Dynatec Vs Doug's Headers for 68-72 Nova
 

Hi,

I keep on dragging my feet on ordering headers for my ly6 with autokraft pan. It is getting a 222/234 @50 cam.

I am down to the Dynatec and Dougs headers. I was originally goign to go with the dougs but niot sure..

Dougs are 1 3/4" vs 1 7/8" for the dynatec... but not sure how much benefit this will give since design/shape plays a roles but I like the idea of the larger headers

Dougs come with there own mount and I like, Dyna tech appears to work with 1" setback mounts according the the threads I have read but they mention other mounts.....

I do not like the way the pipe is on the driver side goin up and back but looks to give more room and appears to need new plug wires to deal with is.

What is peoples experience with fitment on the 2.

Is there any comparison in terms of HP/torque output on the 2 what one works better?

I am leaning more towards the dougs but the price of the dynatec looks very good. Also shipping options are better to Canada for the dynatec.

Thoughts.....

With dynatechs you don't need to change the wires, you just need a pair of 90 degree or more boots. They also work with the autokraft plates which set the motor in a standard position. I think they help make good power. The drawback is they tend to hang a little on the low side. The bottoms of mine are slightly flattened but my car has a 3 inch drop in the front.

I have the Dougs headers and adapters. There are pictures of the fitment in my build thread. For me they would not fit with non-setback mounts. One of the primaries hit the steering box. However with the Doug's adapters they fit well and were easy to install from under the car without removing the steering box. The Doug's adapters have two setback position options and I am using the more forward position. They would fit either way and I would recommend these mounts. The collectors tuck very nicely with the collector tube OD less than 1/4" below the bottom surface of the subframe. Ground clearance is a major advantage for the Dougs headers over the Dynatechs from what I've seen. Spark plug access is also very good and I have fitted the factory coils and plug wires without any issues. There are some drawbacks however. They do not come with a collector flange, so you need to obtain and attach your own which will involve trimming back the certamic coatingand welding. I plan to add a veeband connection. They come with a reducer that has an O2 bung installed, unlike the Dynatech headers which have the O2 bung installed directly in the collector. Cost is an obvious issue and the Dynatechs are considerably cheaper. My Dougs adapters and headers both took less than 3 days to get to me. I ordered the headers from performancepeddler.com (they had a great price) and the adapters from Summit, but in both cases they shipped directly from Dougs.

Neither the Dynatechs nor the Dougs headers have equal primary lengths. I've heard the Dynatechs require removing the steering box for install and they have that funky primary tube on the driver's side that gives plenty of steering box clearance.

I don't think you can go wrong either way.

You can also pull the main bolt out of the drivers side engine mount and lift the engine an inch or so to r&r the drivers side dynatech header without removing the steering box.

tsnow probably would have liked to know that lol.

The Dynas are a great deal. I'm happy with my Dougs though, especially since they clear my a/c box so well. Too bad Edelbrock stopped making their headers - those were the hot ticket in my opinion.

Thanks Everyone.

TheBandit, I was actually using your build tread as one of my determining factors putting Dougs headers up there. I wanted the Edelbrock headers also.... but not available.

I should clarify -the headers would fit either way, but I don't know about the firewall clearance with the more setback position. They wouldn't clear my ac box, but they might still clear the firewall in the more setback position.

Regardless of what setback you use, check the frame-to-body alignment before doing the swap. There are two large holes (I think 5/8") next to each of the firewall body mounts at both the body and the frame. These holes should line up (slip a bolt through them). You can also do some cross measurements from front to rear suspension to double check.