HEADER KIT CONTENTS - EXPLANATIONS:

While we have header flanges for most American engines, perhaps the FIRST THING TO DO is be sure that we offer the necessary Header Flange Plates for your engine.  (If we don't, you will have to make them and we'll supply everything else you need.)

V8 CAR HEADER KITS include:  
     One pair 1/4" thick PLAIN (formed starter tubes unavailable for most applications) header flanges
        (5/16" and 3/8" thick flanges also available);  
    One pair Header Gaskets or One sheet of bulk Gasket Material if gaskets are not available;
    One set Header Bolts;  
    2 1/4" and smaller diameter Header Kits come with Twelve Mandrel Bent U-Bends with 6" legs and 
        Two Mandrel Bent J-Bends with at least an 8" leg on one side and a 15" leg on the other side,
        (2 3/8" & 2 1/2" OD kits come with Twelve J-Bends);  
    2 1/4" and smaller diameter Header Kits come with Ten Feet of Straight Tubing (Five Feet in 
        2 3/8" & 2 1/2" OD kits) shipped in 30" lengths; 
    One Pair Formed Collectors or Custom Collectors (depends on availability).

V6 CAR HEADER KITS include:  
    One pair 1/4" thick PLAIN (formed starter tubes unavailable for most applications) header flanges
        (5/16" and 3/8" thick flanges also available);   
    One pair Header Gaskets or One sheet of bulk Gasket Material if gaskets are not available;  
    One set Header Bolts;  
    Ten Mandrel Bent U-Bends with 6" legs and Two Mandrel Bent J-Bends with at least an 8" leg
        on one side and a 15" leg on the other side;  
    Ten Feet of Straight tubing (shipped in 30" lengths);  
    One Pair of Custom Collectors.

4 cylinder CAR HEADER KITS include:  
    One 1/4" thick PLAIN (formed starter tubes are not available) header flange
        (5/16" and 3/8" thick flanges are also available);   
    One Header Gasket or One sheet of bulk Gasket Material if gasket is not available;  
    One set Header Bolts;  
    Six Mandrel Bent U-Bends with 6" legs and Two Mandrel Bent J-Bends with at least an 8" leg
       on one side and a 15" leg on the other side;  
    Five Feet of Straight tubing (shipped in 30" lengths);  
    One Formed Collector or One Custom Collector (depends on tube size - see chart above).

STREET EXHAUST HOOKUPS, when ordered with V8 and V6 CAR HEADER KITS, include Four Collector Flanges, Two Collector Gaskets, and Two Collector Cones (Cones taper from collector outlet diameter down to exhaust pipe diameter).  In 4 cylinder Header Kits, Two Collector Flanges, One Collector Gasket, and One Collector Cone is sent.  (See Street Exhaust Hookup Notes below for the available exhaust pipe sizes.)

PULL & MUDRACE VERTICAL HEADER KITS include:  
    One pair 1/4" thick PLAIN (formed starter tubes unavailable for most applications) header flanges
        (5/16" and 3/8" thick flanges also available);   
    One pair Header Gaskets or One sheet of bulk Gasket Material if gaskets are not available;  
    One set Header Bolts;  
    2 1/4" and smaller Vertical Header Kits come with Eight Mandrel Bent U-Bends with 6" legs,
        2 3/8" and 2 1/2" Vertical Header Kits come with Eight Mandrel Bent J-Bends with 9" and 15" legs.
    2 1/4" and smaller Vertical Header Kits come with Twenty Feet of Straight Tubing;
        2 3/8" and 2 1/2" Vertical Header Kits come with Ten Feet of Straight Tubing
        (tubing is shipped in 30" lengths);
    One Pair Formed Collectors or our hand-made Custom Collectors (depends on availability of Formed
        Collectors).

PULL & MUDRACE UNDERCHASSIS HEADER KITS - use CAR HEADER KITS listed above.

A few Header Parts BUYING TIPS:

• Unless you have already figured out what the header will look like and can then make a realistic estimate, buy at least 1 1/2 U-Bends or J-Bends per cylinder.  For 4 Cylinder engines we typically recommend 7-8 bends, 6 cylinder engines - 10-12 bends, 8 cylinder engines - 12-14 bends.
    
• There are three additional factors that tend to affect how many bends get used to make a header:
    
  • How fussy are you?  Fussy people tend to redo things that they are not satisfied with.  Order 1-2 more bends if you consider yourself a fussy person.
       
  • If you intend to make the header a true Equal Length design, chances are you will use more bends.  Order 1-2 more bends.
       
  • If the chassis is quite tight for clearances yet you intend to build a reasonably long header (at least 30" long) and also want the tube lengths to be fairly equal, chances are you will use more bends.  Order 1-2 more bends.
      
• *Sometimes, when building headers it is almost impossible to estimate how many bends might be needed and, for some, it is just easier to buy the quantity of bends recommended at the top of this list, build the more difficult header side first, count the bends used up in the process, assume you will need as many bends to finish the other header and then place a second order for the extra bends needed.   If you call in your order early enough in the day, we can usually ship the order the same day.  Right now we carry over 14,000 mild steel mandrel bends in stock so it is very unlikely that we will run out of anything you might need.
    
• If you intend to build a header with tube lengths under 34" long, order about 15" of straight tubing per cylinder (10' for a V8).  Otherwise, on headers to be 34" or longer, order about 20-22" of straight tubing per cylinder (15' for a V8).
    
• To save time and eliminate some welds, use longer legged J-Bends (most of our U-Bends have straight legs of 6" length on each side, whereas most of our J-Bends have straight legs of 9" on one side and 15" on the other side).
    
• Where engines have shared or siamesed exhaust ports (two cylinders exhaust into a common exhaust port), use two different tube diameters in the header with the tube for the shared exhaust port selected such that its internal cross-sectional area is as close to double that of the tube for the "un"shared exhaust port.  The idea of using two different but properly sized tubes is to keep the exhaust gas velocity in all the tubes as near equal as possible so that the scavenging effects taking place in the engine are also as near equal!
    
• Sometimes it is MUCH easier to build a header if it is designed to come apart somewhere.  We offer die-stamped two bolt Header Tube Flanges for that purpose (usually the tube flanges are incorporated into a header tube somewhere and then the header flange is cut so that the upper part of the header tube can be removed from the main header body).

      

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KIT NOTES:

Where Outlet diameters are listed, Header Kits include 10" Formed Collectors.  Header Kits listed as including Custom Collectors are shipped with our EXCLUSIVE hand-built collectors that consist of a 5 1/4" tapered transition ONLY.  Custom Collectors are shaped BETTER than most mass-produced collectors as they have a smoother/longer transition taper, deeper external creases, and a tighter fit to the header tubes.  Custom Collectors are available for ALL tube sizes from 1 1/4" through 2 7/8" with Outlet Diameters available every 1/8" from 1 3/4" through 2 1/2" and every 1/4" from 2 3/4" through 5 1/2". 
(4 3/4" and 5 1/4" Collector TUBING is NOT available from us and appears to be impossible to find).  Add $92.00 if Custom Collectors are substituted for Formed Collectors.  Add $36.00 if Custom Collector Outlet Diameters are 2 3/4" or 3 1/4" and kit is ordered with Street Hookups.

STREET EXHAUST HOOKUP NOTES:  These are the choices of
                               Collector Outlet Diameters to Exhaust Pipe OD Sizes that are available;
       2 1/2" Collector to 2", 2 1/4" or 2 1/2" Exhaust Pipe Sizes;
       3" Collector to 2 1/8", 2 1/4", 2 1/2" or 3" Exhaust Pipe Sizes;
       3 1/2" Collector - 2 1/2" or 3 1/2" Exhaust Pipes NO EXTRA CHARGE but
                               to match to 3" Exhaust Pipes ADD $7.30;
       4" Collector to 3", 3 1/2", or 4" Exhaust Pipe Sizes.

EXTRAS:  Inner/Outer Double Flanges are available for the standard factory 6 bolt pattern 262-400" Chev heads (1 3/4" through 2 1/4" tubes), 318-360 W-2/W-5 Chrysler Head (1 7/8" through 2 1/8" tubes), and both of the Stage II Buick V-6 Cast Iron and Aluminum heads (1 7/8" and 2" Tubes).  To have these double flanges and required extra gaskets (or bulk gasket material if gaskets are not available) substituted in the above kits, ADD $225.00.

EXTRAS:  Header Kits can be ordered with FINISHED header flanges (click here for more information on our header flanges): Tubes about 2" long are hand formed into flange port, Heli-Arc welded, ground FLAT, and internally deburred (finished appearance and quality FAR EXCEEDS that of ANY "name brand" header).  Cost:  Round Ports - Add $115.  EXCEPT for 326-455 Oval Port Pontiac V8s, all Oldsmobile V8s that have two tubes going into one flange center port, and 290-401 AMC V8s, ADD $140.00.  For Oval Port Pontiac and Oldsmobile V8s, ADD $165.00.  1 1/2" thru 1 3/4" AMC V8s with rectangular shaped exhaust ports, ADD $165.00.  1 1/2" thru 1 3/4" AMC V8s with dog leg shaped exhaust ports, ADD $185.00.  1 7/8" AMC V8s with rectangular shaped exhaust ports, ADD $185.00.  1 7/8" AMC V8s with dog leg shaped exhaust ports, ADD $205.00.  FINISHED header flanges must also be ordered either 5/16" or 3/8" thick.

EXTRAS:  Header Flanges are 1/4" thick.  To receive 5/16" thick header flanges in kit, ADD $16.00 to cost of header kit.  To receive 3/8" thick header flanges in kit, ADD $24.00 to cost of header kit. 

TO ORDER KITS we need to know:  (1) Engine year, size, and make;  (2) Header flange port SHAPE desired (see Header Flange Listing to see if there is a choice);  (3) Tube and Collector Sizes desired;  (4) if applicable, Exhaust Pipe Size;  (5) any of the EXTRAS desired.

Header Kit Mandrel Bend Contents:
(V8 kits listed - V6 kits have two less U-Bends.
4 cylinder kits have 6 U-Bends and 2 J-Bends with
same choice of radii bends as listed below.)

KIT CONTENT INFORMATION - BEND SUBSTITUTIONS:

The contents of our Header Kits are based on a considerable amount of Header Parts sales experience - dating back to 1964!  Our Header Kits contain enough parts for about 98% of our customers to build a complete set of headers.  However, because chassis problems, the desire to make a header Equal Length, and/or each builder's individual fussiness can REALLY affect how many bends are going to be used to build a header, on occasion, additional bends will have to be ordered.  Phoned or Faxed in early enough, orders for more parts can usually be shipped the same day by UPS so we really minimize the inconvenience of not having enough parts ($25.00 minimum order, however).

UNLESS REQUESTED OTHERWISE, Header Kits are shipped with the bend radii and bend leg lengths described above as "normally included in kits".  Kits assume the construction of an UNDERCHASSIS exit car/truck header or a VERTICAL EXIT pull/mudrace header.

Many header kits can be ordered with different radius U-Bends substituted at no extra charge.  If you feel that there are areas of your chassis that are quite close to the engine, consider substituting tighter radii bends in those "close" areas.  If you feel that your chassis has a fair amount of room so that wider radii bends can be used, consider the substitution of wider radii bends for those areas.  (Consider these same reasons to substitute extra cost narrower and/or wider radius U-Bends and J-Bends too!)

We also have other radii U-Bends plus longer legged U-Bends and J-Bends available for most of the tube diameters listed above.  Larger radii bends are useful for building fenderwell headers (where available, use 4" and 6" radius bends to make the last turns into the collector as the two radii fit inside one another quite well and also look nice).  Longer legged U-Bends and/or J-Bends are used to eliminate/reduce the number of welds in a header and also speed up header construction.  Since all of these bends cost more, we subtract the kit's cheapest U-Bend cost (see the Header Parts Price List) from the cost of the desired bend and charge for the DIFFERENCE MINUS A 20% KIT DISCOUNT.  Note that there is a 20% discount given on ALL EXTRA parts ordered WITH Header Kits.

Because we give a 20% Kit Discount on ALL extra parts ordered with Header Kits, it is also a very good time to order:  EXTRA BENDS (if you think you'll need more bends than those included in the Header Kit or if you just want extras on hand);  HEADER TUBE FLANGES and GASKETS (if the header is going to be designed so that it can come apart in one or more places);  FLANGES and GASKETS for building a balance tube in the exhaust system;  LARGE DIAMETER BENDS and STRAIGHT TUBING to build the rest of your exhaust system, etc.  It's also a good time to order EXTRA Header and Collector Flange Gaskets, Header Bolts, etc. - items which tend to get used up or lost.