Hello All.

I am new to the forum and am looking for advice from anyone as to which headers are a best fit for a 1967 RS (SS) with a big block 396, 4 speed Muncie, close ratio power steering.

I hear lots of horror stories about guys having to beat the headers into shape but there must be some manufacturer that can build them to fit right.

Thanks,

Andrew

 

For my money ARH is the best out there, they also have a complete exhaust system available for your car.
I have them on my 2001 and they've been great.
This link says big block,I think the engine size of 5.7 is a misprint but I'd call them about your car.
Camaro/Firebird 1967-1969 Big Block Chevy Headers | American Racing Headers

 

I did a little further research and found these. They are claim they fit the BB396 with a manual box and PS. Has anyone tried these and did you have any problems with fitment? Seems like Hooker routed the #5 exhaust over the #7, same for # 4, just wondering if that would put too much heat around the rocker cover gasket?

https://www.summitracing.com/parts/HOK-BH13183

 

I went with Hooker’s Super Competition long-tube header (PN 2111-1HKR) on my 396/Muncie M20 combo. Works fine, last a long time, as they say. My ’68 is equipped with power steering, and we ended up going with this header to avoid beating in the #5 header tube. The #5 tube goes OVER the #7, then takes a hard dive to clear the Z-bar. Added benefit is there is NO header tube in close proximity to the steering box, so no heat injected into the power steering fluid. Regarding heat into the valve cover, see for yourself:



Here's a shot of the full engine, 396 feeling good:


And a shot from above the Z-bar, during the build:


Finally, while you didn't bring it up, the full story also involves a journey to the rear of the car, avoiding Muncie, driveline, rear end, and clearance beyond the muffler. Here's what that looks like when attached to these headers:



While we went with 3" tubes to the muffler, we had to go down to 2 1/2" for clearance issues to exit the cabin. After the fact, I was informed about an availabe fuel tank that was modified to allow 3" exit tubing, but too late for me, and to date, the 396 doesn't seem to mind. I remind myself that this is NOT a race car.

 

Yeah I wouldn't worry about the valve covers, starters are a different story and the most common problem with headers in a BB 1st gen Camaro.
Heat shields or wraps are a good idea to avoid heat sink in the starter.

 

Thanks for the pictures! This is exactly the route I'm looking for and your pics explained a lot. What I couldn't see from the picture of the header from Summit was how far the tubes spread outward, so the rocker cover is really no issue. Seems they fit perfectly, did you lay them into the bay first then drop the motor on them?

That is a good looking car you got going there!

 

Thanks for the insight, I never thought too much about the starter so I'll take a look into what kind of shield is available.

 

If you want a complete, although near-novel length story of Ricky Camaro’s journey back to life, you can visit my thread in 1st Generation Projects section, titled “Ricky Camaro Rebirth”. If you actually have the patience to read the whole thing, you will learn a lot about what it takes to help a Camaro travel from rusted-out hulk to “better than showroom”. I don’t think of this as a renovation but rather a reconstruction.

The entire subframe had to be replaced, including control arms and disc brakes, and so we installed motor and tranny, and including the headers and steering gear, before bolting the entire assembly to the cabin as it came off the rotisserie.

In my answer to your query, I neglected to show a view of the passenger-side of the engine, so here:



Regarding Y2K’s comment about starter issues, one of the things we did was choose a high-torque starter, which while very powerful, is actually smaller in diameter than a stock starter. Here is a pic I took today of the proximity of header tube to starter. It appears there is about an inch of clearance. That is only at the very front (radiator-end) of the starter. As you can see, they diverge the further back you go. I don’t know if there is an issue yet, as I haven’t run the Camaro in summer heat, having just received the car in mid-December. So far, no problem, and this starter is very strong:


By the way, all spark plugs are easily accessible with these headers! And being ceramic-coated, they run fairly cool, considering.