I am going to buy some new headers and flowmasters for my 66 stang.I was looking though the Summit book and they range from 89.00 to 300.00 or more. What is the difference between the cheaper priced and the higher ones? Is it performance?
Thanks, Tony
What you are paying for is fit between the flange and head and what coating you get. The fit of the flange to the head is pretty obvious. The better the fit the less leaks=more power and the less work to install. The other main thing which is very expensive is the coating on the header. The ceramic or Jet coating option is definately the way to go for longevity. The heat from the headers will bake off the paint pretty quick exposing the bare metal to the elements. Your headers will look pretty nasty in a very short time and probably will need to be replaced in a few years. Please forgive me but I am assuming that you are looking at long tube headers. If not please consider them because they will give you more power. Another option that I forgot to mention above is the primary and collector size. The larger primarys will give you more high end power and the smaller ones will give you more torque as a general rule... Choose according to what you are trying to do with your engine. For a small block, low end torque is a good thing. Collector size is how big of an exhaust you are going to run. 2 1/2 inch is pretty good for a small block. There probably wont be much of an HP gain but you might loose some torque if you go with the 3 inch. I suggest looking at Hooker Super Comps w/ceramic coating and BBK long tubes w/jet coating. They are expensive but you really get what you pay for. Hope that helps.
Kevin
I got the ceramic coated Tri-Y's from Virginia Classic Mustang for $249. I had the Chrome Tri-Y's from Mustangs Unlimited and they blued much too easily. The ceramic coated headers fit and look great!
I have had the tri ys and the hedman elite. I am currently using ceramic coated patriot headers. They are not shortys and not exactly long tubes. They are perfect for people who are using a clutch cable with the 5 spd swap....
Oh ya forgot you might want to stay away from 3 inch collectors too... They kill your ground clearance. There is aways a time when you had that extra half inch or so if this is going to be a street car.
Kevin