Talk me into Fenderwell Headers
- Thread starter roughidle
- Start date
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mischiefdart
Well-Known Member
I bought them used off a member here. He Said he bought them in the mid nineties. Have not got themon the car yet but they look far superior to the hooker super comp fenderwells I sold because of tire clearance. The seller said he had 15x7 rims on his car.
airwoofer
Drivetrain limit explorer
My ratty old Duster striped Demon had fenderwells. They had to bash in the firewall where the headers turned the corner to face to the back. As I contemplate what it will take to put my 540 into that car I also see frame between the frame rails and the rockers that will get in the way of mufflers. My bad for having a RB block and tall exhaust Indy heads (for which the TTI headers will not fit.
You guys should see the headers on my 71 KOS Demon. Huge tubes that basically snake their way around the stock steering. The headers say Hooker but the guy I bot the car from said he thinks that was just for contingency moolah.
moparlover
Well-Known Member
to get away from the shifter cable heat issues, you can run a rear entry shifter. ppp or one of the chetahs.
headers are like the camshaft or anything else, you can match them to the rest of the build. the schumies are easy schmeasy and good up to a point. if you are running a 500+ stroker 500+ horsepower etc you wouldn't run a stock or mild cam. you would probably go big. the schumies are good up to a point. when you go with the big wedge port runner heads then you cant use the schumies anyways. they fit the stock sized exhaust ports. you can make up for some of their shortcomings by making sure your exhaust is large sized, x-pipe, free flow mufflers or cutouts, etc.
headers are like the camshaft or anything else, you can match them to the rest of the build. the schumies are easy schmeasy and good up to a point. if you are running a 500+ stroker 500+ horsepower etc you wouldn't run a stock or mild cam. you would probably go big. the schumies are good up to a point. when you go with the big wedge port runner heads then you cant use the schumies anyways. they fit the stock sized exhaust ports. you can make up for some of their shortcomings by making sure your exhaust is large sized, x-pipe, free flow mufflers or cutouts, etc.
RoughIdle,
What heads are you running?
Routing is everything when running your shifter cable.
I found the 6 ft cable and wire tie downs work well.
I went with a ppp shifter in my race car.
Cost was about $600
Rear exit for the cable.
With this shifter we had to changed the trans lines.
What heads are you running?
Routing is everything when running your shifter cable.
I found the 6 ft cable and wire tie downs work well.
I went with a ppp shifter in my race car.
Cost was about $600
Rear exit for the cable.
With this shifter we had to changed the trans lines.
RzeroB
Well-Known Member
Great pic! That is a wheels up thing of beauty! I'd go with whatever he's using right there! Love it!
roughidle
Super Platinum Member
Highly worked over 452's
76orangewagon
Well-Known Member
X2...especially on a street car
roughidle
Super Platinum Member
Is it because of the heat or because of the front tire size?
roughidle
Super Platinum Member
Should I be able to clear 185 75 r14's?
mopar65
Well-Known Member
my 73 big block dart has Indy EZ heads and tti headers.I am using a B&M pro ratchet shifter and i have never melted a shift cable.i have mine tied away from the headers and use the thinner B&M shift cable. I never really had a problem work on the engine with the tti headers. i can have all the spark plugs changed in about a half hour. the only plug that's hard to get to is number 6. what i did was cut a small hole in the fender wheel to get to it. I would like to see some body do a 2inch header shoot out. between the tti, hooker fender well, headman fender well, pro parts etc. just to see if i am leaving anything on the table with the TTI headers? my old 71 duster with a 440 had the hooker fender well headers and on the street with no carpet, my left foot would get pretty toasty.lol Mopar65
mopar65
Well-Known Member
on my 71 duster i just ran the exhaust under the car along the rocker panel. i used 3.5 inch exhaust pipe and bullet 3.5 mufflers, with a 90 degree turn out at the end. thought the exhaust looked killer that way. never had any ground problems running it that way. i built that car back in the early 90 when there was not much header wise for a big block a-body. at least nothing a poor boy like me could afford. i got the 2 inch hooker fender well headers used at a swap meet nicely used for like 150 i think. best of luck in what ever you decide to use. Mopar65
rbdart
Well-Known Member
Yes.....just dip the whole tire...lol...sorry..but yep it will
i bought my first barracuda 340 fastback s 4 speed back in high school (69-72). the plymouth dealership mechanic who i bought the car from and who had bought the car new had installed hooker fenderwell headers. that car had a holley 750dp sitting on an edlebroc alluminum highrise. otherwise the 340 was stock with a the factory duel point distributor, x heads and the 4 speed factory cam. the car had 3:91s in the diff. the best time the mechanic guy turned with the car was a 12.29 with open headers and slicks. i only disconnected the exhaust pipes once from the collectors while the car was in my driveway and it was VERY loud!! if you are going to drag your car and run the headers open then i'm pretty sure you will get at least a 5-10 hp increase with fenderwell headers over under chassi types. fenderwell headers flow better than under chassi. however, if you are just building a street car, you are never going to disconnect the headers from the exhaust pipes. there is no doubt that chopping up the fender liners don't really add anything to the looks of a car and unless you're trying to win your class at the track, in my opinion, it's not worth cutting up the car for fenderwells over chassi. also, i will tell you that i had to be careful sometimes when i drove my first cuda in the rain not to drive through too much water. with fenderwell headers, you can get a lot of water, dirt and mud splashing up into the engine bay. the headers on my first cuda were painted bright hemi orange and they did look cool when my "fish" was lined up in the back row of the local burger joint. there's no doubt that fenderwell headers will make a street car look like a car that you probably won't beat in a red lite to red lite run.
dustoff440
Well-Known Member
Seen a couple of big block a bodies with hooker fenderwells headers where they had to run skinny small diameter tire up front to keep them from rubbing on the headers
Couple pics back when and now. Car has 17k miles on it now.
You have owned the car all these years? That is so cool!
No, I bought it in 2012 from a guy that had it since 1982(30 years). It was an ordered car to be raced from day 1. 383-S, 4spd, notch, 1 of 53 built.
airwoofer
Drivetrain limit explorer
Hey I might be able to talk you into some Hedman Hustler 2" fenderwells as I have a new set, never ran them, and now don't need them. New in box. Cheap.
mischiefdart
Well-Known Member
Do the headman's fit better than the hooker 2" supercomps?
mopar65
Well-Known Member
how much?
mopar65
Well-Known Member
i have never own a set but have read they fit a little bit better than the hookers. here is a comparison of headman's and hookers. mopar65
http://www.bigblockdart.com/techpages/Hustler.shtml
http://www.bigblockdart.com/techpages/Hooker.shtml
alan627b
Well-Known Member
Other things to consider since the 70's when fenderwells were the only choice.
The heat problem can be minimized with coatings and thermal barriers. Header wrap. Painting the floorboard and the backside of the firewall with the ceramic heat barrier coatings available like Lizard Skin etc.
Move the master cylinder over with one of the Hemi Dart repro brackets and use shielded hoses from an industrial hose maker. If I can get them in Omaha I'm sure they can be had in most civilized areas.
If this guy Is going for a stroker big block I seriously doubt he'll be flying over speed bumps or autocrossing or entering parking lots at 30 mph. Which header you choose will be dependent on what the PRIMARY goal of the car is..if maximum horsepower is the goal a fenderwell type is probably the least expensive way to get there for reasons already mentioned.
In an early A car I think I'd go fenderwell simply because I don't want to tear half the front end apart to put TTI's on a small block.
If the car is a numbers matching 340/383/440 car then I'd find a used ____ /6 318 car to hop up and leave the valuable version alone.
But it is yours so do what you want. Good luck regardless and take pictures.
Alan
The heat problem can be minimized with coatings and thermal barriers. Header wrap. Painting the floorboard and the backside of the firewall with the ceramic heat barrier coatings available like Lizard Skin etc.
Move the master cylinder over with one of the Hemi Dart repro brackets and use shielded hoses from an industrial hose maker. If I can get them in Omaha I'm sure they can be had in most civilized areas.
If this guy Is going for a stroker big block I seriously doubt he'll be flying over speed bumps or autocrossing or entering parking lots at 30 mph. Which header you choose will be dependent on what the PRIMARY goal of the car is..if maximum horsepower is the goal a fenderwell type is probably the least expensive way to get there for reasons already mentioned.
In an early A car I think I'd go fenderwell simply because I don't want to tear half the front end apart to put TTI's on a small block.
If the car is a numbers matching 340/383/440 car then I'd find a used ____ /6 318 car to hop up and leave the valuable version alone.
But it is yours so do what you want. Good luck regardless and take pictures.
Alan
mischiefdart
Well-Known Member
There is a guy near me selling a set of stahl fenderwell headers he had in a duster. They are 2" primary with 4" collector. Comes with 4" flowmaster's and side dumps. You can find them on DE Craigslist. I went and looked at them and they are nice just a little overkill for my car. He is running a cintrifugal supercharged motor in his car.
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