So my 67 Bird has leaky Headman headers PO installed on a 75 400. I was thinking about swapping out the headers for some stock manifolds. Will the 75 firebird manifolds fit ? They look like they might but would like to know for sure. Also thoughts on LBM besides they're expensive as hell. Are there any other issues with LBM's besides the oi filter adapter?
Many Thanx 67 Firebird 400 conv 69 LeMans 400 auto od
They're heavy as hell. But other than that they work very well. There's also some shorty headers made by Sanderson that are supposed to work pretty well too. Nothing is going to be cheap though except stock logs
I prefer headers. Never had any problems with Hedman 35270 headers. My last 1st gen had old Hedman 3-tubes. No leaks. You can go online & find lots of helpful hints on how to keep headers from leaking. My Pontiac friend who did lots of dirt track racing recently told me that he glued 2 gaskets together with high temp silicone, and also used it around each port, on both sides of the gaskets. With the price of gaskets today, it would be cheaper to buy thick gaskets, rather than 2 sets of gaskets.
Depending upon what you are trying to do with the car I would go log manifolds or the long branch(but I like stock appearing). Since you don't have the original drivetrain whatever you do won't really affect value so do what fits in your budget and what you like.
It looks like the exit on at least one side of the '75 manifolds is in a different location which might cause an issue. So, fit of the '75s may be an issue in a First Gen and should be checked.
1968 400 Coupe, verdoro green, black vinyl top, auto 1969 GTO Judge coupe, Carousel Red, manual 1971 Trans Am, cameo white, auto 1970 Buick Skylark Custom Convertible 350-4(driver), Fire Red, white top, auto 1972 Buick GS Stage 1, Royal Blue, black vinyl top, auto
Ok, I have Hooker headers on my 69 LeMans and the bolts are a real bear to deal with. I haven't tried Hedmans yet, I hope they're better. That's mainly why I was leaning towards stock. Does anyone have a pic of the 56 manifolds? This is what mine look like.
Many Thanx 67 Firebird 400 conv 69 LeMans 400 auto od
Ok, I have Hooker headers on my 69 LeMans and the bolts are a real bear to deal with. I haven't tried Hedmans yet, I hope they're better. That's mainly why I was leaning towards stock. Does anyone have a pic of the 56 manifolds? This is what mine look like.
I Have used both Hooker & Hedman. My experience with the Hookers was just like yours. I had to modify a 7/16 open end wrench, by grinding it down real thin, to turn one of the bolts.
If you look closely at the pics of the Hedmans you can see that all the bolts appear to be fairly easy to get to. I recently took some 3-tubes off my '68 Bird & put 'em on my '80 Bird. No problem at all. And I'm 70 years old. The 3-tubes are the easiest to install/remove Pontiac headers I've ever used. But, I never had any problems with the 35270 4-tubes either. Used them on quite a few Birds, including several race cars, where I had to install/remove 'em several times, over a several year period. Never any problem.
Summit will sometimes meet or beat the best legitimate shipped price you can find. They definitely don't have the lowest price on the 3-tubes.
Concerning price, Summit, Jegs, & Amazon Prime now charge tax. Some Ebay & Amazon sellers, as well as some other online sellers do NOT. This can make a seemingly "best" price, not the actual best price.
Yes, the 3 tubes look much more manageable. Can I install them without lifting the engine?
Originally Posted by oldskool
[quote=Purple haze] Ok, I have Hooker headers on my 69 LeMans and the bolts are a real bear to deal with. I haven't tried Hedmans yet, I hope they're better. That's mainly why I was leaning towards stock. Does anyone have a pic of the 56 manifolds? This is what mine look like.
I Have used both Hooker & Hedman. My experience with the Hookers was just like yours. I had to modify a 7/16 open end wrench, by grinding it down real thin, to turn one of the bolts.
If you look closely at the pics of the Hedmans you can see that all the bolts appear to be fairly easy to get to. I recently took some 3-tubes off my '68 Bird & put 'em on my '80 Bird. No problem at all. And I'm 70 years old. The 3-tubes are the easiest to install/remove Pontiac headers I've ever used. But, I never had any problems with the 35270 4-tubes either. Used them on quite a few Birds, including several race cars, where I had to install/remove 'em several times, over a several year period. Never any problem.
Summit will sometimes meet or beat the best legitimate shipped price you can find. They definitely don't have the lowest price on the 3-tubes.
Yes, the 3 tubes look much more manageable. Can I install them without lifting the engine?
Many Thanx 67 Firebird 400 conv 69 LeMans 400 auto od
Sorry Oldskool, have trouble with the Quote button. Yes, the 3 tubes look much more manageable. Can I install them without lifting the engine? Thanks
Yes. I removed them from my '68 with the engine bolted to the mounts, and I installed them in my '80 Bird with the engine bolted to the mounts.
Same goes for the 35270 4-tubes. Engine does not have to be raised.
You just have to have it jacked up high enuff off the floor, since they must be stabbed from the bottom. I did it with just a floor jack & jack stands.
And obviously, the starter will have to be off, and the oil filter & mount will have to be off, on the other side.
You can get to some of the bolts from the bottom & some from the top. Some with a rachet/extension/socket, and some with an open end/box end wrench.
At the suggestion of some on some of the Pontiac forums, I made some stands out of wood, to put under the front tires. So, I replaced the jack stands with the wooden stands. I think some call 'em "cribs".
Sorry Oldskool, have trouble with the Quote button. Yes, the 3 tubes look much more manageable. Can I install them without lifting the engine? Thanks
Yes. I removed them from my '68 with the engine bolted to the mounts, and I installed them in my '80 Bird with the engine bolted to the mounts.
Same goes for the 35270 4-tubes. Engine does not have to be raised.
You just have to have it jacked up high enuff off the floor, since they must be stabbed from the bottom. I did it with just a floor jack & jack stands.
And obviously, the starter will have to be off, and the oil filter & mount will have to be off, on the other side.
You can get to some of the bolts from the bottom & some from the top. Some with a rachet/extension/socket, and some with an open end/box end wrench.
At the suggestion of some on some of the Pontiac forums, I made some stands out of wood, to put under the front tires. So, I replaced the jack stands with the wooden stands. I think some call 'em "cribs".
That's a nice set up. I'll try replacing the gaskets first .. I had a lot of trouble with the Hooker headers in my LeMans. The Hedmans do look friendlier. Hopefully the bird will be easier.
Many Thanx 67 Firebird 400 conv 69 LeMans 400 auto od
1968 400 Coupe, verdoro green, black vinyl top, auto 1969 GTO Judge coupe, Carousel Red, manual 1971 Trans Am, cameo white, auto 1970 Buick Skylark Custom Convertible 350-4(driver), Fire Red, white top, auto 1972 Buick GS Stage 1, Royal Blue, black vinyl top, auto
That don't look like the 35270 Hedman headers to me. The pipes coming off #3 & #5 exhaust ports come almost straight down. The pipe in your pic is going horizontal.
Check out the pics of the center pipes, and see if that's how your headers look.
That don't look like the 35270 Hedman headers to me. The pipes coming off #3 & #5 exhaust ports come almost straight down. The pipe in your pic is going horizontal.
Check out the pics of the center pipes, and see if that's how your headers look.
Below is a pic of some 3-tubes on my last '68 Bird.
Sorry for the terrible pic. It turns out I do have the Headman tri tubes. Looks like you have a manual steering gear? Is it as close to the header as mine? I would also like to ask what type/brand of gaskets anyone is using? Are the tri tube gaskets the same?
Many Thanx 67 Firebird 400 conv 69 LeMans 400 auto od
1968 400 Coupe, verdoro green, black vinyl top, auto 1969 GTO Judge coupe, Carousel Red, manual 1971 Trans Am, cameo white, auto 1970 Buick Skylark Custom Convertible 350-4(driver), Fire Red, white top, auto 1972 Buick GS Stage 1, Royal Blue, black vinyl top, auto
