Headers are worlds easier if you get the car about 3 feet off the ground. Just slide em up and under, and boom, done(with all the usual parts removal/replacement).

And also, for those that have done their swaps the proper way, how do you torque down the bolts? I can't get a torque wrench in there, so I have been trying to heat soak the copper gaskets and giving it all I've got with a 3/8 wrench, inside to out.

 

I used ARP 1" long, 5/16" head 12pt stainless steel header bolts. That allowed me to use a long 1/4" - 5/16" boxed end wrench on them to tighten them. I didn't put all I had in me on them, but I did snug them down good. For gaskets, I used Percy's dead soft aluminum gaskets for LT1/LT4. Haven't had a leak in since I installed them..late '10/early '11. I've checked the header bolts a couple of times to make sure they are not backing out and so far, none have loosened up.

Start from the middle and work your way out to tighten them. If the flange is warped(and mine was...), this will pull the center to the head, then the ends.

Difference in hex head vs 12pt head
http://www.ace1252.com/images/1996_L...s/DSCN3919.JPG

Here is a write up on my header install.
https://www.camaroz28.com/forums/exh...0/#post6905815

 

Finally got the exhaust finished! just need to mount two exhaust hangers and i am completely done. Just have to tighten the E-Brake (cable is tight, but car still rolls forward.... anyone have a walkthrough on how to fix?) here is what it sounds like (still in garage on jackstands)

 

did you keep the stock exhust tips?

 

Ok i have another quetion if you dont mind
so far i have the LT's
new header gaskets
ARP bolts
y pipe
and the egr plate
thats all i need right? i dont care about passing inspection and emissions anymore

 

Yeah, you LT's may come with a kit for your O2 sensors to lengthen the wires, if not you will need to get some wire and crimps/heat shrink. also, depends if you get the o2 sensors out of the stock manifolds too.... i got one out. the other had decided to become one with the manifold so i had to buy another o2 (i mangled it trying to get it out)



Also, kids made me do this one, i figured exhaust was on... why not.

 

I doubled up some very cheap felpro header gaskets and never had any leaks. The 12 point is a must for aftermarket headers since you wont have much room.

No matter how tight you think you have them you will have to go back and check a few times.

 

FK MY LIFE.

Ok, i need some help here guys... ideas mainly. i dropped the car today finally (YAY) onto the ground. made it about 3 feet towards the end of the garage..... scrrraaaappeeee.............. you can guess what is scraping... the exhaust clamps bolts drag on the ground.... fuuuuuccckkkkk i never accounted for my fat *** in the driver seat and 23 year old bagged suspension. i can add maybe another 1 inch of clearance by cutting/re-welding my little 22.5 degree drops on a sideways angle as well as cutting the bolts but i don't want to cringe everytime there is a pot hole in the road.... i need help.. heres what i mean to cut out/weld at a sideways angle

 

Step 1: Definitely lose the drop and use more turned tips if you can, if not, then I would say go with bullets and do it. That extra inch will become a lot more once you do...


Step 2: What's holding it up in the middle? One big thing I found when I did my old axle dumps was that the guy who put it in was dropped as a child and couldn't make hangars on his own, so I drilled a couple of holes and mounted up some hangars under the rear seats, then used a jack to get the exhaust against the body and tied it in. The downward pressure from gravity/pipe design pulled it perfectly into place, and I went from barely 2.5" off the ground to a good 5".

It used to scrape on every bump/pothole/piece of gravel, but once I did that it only scraped two places, and that was flying down a steep hill with a bump at the bottom, only happened at 80+. The other was in my garage with a 3" lip right before I got the rear tires on.

 

yeah, i got hangers built but they take no weight as the mufflers are literally pressed up against the bottom of the floor pans. there is just no way to tuck em up anymore. i got maybe another 1.25 inches of clearance from the cut/reweld and cutting off the bolts however i absolutely hate hearing it dragging on the ground (over speed bumps, coming up over ramps etc)

 

Can you get a picture of the underside, flush from the back and/or front? That might make it easier to see what's hitting. And I'm gonna reiterate, bullets make for great clearane, sound, and power. I'd try swapping in a set of those to see if they help. If not, maybe just go for straight pipe and toss in some of those plug style silencers. Awful for power, but great for noise, from what I've heard.