Ripped the band-aid and a little bit of science with exhaust...

[emerygt350]

Well, I had a rear main seal go and while the guys were fixing that I said "Hey, while you have it all torn up, why not toss these brand new Hooker 6128hkr super comp shorty equal length headers I have had sitting in the garage for 2 years on there?". They said, "Sure! Why not?".

So, I finally modified my untouched g.t. 350. But here is where the contribution to understanding the engine comes in... I had them touch nothing else. Exact same engine, exact same exhaust (all smog gear intact), exact same header pipe (they modified the attachment to the headers to make it work).

So what happens when you just get rid of the old exhaust manifolds on an 84.5 convertible 5.0 anni with CFI and an automatic? Well, the headers fit (they swore a lot, or so they tell me) but they fit. At least these fit. Down low off of a start not much changed. Sounds a bit more more 'throaty' but with a big old muffler on a single exhaust I didn't expect too much.

When you get up into the 2k+ range I start to feel the difference. The car at high RPM now surges rather than feels 'held back'. It's not crazy but it no longer feels hobbled. Climbing slope at forty and flooring it used to result in lots of noise but not a whole lot of acceleration. Now it is a throatier noise and some real acceleration. At highway speeds (50 and up) the car is responsive and accelerates without the kind of effort it had before.

I am sure it would do all of this even more so with dual exhaust or perhaps minus the 33 year old cat but that is not the point. yet,

So, there you go. What happens when you just swap out the headers. Like I said though, the guys that did it (seasoned mechanics) said it sucked bad. However...


Next project will be the intake manifold. I don't expect much there but since I have ripped that band-aid, why not...