76 dart 318 header suggestions

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DatDirtyDart

DatDirtyDart

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hi, I have a Automatic 76 dart with a 318 V8 and I'm thinking of switching out the stock exhaust. anybody have any suggestions ?
I want to start with headers. from what ive read its either going to be TTi or Dougs because of clearance. my biggest concern at
this point is spending the money and not have them fit. am I worried for nothing?
 
Some people suggest TTI, some Doug's. Both seem to fit well, from what I have read here. My guess would be the Doug's, are cheaper. Hopefully, others chime in.
 
I have a set of dougs in my 73 dart with a 360 and they fit perfectly! Dont sit low and they dont hit anything when installed.
 
I have a set of Heddmans on my 75 Dart, they are a huge pain in the @$$ but fit OK. They are also cheap.
 
The Summit headers work great as long as your car sits at the stock ride height with at least stock height tires.
 
I am planning on switching to a dual exhaust system. Still looking into x or H pipe too, right now it still has some of the stock exhaust on it , the muffler fell off again the other day #-o. Im sick of fixing it so im looking into a new system
 
If youre not planning on doing anything to the engine, then the TTIs/Dougs are a lot of money for very little, to no gain.
If youre staying 2bbl, single exhaust with a hi-flo muffler will likely be sufficient, some 95% of the time.
If adding a 4 bbl, the single will still be good probably 90% of the time.
If youre gonna cam it, it would be best to bring the compression up at the same time, and now headers and duals will pay.
-You are of course free to spend your money however you please. Personally I would put the cash into compression, and a hi-flow muffler.
 
I've always used the cheap hedman headers (little over 100 bucks). They are a pain. They have steering arm go through them, hard to get at the drivers rear spark plugs, and they wrap the starter within a 1/8 inch. My question is do the Dougs avoid the steering?
 
I have 1300. Im still in the research stage.I dont really know what the typical cost is for cam and compression or what really goes into getting better compression. Im quite the newb
 
DAT
-Nowadays that wont get you much. Sad,but true.
-I think you may need to prioritize. List the things you hate about your car. And the the things you like.List also what the car needs to do well. And what you are willing to give up.You need to see the big picture and then plan a way to get there with the least amount of; headaches, money spent, sub-contracted work, and backtracking.
-For the financially limited(like me),Modding is always about compromising.
-If your biggest headache is the falling off muffler, that can be addressed relatively cheaply.
-I think you may be jumping tracks here a bit too quickly.
 
DatDirtyDart said:
I have 1300. Im still in the research stage.I dont really know what the typical cost is for cam and compression or what really goes into getting better compression. Im quite the newb
Click to expand...

There is a thread "Friendly Cheap race competition" started by rumblefish360 that will get roll'n here in a couple of months. You might get some impressive ideas from this. The idea is for newbies and budget. I'm sure some people's theories will be turned upside down. Just for the record, I'd take a 8.2 to 1 compression 318 with 340 heads, cam, intake & carb, and exhaust before I'd take a 10.5 to 1 compression 318 2bbl stock with single exhaust. In the same car, stock tranny's and even 2.76 gears, the low compression high flow 318 would KILL that high compression no flow 318 in a 1/4 mile run. Good compression is great, but I would never sacrifice flow to get it.....
 
318
I see you are focused on the 1/4 mile. Where less than 1% of a DD resides.
I see you are focused on HP, to the expense of torque, where 99% of the DD resides.
Thats Ok. Id rather have a 500cid with a 3000 rpm redline, than a 318 with a 9000 rpm redline. Im a dedicated streeter. I was never big on 1/4 miling. And the little 11/1 motor will be passing you at least once a week at the gas pumps.Maybe twice.
I have built them both ways.
 
AJ/FormS said:
318
I see you are focused on the 1/4 mile. Where less than 1% of a DD resides.
I see you are focused on HP, to the expense of torque, where 99% of the DD resides.
Thats Ok. Id rather have a 500cid with a 3000 rpm redline, than a 318 with a 9000 rpm redline. Im a dedicated streeter. I was never big on 1/4 miling. And the little 11/1 motor will be passing you at least once a week at the gas pumps.Maybe twice.
I have built them both ways.
Click to expand...
Ok. Then to the OP, take it to the muffler shop and have a new single exhaust put on. You'll have gobs of your 1300 left over, and you'll have your excellent daily driver. No more talk about cams and compression or headers. If you never plan to go over 2500 rpm's, then no need for headers. If you like the dual exhaust looks and sound, you don't need headers. I just thought when you were talking headers that you were interested in a performance gain. And when you said you would look into cam and compression, I thought you were interested in performance gain. If you are interested in nice street performance, Please read what I have written in above posts. If not, just read this post. Good Luck!
 
I have Headman on mine and had to do just a little tweaking to clear steering. There is nothing like the sound of headers and dual exhaust. Don't let anyone BS you. My 71 had a cam and a 2 barrel and it still made a big difference. Gained almost 2mpg and more power
 
AJ/FormS said:
DAT
-Nowadays that wont get you much. Sad,but true.
-I think you may need to prioritize. List the things you hate about your car. And the the things you like.List also what the car needs to do well. And what you are willing to give up.You need to see the big picture and then plan a way to get there with the least amount of; headaches, money spent, sub-contracted work, and backtracking.
-For the financially limited(like me),Modding is always about compromising.
-If your biggest headache is the falling off muffler, that can be addressed relatively cheaply.
-I think you may be jumping tracks here a bit too quickly.
Click to expand...

Thank you.

This is great advice and exactly what I needed to hear (even though this isn't my thread).

It's very easy to start jumping around when it comes to changing things on our cars.
 
Hey dude, just figured I'd chime in here. I've heard many positive and negatives on any header conversions/swaps. I have a 74' 318 Duster and have a set of Hooker competition headers on it. They fit extremely well, no interference, no denting tubes to clear stuff etc. If they might be in your budget then you should seriously check them out. As I said, I'm quite pleased with mine.
 
Saverio
Thanks for the vote of confidence.
I learned the hard way. Spent way too much time and money over the course of the project.(Very nice DD,in the end). I have way too much money tied up in left over/no longer used parts. And I did backtrack on occasion.
Im just trying to prevent heartaches, esp. for those with limited budgets. If I can help a guy here or there that will make my day.
 
Well if you do go with headers doug`s seem to fit a little better than tti`s. The tti headers have bigger tubes, are staggered and are suited to higher hp builds like over 400 I think. Thats just from all the reading I have done. I ordered dougs and am waiting to install.
 
318willrun said:
My question is do the Dougs avoid the steering?
Click to expand...


http://www.forabodiesonly.com/mopar/showthread.php?t=22379


Yes, they go above it, both sides.

The best advice on the subject so far is to buy them raw, install them and make sure the clearances work; then set up a deal with an after market coating company like Q.C. Coatings, NitroPlate, or locally (Jet-hot is hit or miss) to have them coated inside and out. The cost is about the same if you were to buy the coated ones, but the quality is far, far better. Use stainless steel fasteners because the warranty doesn't cover rust drips.

Amazon.com has a good deal on the Doug's; as does Autozone with the %20 discount.

Good Luck, have fun!

I'd like to add this into the mix as well:


http://www.centuryperformance.com/exhaust-header-heat-wraps-do-not-use.html

and

From: http://www.turbobuick.com/forums/threads/inside-header-coating.376780/

We've been Ceramic Coating pipes for close to 15 years. The easy answer to your question is that it comes down to the type of Ceramic Coating being used and the size and condition of the pipes being coated. First off, when most people refer to Ceramic Coating or Jet Hot they are usually referring to the “bright Ceramic Coating”. Unfortunately there is NO bright Ceramic Coating on the market that is capable of withstanding actual turbo temps for any period of time without dulling and eventually going into failure mode due to excessive temps. Unlike many other coaters, Jet Hot included, we rarely recommend bright for any street of heavily raced turbo application outside of some motorcycles, vehicles running alcohol or limited race applications because its GOING TO FAIL. Even under those circumstances the bright coating will eventually dull and or delaminate. We recommend one of the high temp Ceramic Coating offerings that is good for nearly 2000F. This material can actually be red hot on turbine housing and retain its color.

RMAR brings up a good point. The biggest issue is being able to properly prepare the ID surface of headers and pipes to accept the Ceramic Coating. Many of the coaters that tell you they are coating the ID of pipes are either outright lying or being deceitful, especially when it comes to bright ceramic as an internal thermal barrier. What they do is spray the inside of your collectors and primary tubes and tell you they’ve coated the inside of your pipes. This is BS. Not to mention, if the ID of the pipe isn’t properly prepared the material will never stick. Hence the reason Jet Hot doesn’t recommend it, because they know the way they are coating the ID is an illusion. Further, when the bright ceramic breaks off it is very hard like a big piece of chrome. At which point can damage your turbine. Again, the high temp Ceramic Coatings will not harm a turbo even if they were to fail.

That being said there are methods to prep the ID with combinations of acids and blasting if the pipes are big enough, short enough, etc to be accessed by blasting equipment to ensure that the pipes are profiled properly. Below is the aftermath of a Jet Hot coated turbo header after a short time on the dyno. After the bright ceramic dulls, it turns to a white / green and then it’s all over. It becomes sacrificial and flakes off at high turbo temps. The other pics are some similar apps with the correct coatings on both turbine houseings and turbo headers.

Hope this help…..
 
I had Hookers on my 73 Dart Sport 318. They hit every dime in the road and I couldn't access my rear spark plugs. When I went to a SB 408 stroker I switched to TTi. I have 5 1/2 inch clearance with 3" exhaust, they fit, and I can access my plugs. Three years later they still look good and sound great.
 
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