hey guys i am putting a 5.3 into a 98 hombre (s10). i am making my own headers. mostly because of fitment issues with manufactured headers. i am looking for a simple design either log style or tri-y set up. both of these should allow for the clearence issues i face. i would rather build a tri-y set up.
i am new to welding and have a miller 180 autoset. this will be done with all mild steel
ok on to my questions:
when welding the 2-1 style merge what is the best way to weld the middle?
should i try the tri-y or go with the simple log style?

these are 2-1 i am looking at using:
http://www.mandrel-bends.com/catalog...steel-740.html

 

use headers that are made for a ls1/69 camaro

 

I've made a few sets of headers and I've never been happy with the results of welding on that style of collector to the tubes.

To weld it, you have to reach down inside the collector with the stinger and hope you plugged the hole. I never seem to be able to get them to stop leaking without some huge blob of weld.

The last set of headers I made for a turbo setup i had a flange cut at a waterjet shop that had four holes in it. I slipped the header primaries into the holes and welded them to the flange. The outside was shaped to just fit inside the collector on the primary end. All the welds were external and it didn't leak. The flange looked a little like a four leaf clover with four holes in it (yours would be different with two into one)

 

your last set looks real good. i like the idea of cutting out some pieces to ease welding. your coating I looked into a while back how hard is it to spray on?

 

what i do is weld all the tubes first once they have been fitted. then put them back in collector.tack everything together. pull collector off and weld the center up. then weld the collector once everything else is done.. i do the collector as the very last step

 

I've made a few sets that way and peened the corners in on the collector to get it to fit down in the tubes and goober weld in there, but I never liked the look. A little Tig bead looks a lot nicer.

The coating I've done at home is called Cermatech and you buy it from a place in Texas, I believe. I sand blasted the headers and put it on with a spray gun.

I usually let it cure on the motor but it is a little delicate until you get some heat into them. I tried curing a set of headers in the oven in the house - take my advice and don't do this- it stinks like crazy and outgassed a film that coated the oven including the double wall window - it was a bitch to clean up with steel wool.

The last set of turbo V-8 headers, turbo scroll, exhaust pipe and some misc parts cost me $200 to have professionally coated - money well spent