hooker comp headers
Well I'm stuck on this one. I knew that installing headers was going to be a pain as I have done it before many times, but these hooker comp headers are giving me a lot more hassle. Let me give you some history. I have a 71 duster, that has a 360 in it, 727 trans, manual brakes and manual steering. I bought the hooker headers due to me also buying the mandrel bent jegs exhaust kit and they specify to use these headers. The problem is of course on the drivers side. both of the headers are in the engine compartment, that was not too much of a problem. But the drivers side header will not line up with the head at all. it appears that one of the front tubes are hitting the steering box, and one of the back tubes is rubbing the steering shaft, so much that you can feel it hit when you turn the steering wheel. What do I do? I had hedman headers before and didn't have any problems whatsoever with them, these hookers are a different story. The engine is bolted up, and so is the trans, so I can't see that I have a motor mount that is put on wrong or something, I also have solid motor mounts so there can't be any slop there either. The options that i see are to dent the heck out of the tubes that are hitting, a trial and error deal. Get TTI headers as they have a following to really fir great, or to get manifolds. I'm not really liking the denting on the tubes, as I would have to keep taking the header in and out to get it dented properly and of course the restricted flow on the header, I don't have any manifolds to use, so I would be buying them, as well as another exhaust kit to bolt up to them since my kit now is supposed to fit headers. Or buy the TTI's and just deal with the massive amount of money spent on them. Let me know if you all have any ideas on this, I have to get the car finished ASAP, as the place the car is now is going to be sold in the next month, so I have to vacate by then. Thanks for any and all help.
Dan