I have the Kooks. Best thing I did to the car besides the CircleD stall in terms of quality.

 

KOOKs will be LOUD just an fyi lol. They both seem to be nice systems. The 2.5" on the hooker will still be plenty for your setup. It's also cheaper than the kooks by a good bit but will need to be modified to fit LT's. OTOH kooks will bolt right up but will be heavier, louder(if that matters) and needs a panhard bar relocation to clear the axle. there is a couple exhaust clips of the hooker in the external engine thread and to me it sounds nice.

based on that I would give HEAVY consideration to the hooker system but if you end up liking the kooks better then go for that.

one other thing. if you havent bolted the intake down yet go try and find some heat insulation that an adhesive backing and apply it to the bottom of the intake. it helps keep heat from the valley and heads off the intake. I did this on a recommendation from a tuner and noticed that my intake is much cooler to the touch after driving.

 

Since this is a no excuses build, I wouldn't hesitate on the Kooks 1 7/8" headers and 3" true duals. I've never seen another exhaust out perform it. On my stock ls1 I went from 290 rwhp to 331 rwhp with the Kooks and a cold air kit. Sure that's an apples to oranges comparison bit imagine the gains you'd see over the Hooker setup or your current setup. Plus the sound is amazing. Doesn't have that raspy y pipe sound. It sounds like a real muscle car.

 

I will do that. Thank you! If it reduces air temps even a few degrees that'll be a positive for reducing detonation. I have a business trip tomorrow through Wednesday, so hopefully, I'll have everything come Thursday. and get her buttoned up. If that works out, it'll have been a 2-1/2 week build.

 

It's already got 1-7/8" headers, so I'd only be doing the rest of the exhaust. I can absolutely believe you'd pick up 40 going from stock manifolds and everything to a kooks set up. How much is it worth just ditching the Y-pipe, etc? I figure the headers were worth 25 over the stock manifolds, so ditching the Y for an X is worth 15 or so? Maybe 20 on mine, since the Y is more of a restriction with how much this thing will need to exhale?

 

Probably so. I think you're spot on. I believe the x pipe and 3" exhaust are perfect for your build. You've already got good headers, plus a 3" exhaust has more *****. The Kooks mufflers are just straight through bullets... so there free flowing... and loud.

 

I agree. Good call on the 3" duals. I think you'll like that setup way better than a Y-Pipe setup.

 

So the crossover got lost in shipment. New one being shipped. So frustrating. Car should have been on the rollers by now.

 

Just thought I would mention, my 220's just came in today. Got them bolted up and started measuring shims. Turns out the .093" I got from Amazon were all about .001 from each other. The YT shims on the other hand were all over the place. After much sanding on 320 grit and glass I ended up with a combo of .137" +/- .0005 and a nice, narrow and centered wipe. Using a cometic .040" HG and Johnson 2110 lifters netted me a pushrod length of 7.522". As it turns out, Manton will make you a pushrod who's length is 7.522". Sweetness.

I just hope the rockers will clear the valve covers....

 

good deal! I used the YT thick gasket and no clearance issues.

 

Nice build, very interested to see what power it puts down. I'm thinking of doing a very similar build if my car stops breaking long enough for me to save some money.

 

There are 2" fbody headers now. But you need a tubular K

 

I am working on the same build, different cam though. This is a first build for me so I am waiting on my friend to free up time so he can help out. I am lucky that mine is out of a car and I am doing a stock rebuild on the bottom end also. My two main points of concern will be PTV clearance and Pushrod lengths. I now know what to look out for with the shims, Thanks.

I still have to get the chassis ready so time is not a factor and I am getting a lot of good reference material from your builds.

And I agree, Tony is a great help with this entire process.

 

Start with at least .120" in shims. What size cam you go with?

 

Honestly, if you can get .125-.130, that will end up perfectly

 

There has been 2" fbody headers for a long time now

 

Ok so I should have the crossover today. When I do the initial start up I'll be in SD (disconnect maf). Any other concerns for initial start up? I'm sure it'll take a bit to learn the idle. I'll disconnect the cracker, power on for 30 seconds, then off and reconnect to start the learn cycle.

I've backed some timing out for safety.

I'll bump the starter to move some oil around without the fuel pump running.

Anything else I haven't thought of please speak up

 

Pull the plugs while turning it over with the injectors unplugged. Keep going until you see some oil pressure.

 

And sometimes that doesn't work on an engine that's been sitting and when it fires up there is pressure almost immediately. On a broken in engine if you don't get oil pressure cranking without plugs in 10 seconds just ditch that whole situation and fire it up....if you don't have pressure within 3 seconds kill it but in your case Darth I know you would.....its already a proven engine and may just need more pump speed to prime than the engine starter can muster.

I feel cranking it over for 30 seconds (or more) is worse than firing it up with the speed immediately kicking the oil pump in gear. Oil is some slick **** (that's its job right....LOL) and even residue oil on the bearings/crank will protect it from the start up RPM until the pump kicks in immediately after due to the engine speed kicking it into high gear.

We run into this on the engine dyno alot with new motors.....its a PITA at times. Our new trick is to put some positive crankcase pressure in the engine from the valve covers or breather helping to literally push the oil into and up the pick up till it reaches the pump but a little goes a long way.....5-10 PSI is all you need and that helps the engine cranking speed actually get it primed but I'm discussing a new engine here which I believe are more temperamental on start up regarding getting the oiling system filled and primed.

Darth....spin it for a bit without the plugs....it may prime quickly having run not that long ago....if that doesn't work just fire it up and you should be golden assuming you didn't fubar your oil pump O-ring or anything sill like that.

-Tony

PS.....If the race to post the first results were a horse race it would be a horse nobody is watching that actually wins it flying by Unit and Darth in the back stretch for the coveted ring of roses at the finish line.....LOL It would be funny if someone out of the blue posted numbers this week.....LOL

 

If you coated everything in assembly grease, just fire it. Pressure builds instantly on an already worn-in motor.