Custom SS Headers worth $740?

[ForcedFirebird]

If you go with a shorty style rear design you might be able to get them to fit a wider range of cars..

Well, judjing by the room in the lbody, seems if they fit there, they will fit most 3x00's in the various body styles , I'm thiking more like a block hugger type for the rear. either way, they are going to be a pain to put in with the motor in the car, lmao, RWD's RULE!!!

[sir loin]

There are no Trooper headers (except for the 4 cyl).

Only guy I know with Trooper V6 headers had them made by modifying a set of Pacesetters.

Yup, that's what I did for my Pickup. Modified some Edelbrocks, then had them ceramicoated. The shop that coated them guaranteed them for up to 700 degrees, lifetime warranty.

Guess what? The "ceramic" peeled off in two months! And now they are rusting....well the shop and that dude can suck my balls! He says, "well, your headers must have gotten hotter than 700."

Whatever, I'm moving on. Here's what I should have bought in the first place:

http://store.summitracing.com/partdetail.asp?autofilter=1&part=HED%2D69370&N=700+4294908216+4294869665+4294819990+4294923429+4294839039+115&autoview=sku

Long tubes, I'll high heat paint them myself.

[latemodelnewbee]

I wouldn't think twice about a custom set of stainless headers for $740, Corky Bell wanted to charge me $3300 for my Z34 and told me that headers for the car would be a waste of steel

[Alxsmt]

thats a REALLY good price in my opinion. only 4 hours to make them?? thats kinda quick...

have you gotten any more quotes? try horsepower freaks and rrev motorsports just to see how much more they would charge (im prettysure they would charge more)

[Canyonero]

Well, this place is local(ish). I can drive the truck there and just have it done. I guess it's a bonus that they're inexpensive. As for only four hours, I guess the guy has made a lot of headers and knows what he's doing... I would hope.

[ForcedFirebird]

Well, this place is local(ish). I can drive the truck there and just have it done. I guess it's a bonus that they're inexpensive. As for only four hours, I guess the guy has made a lot of headers and knows what he's doing... I would hope.

I tacked the set I posted in an afternoon after work, came back the next day and sealed them up. I could see 4 hrs being feasable, specially since I used a MIG.

[zofo61]

Ill take 3 sets. Do it.

You start working on a CSC cam profile for mine and Phils kits and I will start working on a supplier for simple steel and collectors. My original idea back last year was to get kits made up so that members could weld them up themselves...........also lends a way to adjust for the different body settups that everyone has.....nobody ran with that...I assume the "profit margin wasnt big enough".

There are hundreds of muffler shops in the Orlando/Daytona Beach area...they have to get their steel from somewhere and you can bet you dick its not for the prices "Force" and others are paying prebent....once the steel is procured then flip a redneck 50 bucks to bend a shitload of it on the mandrel at the local Midas shop......voila! the collectors and flages are another issue but I will start with the steel. I hope I dont look like an idiot when this is all said and done but I am at least gonna give it a shot.

Ben ....you got a cam profile ready yet?.....hehe =

[Superdave]

Somehow i doubt that a Midas shop would have a Mandrel bender.. lol

[Canyonero]

I have a friend that welds at a local company, and they do have a mandrel bender and other fabrication equipment. But the company doesn't let employees use their equipment for personal projects. Stupid.

[Canyonero]

Somehow i doubt that a Midas shop would have a Mandrel bender.. lol

I had my Trooper exhaust done at a local independent shop, and it was all crush bent. I was a disappointed considering how much it cost.

*edit* I probably meant stretch bent. I'm not sure what the difference is.

[ForcedFirebird]

Somehow i doubt that a Midas shop would have a Mandrel bender.. lol

They don't. They have a stretch bender. I have a manual stretch bender and access to a hydraulic, but the bends are a pin to weld since the pipe gets deformed a little. I'm sure some of them even have the older "krinkle" benders.


I looked into buying a mandrel bender, but they are not cheap. $50-100k for a decent used one doesn't sound feasable unless it was running all the time. We only paid $24k for our big CNC lathe (used)

[bracketracer]

zofo61, it would be great if you were able to come up with a kit for these items, since it would probably save alot on cost. It will be worthless though, unless the bends are truly mandrel-bent, and the collectors are good quality, as well as the flanges. I can vouch for ForcedFirebird regarding the price of buying all the components (exhaust flanges, u-bends, collectors, flex pipes, ball flanges, other flanges, etc). I think that we paid even more than $300 for everything, especially considering that I had to pay to get all the stuff shipped to me too. I can't afford to buy enough of it to get a volume discount or anything. My buddy only has a Mig Welder which works great for tacking parts into place, but makes for some ugly finish welds. That means that we will have to pay someone else to Tig Weld up our "production sets." The amount of time involved in all the cutting, fitting, and welding is also significant. The "profit margin" you refer to is used to buy materials for the next set. My buddy and I figured that we might make $50 - $75 apiece profit for each set we do when all is said and done. Those definitely aren't crazy numbers for a side job. If you can do them cheaper, for as good of quality, great. I'd consider buying from you, and saving all the time to enjoy my own car more.

[ForcedFirebird]

I'm willing to make them, but expact to pay between $400 and $500 for mild steel uncoated for N/A headers and closer to $600 or $700 for nice thick turbo headers.

I actually enjoy making them I have the machines to make the flanges etc, but again it's hard to make production headers without a prototype car. Then a jig can be made and they'll all be the same after that.

Who's in Florida and wants to use their car as a gunnea pig?