worth the hassles.

 

[bnickel]

Well said. Even with a hotter motor, the difference can sometimes be only measured on a dyno or at a track. Last long tubes I had were on a big block Stang and they were an absolute pain in the ass to deal with, in every regard. To me they just ain't worth the hassles.

yeah i really like my shorties a lot. when i sell the stang i'm going to buy a 69 cougar that a buddy has and i'll probably run another set of the hedman shorties, though this time i'll probably get the elites since they have a thicker flange. i haven't had any problem with mine so far but the thicker flanges would sure be nice insurance.

 

[mikehuyck]

Not to get off the subject, but for you guys that have the Hedamn headers:
Is the thermal coating the same or similar to ceramic coating? Not really seeing these details on Headman's site, but the elites come "thermal coated" standard and the pics look just like ceramic... Engine compartment looks are almost as important to me as functionality, and nothing looks worse than rusty headers.