Hooker Comp Headers

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MOPARJ

MOPARJ

What can I upgrade now?
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Thousand Oaks, Ca
I am getting ready to install my freshly rebuilt 318 in my 73 Duster. The car has power steering and power brakes. The cam is a Comp XE268 and the heads were milled a tad, so the compression will be up a tad from stock. The rest of the internal components, with the exception of the moly rings, is stock. The converter and gears are stock too. I picked up a set of hooker comp headers from Jegs for about $165. I wanted TTI's, but funds don't support it. I want to drop it in with the headers without tearing too much apart and modifying it. What will I need to do to make these suckers work, or should I just stick with the damn 318 manifolds?
 
All you should have to do is clear the steering and pull the drag link as I think it goes between the tubes on hookers .
 
I think this will help ya; http://www.forabodiesonly.com/mopar/showthread.php?t=10508&page=1&pp=20
Hooker comps and a jegs exhaust kit @ 2-1/2 inchs.

Install them before the engine is in. Drop the centerlink and pitman arm for ease of installation. Leave loose until the engine is in and headers fitted on and bolted up. You MAY have to dent the header. I said MAY have to.
 
i put some of the same ones on my 73 duster 360 you need to jack up front as high as you can safely and take the long front end part that goes from wheel to wheel name escapes me and loosen motor mounts so you can pry one side up at a time, slide up headers from bottom, make sure that you have a good starter because you have to back off headers to get to starter, really not as bad as it seems, but make sure you do as instructions say dont try to shortcut like i did or you will be there forever, i cussed them all the way but really like them now good luck
 
Upon furthur investigation, the passenger side slides right in without removing anything, but the center link will have to be loosened to get the left in. Does the centerlink actually pass through the large gap in the drivers side header?Thats the only way I see it working and I think thats the way it fits. How do I remove that centerlink? Do I just knock it out of the pitman with a hammer then knock it back in and is there a cotter pin and/or nut holding it down? I don't want to have to buy any special tooling.
 
Does the centerlink actually pass through the large gap in the drivers side header?
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Yes
How do I remove that centerlink?
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You need to take out the cotter pins and remove the castle nuts. (OK, duh) Then a pickle fork as there commonly called here is placed at the parts meeting point and struck with a BFH, a baby sledge should do the job.
Place the car up as high as you can get it so striking the fork with the hammer is easier to do.

The fork is not what I would call a special tool, but one everone should have to service front end parts or in your case, for headers.

Instalation is just put parts together and tighten down the castle nuts and cotter pins slide in and splayed.
 
The pickle fork or ball joint seperator is 2.99 at HARBOR FREIGHT if you have one is your area. Dont hammer on the bolt or even on teh not turned over and rethreaded part way you will ruin it. walt
 
The pickle fork or ball joint seperator is 2.99 at HARBOR FREIGHT if you have one is your area. Dont hammer on the bolt or even turn the nut over and rethread part way( to hit it) you will ruin it. walt
 
Put a mini starter on that engine too, if you haven't already. The stock starter will not come out very easily after everything's in and bolted up. It'll fit, but the starter won't come back out in one piece.
 
Ace said:
Put a mini starter on that engine too, if you haven't already. The stock starter will not come out very easily after everything's in and bolted up. It'll fit, but the starter won't come back out in one piece.
Click to expand...

I covered that one already, as I was previously running a starter of a 96 Ram and will continue to do so. That should classify as a mini starter compared to the stock piece. I disconnected the centerlink last night and slid it through the header and put it back together. 25 minutes. I hung both headers using wire, that way I can just bolt them right up when I drop the motor in. I will have the motor done in the next 2 days, hopefully running by Saturday. I ordered some 3" to 2.125" reducers from Jegs, which should be at my house today. Hopefully they are long enough to fill in the 6" gap I have between the header end flange and the headpipe that I had to cut off from the old tiny manifolds. I ordered some simple band clamps for now to clamp the end of the reducers to the remainder of the piping coming off the motor(hopefully). This will be temporary until I can properly break in the motor and get it over to the exhaust shop to be properly welded. We shall see how it goes.:-D
 
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