New to the board - Headers question

[rhdowns]

This is my first post although I have been lurking on here for quite a while just admiring the pictures of different rides here, tips and tricks and just the conversation in general.

I have my Papaw's 1986 Chevy K10 that has 90k original miles on it. It was his baby and we have tried to keep it in the family since he passed. It has the original V-8 305 which is really terrible and has trouble keeping up speed on the highway with all the weight of the 4x4 (weighed it at a truck stop the other night 4480lb).

So in order to start bringing this truck back to life I have ordered a crate motor which my dad picked up last week. We are planning on putting it in this weekend and I need to get some headers for it. So I have a couple questions:

What headers do you recommend? I do not want them to get rusty so ceramic was what I was thinking. My truck has the factory air conditioning which seems to mount to the manifold - any tips or tricks when replacing with headers?

The engine is a 383ci with about 435hp\440ft\lb torque and the carb is a 750cfm not sure if all that is needed to determine what size headers\type headers to get. The truck is not raised or lowered - stock suspension minus some new shocks I put on a couple weeks ago.

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

[benoit454]

ebay they have stainless long tubes for like $158 they won't rust and are cheaper the ceramic. if not then maybe some summit ceramics, about the cheapest ceramic you can get from summit brand. As for bracket not sure, maybe space it out with a washer usually the power steering bracket bolts to it and it just gets spaced out with something and use of a stud or long bolt instead of short header bolt.

[Prerunner1982]

Here is my fix for the A/C bracket.. with more time I could have done a cleaner job...



The A/C bracket is not installed. The area I cut off would have gone over the tube. now it would just bolt to the front exhaust stud.

[rhdowns]

Those pics where exactly what I was looking for thanks!

Here are some pics of the truck I took the other day:



And the 305 with the A\C bracket area:




I am having the top layer of gray paint re-painted this week (hood, roof and along the bed\fender) while I am in Texas. Get back thursday to try start the engine swap out.

Other issues I need to tackle in the near future:

Removing play in the steering - not sure what I need to swap out there
Sound deading the interior - way to loud inside the truck it is the strip down model so it has rubber in the floor, no roof liner, etc
Find a new bumper.

I saw some posts on this site of people that used the Summit ceramics and some said they were the same as flowtech. I wanted to keep it under $350 and I think the summit ones are around the upper 200's. Any size or other things I need to think about when picking the ones on the summit site?

[rhdowns]

One more question I have read on a few threads here about people having trouble with the starters getting fried by the heat from the headers. Do I need to take any steps to prevent that?

I have a new mini starter I bought when I got the motor.

[1986GMCLB]

Originally Posted by rhdowns

Those pics where exactly what I was looking for thanks!

Here are some pics of the truck I took the other day:



And the 305 with the A\C bracket area:




I am having the top layer of gray paint re-painted this week (hood, roof and along the bed\fender) while I am in Texas. Get back thursday to try start the engine swap out.

Other issues I need to tackle in the near future:

Removing play in the steering - not sure what I need to swap out there
Sound deading the interior - way to loud inside the truck it is the strip down model so it has rubber in the floor, no roof liner, etc
Find a new bumper.

I saw some posts on this site of people that used the Summit ceramics and some said they were the same as flowtech. I wanted to keep it under $350 and I think the summit ones are around the upper 200's. Any size or other things I need to think about when picking the ones on the summit site?

well now that i see what i have to do with the bracket to ac do i still need to put in a spacer too?
Now for the fun. on passenger side back by firewall the first bolt hole is it to be the same size hole as the rest. i cant get the bolt started like the hole is smaller. and yes im putting it into the right hole (haha) not where the manifold was. thinking maybe i need to run a tap in it to fig the size and or clean threads since old manifold was covering it..

[tantrumpipeline]

nice truck!!! never had any issues with the starter on my old square, any interior pics?

[85gmcguy]

My mini starter (Summit brand) is holding up well. It does get hot under the hood with headers, though. I've got Summit ceramic headers and they have been a real bear to get to seal to the heads. Your experience may vary.
Welcome! Nice Truck.

[nbpro]

Welcome! to the board Nice Truck
there's always the option of a heat shield

[TheWhiteElephant]

Are stock/OEM manifolds an option? From what I understand, the 2 1/2" ram's horns flow really well. I just bought a set of these castings on ebay for $150. I've done headers in the past but don't really want to fuss with them this time around, especially since I'm going to drive this thing a lot.

[benoit454]

clean truck. I never had any starter issues with fullsize gm starters and even on a car with long tubes that were closer then truck headers ever thought of.

You do know you have to cut your exhaust off and have it redone when you do long tubes right?

[carloscanales]

hi there , love the color combination!very nice truck!

[GMC Guy]

nice truck! which crate motor did you go with? was it a Blueprint?

[rhdowns]

Thanks for all the great responses!

I don't have any interior pics with me here in Dallas but I will post some when I get back Thursday. It is pretty basic on the inside - the dash has been redone and I removed the stock cassette deck because it was rattling and was attached to some old rotted speakers. It is pretty clean inside there but really needs a radio and speakers - the lights on the dash are kind of dim - I read on one of the posts here about taking the dash apart and spraying some chrome like paint around the area the bulbs sit in and that helping a lot. I also want to add an RPM gauge for the new engine.

I have the stock manifolds on it now from the 305. It has an aftermarket true dual exhaust with no cats. I have thought about having to cut the exhaust - that is one of the things we are considering in the time crunch to get the engines swapped this weekend - we were thinking of bolting the new engine in and then towing it over to the exhaust shop to let them weld it up.

The engine I went with was a Skip White Performance 383. My dad actually went up to their shop and got a tour of the place and got to see it on the Dyno.

A picture of the motor:

[Prerunner1982]

Good looking truck. I never had a problem with the full size starter and my long tubes either. I had ceramic coated flowtechs and did not have a problem with them sealing against the heads.

[babyJay]

Welcome to the board, and nice ride you have there. The truck you see in my avatar had headers, and I never had a starter problem with the full size OE type starter. Maybe on the part by the starter would be easier to use some kevlar header wrap, instead of trying to fab a heat shield and properly attach it. I think you can get header wrap at any of the chain parts stores.

[Pro Performance]

Nice looking engine. I am in the process of putting a 383 in my shortbed (2wd) and used the summit headers. They were the cheaper ones I could find, and figured the summit brand can't be that bad.

[rhdowns]

So I ended up going with Hedman Hedders part 69890. I liked that they were thicker tubes (14 gauge vs 16 and 18) and the thicker flange 3/8 vs 5/16 - they also have a 3" vs 2.5" collector.

Link to the ones I ordered:
http://www.summitracing.com/parts/HED-69890/

Hopefully with them shipping out of GA to upstate SC they will get there by Friday.

[Pop's C-10]

nice set up...

[benoit454]

I don't know why some say 2.5 collector every set I ever ordered had 3 inch.

[rhdowns]

Got the headers in.



I should be home already working on the truck but airline offered a $500 voucher to wait 5 hours so I took it.

Paint on the top is done and looks good.


EDIT -

Wanted to note that after headers were completely installed I had to take the truck to a shop and have one of the tubes on the driver side heated and pushed in to give clearance for the rear bolt of the leaf spring. It was not touching when the truck was off but as the engine got warm and rumbled it would vibrate against it and make quite a bit of noise and rubbed some of the coating off the header. Also the Automatic shift linkage when shifted to first would hit the headers and vibrate the shift leaver so I had part of it cut off.

[rhdowns]

Here is a picture of the hood before:



And after:

[spudz]

looks real nice!

[rhdowns]

Someone asked about pics of the interior so here are a few. Nothing special this was the el strippo model

I'm hoping to put some sound dampening stuff on the floor and back walls. Anyone have any tips on what type to buy and tips for actually installing it?

[rhdowns]

As I embark on the removal of the original V-8 305 I found this article and it made me laugh.



Full link here:
http://www.73-87.com/7387info/Road_Test_8187.htm

Stock horsepower for a 4500lb beast 160hp from the 305 and 155hp from the new v-6. The stock 350 didn't do much better about 10 more hp.

As GM emerges from the bailout with better looking\lasting cars it is funny to look back and laugh at what was in this article considered "exciting". Four cylinders that power little mazda 3 put out more hp than these V-8's.