JBA Headers?

[WarpathEngineering]

Anyone running JBA shorty headers? How about Sanderson? I'm thinking of canning my factory manifolds for headers but I'm concerned about missing the clutch linkage on my K20. I've heard that Hedman makes a full length pair that will miss but I'm worried about closing in around the starter and oil filter. It would be going on my K20 with a 350 & SM465. Truck has a small spring front / block rear lift.

[Front Range]

I looked really hard at those but ended up going with Hedman Elites to save money. JBA is a good header, it's just damn expensive. If you have the money to spend though I don't see how you can go wrong.

[WarpathEngineering]

Originally Posted by Front Range

I looked really hard at those but ended up going with Hedman Elites to save money. JBA is a good header, it's just damn expensive. If you have the money to spend though I don't see how you can go wrong.

Just out of curiosity, what are you running your Hedman headers on and how is the fit? I agree the JBAs are spendy but I liked that they have the ball flange and that would be the only reason I would consider them over the Sanderson shortys. I've also looked at the Doug's tri-y headers but they are more expensive yet. I've heard nothing but good things about the Hedman headers, just concerned with the fit on my particular truck.

[BLT gmc]

I run JBA headers on my 69 K10, 350 SM465, and have no issues or concerns. If I remember correctly they are 1815S? By far the best header I have ever run. I like the ball/socket connection. No gaskets! Bruce
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[Mikem_72]

^^^^^ I run the same JBA's on my SB350 and love them. I actually got them used and had them recoated. They sound great and fit well.

[Front Range]

Vehicle is a 77 Chevy 4x4 longbed TBI 350/TH350/NP203. I went with the Hedman 69830. The ball & socket is great for off-road flexing but about once a year you'll need to check the tightness, they tend to loosen up with standard nuts & bolts. Some type of lock nut or pinch nut at the ball socket joint would be a good idea. You can see that even in '07 the JBA was pricey, that is why I ended up with Hedman. If I had a spare 800 bucks just lying around JBA would have been my first choice.

As far as fitment Hedman works well and the flange to head bolt alignment is good = no leaks with a good gasket. BUT there will potentially be interference with the header and - the lower bolt of the rear hangar of the front spring. What I did there was to reverse the lower shackle bolt so I could drop the shackle/spring without taking off the header. In simple English the head of the shackle bolt is now facing inboard, if you tried to pull it outward it would hit the header collector area after a couple inches, forcing you to drop the header to get the bolt out.

As far as finish the ceramic coat has lasted very well over 8 years of daily driving / 4 wheeling. There is a little rust starting to form in the crease were the pipes touch as they come together in the collector - but that is typical of most any header. The JBA is stainless so you don't have to worry too much about finish unless it's a show truck.

Maintenance wise the only thing I ever did was tighten the ball/socket up a couple times after off-roading. Other than that they were maintenance free.




Comparison I did in 2007, header prices have risen significantly since then.


Header Types

1. Summit Standard / $89.95 / 18 Gage - 1 1/2 Primary - 5/16 Flange

2. Summit Ceramic / $178.95 / 18 Gage - 1 1/2 Primary - 5/16 Flange

3. Hooker Comp / $159.95 / 16 Gage - 1 5/8 Primary - 5/16 Flange

4. Hooker Comp Ceramic / $359.95 / 16 Gage - 1 5/8 Primary - 5/16 Flange

5. Hooker S-Comp / $409.95 / 18 Gage - 1 5/8 Primary - 5/16 Flange

6. Hooker S-Comp Ceramic / $659.95 / 18 Gage - 1 5/8 Primary - 5/16 Flange

7. Hedman Street / $145.95 / 16 Gage - 1 5/8 Primary - 1/4 Flange

8. Hedman Torque Step / $215.95 / 16 Gage - 1.5 to 1 5/8 P - 1/4 Flange

9. Hedman Elite Ceramic / $269.95 / 14 Gage - 1 5/8 Primary - 3/8 Flange

10. Dynomax Standard / $185.95 / 18 Gage - 1 5/8 Primary - 5/16 Flange

11. Dynomax Ceramic / $309.95 / 18 Gage - 1 1/2 Primary - 5/16 Flange

12. Flowtech / $109.95 / 18 Gage - 1 1/2 Primary - 5/16 Flange

13. Flowtech Ceramic / $245.95 - 18 Gage - 1 1/2 Primary - 5/16 Flange

14. Flowtech Afterburner / $179.95 / 18 Gage - 1 5/8 Primary - 5/16 Flange

15. Thorley Tri-Y / $369.95 / 14 Gage - 1 5/8 Primary - 3/8 Flange

16. Thorley TY Ceramic / $581.69 / 14 Gage - 1 5/8 Primary - 3/8 Flange

17. JBA Stainless / $749.95 / Shorty - 1 5/8 Primary - 3/8 Flange

[BLT gmc]

To combat the loosening of fasteners, i used factory exhuast springs from late model chevy and fasteners. The fasteners have stayed tight and the springs exert a constant pressure, while allowing flex. Bruce
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[KQQL IT]

Been my experience, without a 3/8 flange.
Header gaskets don't last.

[Tom]

$750 for shortys, HA!

[silverbear]

I had a set of the JBA shortys on my 89 Suburban. My current truck (86 K10) has a 350 and SM465 with 6" of lift. I am running some Hedman long tube header (because they were free). I am constantly re-tightening bolts on them and the collectors hit my shackle bolts. I am shocked at how much the JBA have gone up in price. I don't have any personal experience with the Sandersons but two of my friends are running them on their 69&70 C10. They seem to be OK.

[WarpathEngineering]

Well..... I bit the bullet last night and ordered a set of Sanderson CC17s from Summit. They were considerably cheaper than the JBAs and came highly recommended.

[74CustomK20]

I have a 350 ans bought flowtechs full legnth from O'Reilly's and they cleared my mechanical linkage fine.

[Front Range]

Originally Posted by WarpathEngineering

Well..... I bit the bullet last night and ordered a set of Sanderson CC17s from Summit. They were considerably cheaper than the JBAs and came highly recommended.

I'd be interested to know your opinion after running them.

[WarpathEngineering]

My new Sanderson Headers arrived today from Summit Racing. I took a chance and bought model cc17 which wasn't listed as an option for a Chevy pickup when I used Sanderson's application tool. With a little digging on different forums the cc17 model was floated as a possible fit and from the photos on Sanderson's website they looked like a close match to the manifolds on the truck. The cc17 item page under the application tab does list these headers as being correct for 67-87 GM trucks so it wasn't too much of a risk.

I must say I'm impressed with the look and finish of these headers. According to the manufacturer, the ceramic coating is sprayed both inside and outside of the header tubes with the outside being polished to a nice shine. The mating flange is thick with the raised gasket area being ground perfectly flat when laid against a straightedge. According to the instructions, a 1/6" bead of high temp silicone left to dry overnight is all that's needed to seal these headers to the block. The headers arrived well padded, included header bolts and offset collector flanges that can be welded to the exhaust pipe. The collector flanges on the headers are not welded in place but swivel to allow for easier set up (being my first pair, this may be standard fare for most manufacturers). Copper collector flange gaskets are recommended but not included.

A comparison of the new headers and the old manifolds shows that they are indeed very close to being the same orientation and should bolt up nicely. If the weather holds tomorrow I hope to begin the install otherwise it's up to mother nature.