Has anybody cut/ground out their frame to make headers fit?Tried 4 pair now! PicsPlz
 

As the title states Im now on my 4th pair of headers now and all of which seem to either rub the frame or the engine mount. All four pair of headers say they were "built for 67-72 Chevy C10" and so far nothing bolts up! This is frustrating the h3ll out of me. I don t know if it makes a difference but my truck originally came with an inline 6 and is currently running a 305. Are the engine mounts different or does the cross member sit lower on a 2wd originally equipped with a 6 cyl? Can I space something to raise it up or down? Is there a better motor mount or tube mount I should replace it with? Has anybody taken drastic measures and cut/ground down their frame to make a particular set of headers work that you just had to have? Right now I have a set of patriot Block Hugger headers and this is the closest to fitting ive come so far but im still off by about 1/4". Im going on 2 months now of not driving the truck because of brake issues and constant wrong headers and Im jonezin BAD :lol: Please Help!! Sorry about all the questions but this is drivin me nuts! Ill post pictures tomorrow in the daylight when im not so irritated with my poor immobilized baby.

Speaking of pictures can I get some pics of your headers on your trucks? Id really like to see what type of engine mount/cross member you have and what type of headers get around it. Thanks in advance!

Re: Has anybody cut/ground out their frame to make headers fit?Tried 4 pair now! Pics
 

what kind of headers are you running? ive got a 69 2wd with a 383,had some headers in a box layin around saying they would fit a 3rd gen camaro and tried em to no avail but the $90 summit 67-72 truck headers fit right in fine for me also my truck was an original 350 truck so it may have different mounts but i doubt the crossmember sits differently,hope this helped ya out

Re: Has anybody cut/ground out their frame to make headers fit?Tried 4 pair now! Pics
 

The l6 and v8 mounts are different. But i had issues with my passenger side header hitting the truck side of the mount so i ground enough off to where it would fit and line up. Haven't tried the tubular mounts that i bought yet though, but then again i just bought those
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Re: Has anybody cut/ground out their frame to make headers fit?Tried 4 pair now! Pics
 

i had to cut the frame on mine to clear the collector flange and o2 sensor bung on the drivers side, the passanger side fit perfect with no cutting. also neither one of them hit the motor mounts or anything, they are stainless shorty headers for a 1990 4x4 suburban

Re: Has anybody cut/ground out their frame to make headers fit?Tried 4 pair now! Pics
 

Well, so far Ive tried 2 pair of rusty unknowns I had layin around from my old 71, a set of stainless longtubes new off ebay that said they were specifically for our trucks and lastly a set of Patriot huggers. The patriots stick out to the side too far and barley rub the frame but completely clear the engine mount. Its almost as if my engine is sitting too low or something but the oil pan seems lined up with the cross member underneath which is exactly how my 71 was and I had no problems with anything on that truck. Ill post pics of the Stainless and the shortys in the morning so you can see what im working with.

Re: Has anybody cut/ground out their frame to make headers fit?Tried 4 pair now! Pics
 

Is your V-8 mounted on V-8 engine stands?
Is it in the I-6 "rearward" set of frame holes or the "forward" set of V-8 frame holes?
Does it have the correct rubber engine mounts?
All this stuff matters.

Re: Has anybody cut/ground out their frame to make headers fit?Tried 4 pair now! Pics
 

Hooker Comps fit my '71 like a glove. The same part number also fits my 85 burb 4x4 without a clearance issues.

Re: Has anybody cut/ground out their frame to make headers fit?Tried 4 pair now! Pics
 

Hedman Street Hedders on my 1972 GMC with a SBC. had to make one small "dent" in the header tube to clear the frame rail. Can't even tell it's there.

Gary

Re: Has anybody cut/ground out their frame to make headers fit?Tried 4 pair now! Pics
 

As promised and a little late, here are some pics of what I am working with.

Re: Has anybody cut/ground out their frame to make headers fit?Tried 4 pair now! Pics
 

A '70 frame has clearance for a big block, so I don't understand having small block header clearance issues. Just as long as you're using headers for a '63-'87 truck.

Re: Has anybody cut/ground out their frame to make headers fit?Tried 4 pair now! Pics
 

So is my engine sitting too low then? Let me know if I need to take more pics than that too.
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Re: Has anybody cut/ground out their frame to make headers fit?Tried 4 pair now! Pics
 

I run cheap hedman headers on mine and they fit perfect (70 c10) but look awful.

My old camaro headers fit great too (hedman as well) until it was loaded up then they rattled off the frame rail and new rubber on the mounts made a difference.

Only time Ive cut a frame is for a 302 swap in a Ranger

Re: Has anybody cut/ground out their frame to make headers fit?Tried 4 pair now! Pics
 

Your motor mounts look fine to me. You just need to get the correct headers. Have you tried a name brand header that is for a '63-'87 truck? I do know that Hedmann #69090 will work on the '63-'66's. Of course the small blocks in those years sit farther back than the '67-'72's. So I don't know if you will have any clearance issues with the suspension crossmember. Those headers are long tube headers. I don't know if that matters to you or not.

Re: Has anybody cut/ground out their frame to make headers fit?Tried 4 pair now! Pics
 

Actually long tubes are what I want I understand they help make better torque but Those didnt fit either. Thats why I went with these huggers. I never thought I would have any problems with such tiny headers. I would love to go name brand and get something really nice but unfortunatly I am on a very strict budget. You see, Im married... :lol: So far with this truck I am sitting at about $450 out of pocket. That includes the Running truck, New Headers, new starter and some rewiring. Actually Make that $500 if you include the new cab with title I just picked up yesterday. I am doing all the work with money I make reselling things off of craigslist (Buy, Fix, Resell). I think these headers were less than $100. I guess the old saying stands true... You get what you pay for.:waah:

Re: Has anybody cut/ground out their frame to make headers fit?Tried 4 pair now! Pics
 

I've put hedders on I don't know how many cars and have only had two sets fit out of the box, and they were gourmet expensive sets. I've always knocked the hedders a bit with a ball peen as opposed to notching the frame. Yes you could argue that knocking in a hedder tube reduces the diameter and such but very few of us are making the kind of horsepower for that to be a significant factor. For most of us hedders are a waste of money and time and only provide unnecessary headaches. But they look way cooler than manifolds. I have a set of hedmans on my Jimmy which probably only puts out 200-250hp. Total waste but I like the look and since they are long tubes, it made fabbing the exhaust system easier as there were far fewer bends to have to deal with.

Re: Has anybody cut/ground out their frame to make headers fit?Tried 4 pair now! Pics
 

I would have to agree on my current engine (2bbl 305) they probably are a waste of time. Going by some of the information from jegs and summit I may be able to pull 375 to possibly 400hp out of the engine im building now. In that case I think headers will definitely be necessary. So im hoping to get this all resolved before dropping in the new engine.
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Re: Has anybody cut/ground out their frame to make headers fit?Tried 4 pair now! Pics
 

My '71 4x4 had issues with the frame rails, but the PO cut a nice line out to clear it. You couldn't tell unless you really looked. Best to get ones that fit if you can, though.

Re: Has anybody cut/ground out their frame to make headers fit?Tried 4 pair now! Pics
 

Well then, just sell the two sets you bought that didn't fit. Then you should have just about enough money to buy a set that is known to fit. If you keep buying cheap generic headers, you're going to have fitment issues.

I just did a parts search on Summit, and the headers I mentioned above will fit your truck.

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/HED-69090/

Just save up a little more $$ and get a good set of these headers. Once you get them, strip the factory paint and coat them with some good high temp paint and they'll last a long time.