I was wondering what the best/most reliable brand of headers would be for my 69', it has a 350 engine and I'm leaning torward putting some headers on as my next big install, any help deciding would be great!


Right now I'm on the fence between Edelbrock and Holley Hooker headers.

 

IF the 350 is close to stock, then use 1 5/8. that way you wont loose any low end torque. I've always had great luck with Headman headers. But whatever you like is cool. When you get your exhaust built, get the muffler shop to build it with an " H " (which connects the 2 pipes) that'll give you a tad better flow & sound great!

Jason

 

You kinda get what you pay for,I've used Headman because they are low cost and pretty good for the money but I wouldn't put them in the same class as say Hooker or Doug Thorley that cost much more.

 

Before the issue of the steering box comes up, you'll probably have to heat the header tube and put a dimple in it to clear the box on most headers unless you go with a shorty header.

 

Get some ceramic coated ones

 

Ceramic coating is nice....and a lot more expensive. What do you get on the performance scale between ceramic and non-ceramic? More HP? Better Breathing? Bottoming-out Prevention? Or just a little better heat transfer and rust prevention...that is if you don't bottom them out.

If money is no object I guess Ceramic coating is cool, but it doesn't increase HP or performance over non-ceramic.

 

Most anybody I know (myself included) will recommend ceramic headers over painted, after having gone through the rusty crappy looking headers stage in the past. Ceramic lasts, painted surfaces don't.

 

Its tough to beat a good set of Hookers

 

We used to flame spray them, mine have been in place for over 20 years and still look great. Today I'd go with the ceramic. If you change a set of headers out once, you'll know why you don't want to do it over and over again every few years - get them coated with something so they last. Oh, and the "high heat" spray paint won't last.

 

I installed Doug's D308 ceramics in my 69 350 with ps and they fit great. They are not cheap though at $580 from Summit. My local muffler shop did a great job building the rest of the exhaust system with 2-1/2 pipes and turbo muflers for another $600. Not cheap but looks and sounds great and will last a long time.