hooker headers

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fast318dart

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im going to be installing a 416 in my 74 dodge dart and was wondering if the hooker super comp 13/4 would work since i have a manual box because their only listed 1970 to 1972 thanks guys
 
Do yourself a favor and put out the extra money for a set from TTI,Hooker headers are JUNK!
 
yep, do yourself the favor or you will hate yourself. Hooker and Hedman headers are a joke and lead to attempted suicide :cry: Plus if you modify them anyway to fit correctly, it voids the warranty. :scratch: so why do they have seperate part#'s for them if they don't drop in?
 
Here's the letter I sent Hedman after fighting with their 'Best Fitting" headers. Keep in mind that this is a small block installation.

To whom it may concern,

The following is a detailed description of my experience installing a set of your headers on my 1968 Barracuda (340--stock heads--power steering). To say the least, I am not impressed but I am hopefull that this was just a very poor example of what your company produces. It is even more dissapointing when I see the add in this months Mopar Action claim that your headers are the "best fitting" headers. Another thing that should be noted is that this is not my first go-round with headers. It is the first set of hedmans that I've installed.

The headers were placed into position to bolt on by first (passenger side) unbolting the motor mounts, picking up the engine about 4 inches, removing the oil filter adapter and oil filter, removing the valve cover, & then dropping the header in from above. The Drivers side header was installed by raising the motor another few inches, disconnecting the centerlink & tie rod at the steering box arm, using a large bar to pry the engine towards the passenger side, and then slipping them in from the bottom with the assistance of at least one other person. Once this is done the headers are in position for attachment to the heads.

There are 6 bolts that hold the headers on. I could get 4 of my ARP 12 point header bolts in both sides but on the outer tubes I could not get the inner bolts in. I figured I'd be real sneaky/smart and pick up some allen head bolts cause even if I got a bolt in I couldn't get a socket on it. I grabbed a few hex head bolts too, this way I figured I'd have it made. Wrong. The allen head bolts would not work on either hole without bending the tubes for allen wrench clearance, and the hex head bolts have heads that will contact the tubes so that they cannot be turned, once again creating a need to beat on the pipes.

I spent all day working on the passenger side header. I had to clearance the tubes (see pictures) to get an allen wrench on the header bolts. I had to re-tap one of the holes where I had started to cross-thread a bolt. I had to use three different type of bolts and that looks like hell.

So now for the drivers side. Once again the headers had a few tricks in store for me. The tubes are welded in such a manner that getting bolts into the flange holes on the inner holes of the outer tubes, let alone started into the threads, is impossible. The engine had to be jacked up, the holes slotted, the tubes clearanced, and re-installed. We managed to accomplish all this but once again, we needed three different types of bolts and lots of time was spent beating on the tubes so that we could get wrenches on the bolts once they were in. We finished up at about 10:30pm last night making this at least 18 hours worth of heartache and misery.

If these are the best fitting headers then I give up. I will never purchase a set of hedman headers for any of my other projects and I plan on warning all of the members of the Barracuda Owners Group. I will post your reply to the group too. Like I mentioned earlier, I hope this is just a case of one poorly made set slipping by the Quality Control department. If not, then it's safe to say that I would rather exit my car at highway speed then install another set of these babies.

Awaiting your response.

Josh Walton
Elko, Nevada
775-397-2813
BarracudaOwnersGroup
Click to expand...
 
93toyota said:
yep, do yourself the favor or you will hate yourself. Hooker and Hedman headers are a joke and lead to attempted suicide :cry:
Click to expand...

For some reason I found that extreamly funny.


Is it just a A-Body thing? Because I have a set of hookers on my Trans Am and i'll say this. the clearance is great. they bolted right up, and almost 2 years later very very little rust on them.
 
No reply from the fine phonies at hedman. I hope all 900 members here read that too. The headers suck, the tech support is terrible, and the clearance is worse. I'm having a hard time keeping it PG-13.

Here's the plan.....My buddy donated a set of 340hp manifolds to the cause. I plan on videoing the following sequence of events:

1. The hedmans get torched off.
2. I beat the remains flat with a large hammer-like object.
3. The flat remains get loaded into a bucket and transported to the desert
4. Once in the desert we continue the destruction with the Redneck toy (50 cal machine gun)
5. The remaining steel fragments are scattered once and for all by 2 pounds of high explosives.


Send video to hedman HQ and wait for a reply.

Redneck2.jpg


Redneck2.jpg
 
snowymountainman said:
No reply from the fine phonies at hedman. I hope all 900 members here read that too. The headers suck, the tech support is terrible, and the clearance is worse. I'm having a hard time keeping it PG-13.

Here's the plan.....My buddy donated a set of 340hp manifolds to the cause. I plan on videoing the following sequence of events:

1. The hedmans get torched off.
2. I beat the remains flat with a large hammer-like object.
3. The flat remains get loaded into a bucket and transported to the desert
4. Once in the desert we continue the destruction with the Redneck toy (50 cal machine gun)
5. The remaining steel fragments are scattered once and for all by 2 pounds of high explosives.


Send video to hedman HQ and wait for a reply.

Redneck2.jpg
Click to expand...

Sounds like a good plan, but make sure you post that video here too. :thumrigh:

Oh BTW, you didn't happen to buy them from Summit did you? :twisted:

Redneck2.jpg
 
i have tried both hooker and flowtech and they did fitt very well but that was the 1 5/8" ones lots of work to instal but once there totaly ok, i also have a used set of 1 3/4" hooker multipiece headers and i dont tink they will fitt a newer chasis than 72 because i have heard that there´s something changed in the front suspension.. now i have a set of cheramic coated TTI headers and they are worth ANY price best fitting headers i have ever seen anyplace and pretty easy to install!
 
From a noobs perspective this is very educational. I'll be sure to put TTI in the "do" column and the other brands in the "don't". I have heard some less than flattering remarks about Summit Racing, Their online catalog is pretty neat, anything I should know about them? (off topic power on: GoDart: what make .50 BMG is that? She is suh-weeet!. Off topic; power off).

Good luck and thanks for the info: -LY
 
I must be the luckiest guy on the forum. I bought a set of Eagle Pro Comp headers to replace my rusted out 20 year old cyclone headers and after a weeks work and dimpleing to tubes to almost shut ...they went in!!! A month later I took them out with a torch and installed a set of Hedman headers. Right side fell in practically and the left side was a bit more to contend with .....must of taken 30 to 40 minutes to gethem in and bolted down. Nothing at all like the Eagles or any of your guys description. Mine was a 68 cuda 360 Ps/4spd. Abuddy who was helping me commented that this was the easiest set of headers he had ever installed. As for Hooker headers I have only had one set and that was on a hemi roadrunner and they went right in with just the normal amount of twisting and prying. But that was back in 69 ...who knows what they have done to them since then.
 
From a noobs perspective this is very educational. I'll be sure to put TTI in the "do" column and the other brands in the "don't". I have heard some less than flattering remarks about Summit Racing, Their online catalog is pretty neat, anything I should know about them? (off topic power on: GoDart: what make .50 BMG is that? She is suh-weeet!. Off topic; power off).

Good luck and thanks for the info: -LY
 
Lone Yankee wrote:
GoDart: what make .50 BMG is that? She is suh-weeet!.


Uhhh, I think this is for snowymountainman.
Click to expand...

Barrett baby......Semi auto, steel thrashing, *** kicking, lead slinging.....You get the point. And you can chase the posers away from the gun range with about three rounds. Under the canopy it will knock peoples hats off from about 20-25 feet just from the back-blast.

Very Cool toy
 
I have a set of Hooker Super Comps, fenderwells with 2" primarys on my 383, manual steering box, and I didn't have any problems with the fit.
 
I have run and installed Hooker, Hedman, Casler, and Flow Tech..The easiest was the Caslers(for big block..) You issues with Hedman while exasperating, are not exactly unusual when installing a part not designed by the factory. (MP parts are just reboxes, and are overpriced, and just as bad.) I have found price is directly proporsional to the installation issues. The 5 or so A body (same as B & E) sets I've done have all gone on pretty easy..I'm not sure, but somewhere in the instructions, at some point, they said start the two inside bolts on the outer tubes first..That's so you can keep the header away from the head, and the bolt will slip right in..The only issue is the 1/4 turn of the open end wrench you get when tightening. I leave the out studs in place, and slip them over..It also helps keep the gasket in line. I also try to get longer bolts by 1/4" or so, and coat the end of the threads with hi temp RTV so they dont "seep". The biggest issue is the 3 tubes under the centerlink..I'm in NE, and those 3 tubes last about 5 miles on our roads..But once you flatten the lowest 1/2" or so, you're stylin'...lol These headers have not changed since the late 60's when they came out..There are literally hundreds of thousands of sets installed and running betweeen '67 and the present. You had a hard time, and that's regretable, but not uncommon. In terms of cost, you could take the Hedmans, and have them put on at a shop, for 1/2-3/4 of the cost of the TTis alone. I havent done any TTi headers, but as far as the pipes, I'll have a custom set bent before I spend the $$ they want for that stuff. It's not crap, but it's not worth the cost either, IMO. The Hookers I've done have fitted fine, no real issues, maybe a light ding around the P/S box was all.
 
I have Hooker Super comps also. Like Moper said after I bash :shock: the lower
tube about 1/4" on the highway I've never bashed it again. :D
 
I've used Hedmans, Hooker Super Comps, Flowtech and TTIs on a few differant Mopars. The worse were the Flowtech E body headers for a big block. The best were the TTIs that replaced them.
 
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