12 months would've been rushing it anyway *******. I'm just a cnc machinist not an engineer. I just picked up a 1990 dually and hopefully getting a car trailer in the next month so I have a secondary income to help[ support this project.

 

I will keep you guys posted on all progress towards this. rough time a year right now but hopefully will start moving forward mid January.

 

Really I wasn't trying to be a dick..........................My dickish comment comes from the fact that when these "weird idea threads" get started, there is a ton of back and forth bull ****, then the OP says, **** all yall I'm doing it. Which is awesome. The problem is that threads of these types rarely ever come to fruition.

I would love to watch and see this through. It's just that the odds are against you. I'm always up for a a little different strange **** and the learning that comes with it. The learning on my part would be you posting pics and comments along the way. Get after it.

 

my bad. i will be doing it. i just have to get ducks in a row which could take a month to 6 months and the weather in upstate NY is against me on this as well. I'm only a machinist and my budget is not thck. it will need to be a progressive build. no way i can do everything at once. that's why i bought my truck and car trailer next to pick up side work to fund the project. 100 dollar tow here, 200 dollar tow there and itll all go into the bird.

 

More power to you for sticking with it. Like I said, **** all the haters (even me). Lets all learn some stuff on your dime. lol

Thanks.

 

I'm happy to be of service to you but I'm not sure how much of this anyone else will be able to take into their car.

see my car needed all new floor boards because i parked it for 3 years in a bad spot(was a rust free car when i was driving her). because of this, i needed to gut the car to see the extent of the damage which lead to my mass amounts a weight reduction I'm doing and certain mods. i also decided with as far as ive had to go, i can restructure the floor how i want it for certain things i want done to the car that otherwise would be impossible in this layout and is probably where ive received a lot of hate on this thought.

in current standings, i have my car prepped for anything my heart desires on this and that's why I'm going to move forward, i have a blank canvas for this build.

i think i have an exhaust builder in mind now who seems to like the idea of what I'm doing and wants to help support it and is very reasonable on pricing, so instead of taking my novice skills and doing it myself, I'm gonna go through him as long as he documents everything with photos so i can update on here and i will probably finish up after the collectors as i know my skills are good enough for that... headers though, ill be honest, i will probably screw them up 5xs before getting something that may work....

 

slight update

no I have not moved forward with this YET... my dually blew the tbi 350 head gaskets and was down for a bit. I opted out for a Winnebago 454 and converted it all back to a big block truck(which was appropriate as it is a 454ss dually or at least has always had the decals on it). this depleted all my "bird" funds I had saved... but I did get side work with a buddy of mine that works on race cars, of all sorts, and while working with him, I've met a few guys that want to slap the **** out of me for thinking the way I do and one guy who has ACTUALLY built his own 180 degree headers on a northstar fiero build.

I will be speaking with him more about my car as I see him and brainstorming this entire build. my car will be in my buddies shop by this fall to install the 6 pt roll bar. after the bar is in, more material will be removed from the car and the floors will be redesigned to just accommodate a driver and passenger(making as much room as possible underneath).

added note: I will be a father in 25 weeks as well so i'm also in the process of learning to balance as well.

 

Anything ever happen with this header build? I see the last post was many yrs ago.

 

Well.... not to prove anyone right, but I never finished it.

I will try to find the pictures of the snakes nest I made on a 5.3 donor motor I put in...

Long story short, finds weren't there so I picked up a welder, worked on it in free time, spent 4xs more in materials than needed, to end up with something hideous... could've worked but got frustrated my skills weren't as high as they needed then it sat while I moved on with other parts of life... I own 2 house now, 1 I rent out and will hopefully be selling soon and using the profits to put up a 30x50 or 40x60 shop. Welding skills are much better now but I no longer have the firebird to start over on that project. So like some said, the project ended up a failure...

 

NOT a failure.... further education...

 

I've been doing research on 180s and even had a set on my Late Model stock car back in the 90s.

Advantage from what I have learned is it is good for engines that run max 6,000 ish revs.for torque and HP. Scavenging is better plus the sound. Tube length around 29 inches from flange to collectors is also important.

I'm building a 5.3 slightly modded with cam and porting/valves plus carb.

There are a few videos explaining this and the cost benefit ratio is not really that great.

I'm thinking about doing a set in my 3rd gen build endurance car because I shift at 6,000 rpms and I have the ability to remove part of the bulkhead and run the headers up and around the back like my Late Model.

I can purchase a set of cross overs but no 180s from schonefeld headers so i might be the only idiot doing it.

Doing this in a street car would be impossible with all the lack of space while trying to adhere to the tube length restriction. If I proceed I'll document and post it.

 

Guys, Google Rampage 2nd gen Camaro. 180 degree headers in a street/road race camaro. The headers are a work of art…or at least they were. I read something about the car burning, so I’m not sure if it’s even still around. Prolly a $300k build initially.

 

That was a roadster shop build. The headers on that go underneath the oil pan. That was a full race car chassis build not really a street build. Pretty much the only way to do it though. Plus the tube length is beyond max. Still an awesome build.

 

Yes it was. I followed the build from start to finish over on LatG. FWIW, I went from 180 degree headers on my asphalt late models over to conventional headers…well, conventional headers for a straight rail car…and there was very little to no difference in lap times. Sounded good however according to guys in the pits. Everything sounds the same with a helmet on in the cars.

 

i once put headers on a otherwise stock I-6. the effect was zero. (its the equivalent of 180° headers".)

 

The original manifold was likely pretty good...

 

Hey guys,
I made an account just for this thread…
It’s a little long in the tooth now, but I thought id share my experience.

I’ve been making equal length headers for 10 years now, not as a business, but for a little side hustle essentially. From Sprintcars to circuit cars, turbo manifolds, motorcycles - you name it.

For my own projects, I built a set of equal length - around the front 6 into 1 pipes for a VS commodore ( Buick v6 ) with great results. Sounded unreal, and made pretty reasonable power for a mild cam 3.8.

Also built a set of equal length turbo pipes for a Gc8 Impreza, that made the same power as the standard manifold, on 7psi less boost.

Just recently I decided that I was sick of seeing and being tagged in posts for shops building 8 into 1 around the front pipes for race cars, using all the real estate where the radiator should be and it being called an engineering marvel.. I’d love to see someone build a proper equal length 180° setup in a street car. Turns out I had to do it myself.

Making a long story a little bit shorter, fabricating a sump, modifying engine mounts, remote oil filter and about 120 hours netted the result of a set of 36” long, 1-7/8” 180 degree headers. I’d also had the car dyno’d in stock form, un opened, un tuned before the headers.

The car is a VE Commodore, with a 6L and a 6 speed.
needless to say, it was massive project and I am super stoked with the results. Gains of 43kw and 120Nm, albeit with the addition of 2° timing around peak torque just to smarten it up. As you can see by the graph, it raised the whole power and torque curves and is a completely different car to drive..

I’m currently building a high comp 6L for it now, as the engine had 230k on it..

 

Wow, nice work man. Welcome to LS1Tech!

 

its SOOO much easier to put 180's on a dry sump motor.

I worked trackside with a 67 Camaro that had them. Was a race car from day one and ran in the old road racing series back in the day, they dod not punch in teh top end, they did however work so well in the mid range they were banned in most classes, they really rewarded cars on tight curvy tracks..

Old guy moment.. thanks for listening..

 

Agreed. This is still a wet motor, I ended up taking about 1L off the oil capacity.. hopefully the 6’ of oil lines make it up.