I'm looking for the best bang for the buck headers. My 400 WU block didnt come with an exhaast manifold so I figured I might as well spring for headers.
I'm not really looking for anything fancy, maybe some tri-y's or shortys to do the trick. The engine btw is being rebuilt to stock specs, with a correct 4 bbl q-jet and th400.

I'm based in Asia so I'm looking for something brand new coz returning items that don't match the pictures/description is going to be ridiculous and might cost more than the item itself.
My budget by the way is somewhere between $100-250.

Any help you guys could provide would be great. Thanks

for a bit more you can get a set of long branch exhaust manifolds. they will fit in your bird with little hassle unlike the headers. for the price your offering there isnt much in the way of headers for these cars!

From many different threads here...I also think that the RARE long branch headers are best.

http://www.ramairrestoration.com/catalog/compare.php

I would recommend nothing but the LBs. After owning my bird for 7 years and having headers for the first 6, I would have bought them day one if only I had known how nice they really are. I think anyone who owns a FGF should consider them. They are simply AWESOME!!!!!!!!

PS I purchased the ones from RARE...

Sorry im a bit of a newbie, what are LBs? - okay i finally got it, the Long Branches..
I'd love to get them but theyre beyond my budget and i was hoping to get my chicken running by christmas

thanks a lot

chip, are you in the Military?

Nope, I'm not ever american, was born and raised here in the philippines but that didnt stop me from starting my love affair with musclecars

we're trying to get organized over here and have a small following. you might want to check out our site to share some knowledge, we can always use more gurus http://musclecarsph.1.forumer.com/

sometimes i wish i was over there though, where parts and expertise is plentiful. pickings are slim here and whatever is brought in is priced ridiculously. cna you imagine 225/25/65 BFG radial T/As priced at the equivalent of $200 each lol

overseas shipping is a pain! ups the cost on everything when you have to use a shipping container to send it! as for the price your looking to pay for headers, you might try buying a kit and making them yourself. i dont know if you can weld but if you can , its gonna be your cheapest route!!!! otherwise i'd get on ebay and see what i could buy with the 100$ budget available to me! you can use the other cash for shipping.

A reasonable set of headers will be cheaper than a set of long branch manifolds, but will be a maintinence problem. Keeping bolts tight, gaskets blowing out, the ticking of leaky headers to name a few. Those exhuast bolts on Pontiacs are a pain to get to! The long branch manifolds will not flow as good as quality set of headers, but will be much quieter, very low maintinence. Bite the bullet and get the long branch manifolds, you're alreay committed to the hobby of muscle cars, it's a given that large sums of money is going to be tied in the project. Do it right!


Steve

$1-200 will likely get you either a set of used headers, or low quality new headers. In either case you're taking a risk of not getting what you want.

If the budget is set in stone, I'd recommend getting a pair of "logs" used, likely for a very good cost, and put the rest of your money in good mufflers and pipes. It will sound great and the loss of performance would only be noticible on a drag race track.

If the budget is not set in stone, and you can stretch it, absolutely get the long branch manifolds. Long branches are superior in every way, and headers are just plain evil. You will find your life will improve in every aspect once you have long branches, and you will soon find out that everyone else on this site agrees with me on this.

Thanks for all the replies, so its pretty much LB or bust

I was thinking of biting the bullet and getting LB but they are WAY out there, perhaps as a future upgrade? I also really want to get her running asap, since shes been sitting in a shed for almost two years now. but maybe thats just me getting impatient now that shes almost done. The choices one has to make.

Good recommendation with the logs Z_Firebird, let me mull that over.

someone is recommending hedman headers, what do you guys think about that?

Heddmans are good headers for the money, had a few pairs in my day.

Steve

I vote with the 'logs'. Not much performance loss and a lot easier on the starter. Headers come loose. If you have a small engine noise that would indicate a problem you will catch it sooner with the quieter logs.

HEADERS ARE EVIL!! EVIL I TELL YOU!!!!
DON'T BE TEMPTED BY THE DARK SIDE!!

^ HAHA

I am actually leaning towards logs more now. And just to muddle up the mix, someone is offering to do my headers for around $150.

Where can i find a good pair of logs? There dont seem to be a lot on ebay. What should i look out for when buying them?

Here's what you want, excellent manifolds. A good seller with perfect feedback.

LINK: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1969-PONT...sspagenameZWDVW

try these:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/69-70-71-...1QQcmdZViewItem

exhaust however not headers, they will get your car going if you need them!

you can also try our "local" suppliers,
Terry, (69firebirdman), and BIll (Firebirdbill)

I found Hedman headers to fit FGF well and be cheap. But the last pair I bought was a long time ago, and had 1 5/8 primaries.
I used an angled oil filter housing off a GTO, the straight one put the filter right on top on the pipes. Steering cleared fine but was manual, can't vouch for PS.

Thanks for all the advise, you guys have been a huge help.

I vote this goes to the hall of fame, you guys ARE fast!