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lol, I've been sack about updating I know. I was really hoping to do more than just the exhaust and rear end this year so that was a bummer, but overall, I'm happy with what I've accomplished this year. Next will be interior work so I can just continue driving the car. I have to change seats so I can actually drive the car safely. I slide right out going around corners now. Good problem to have, right? I also figure it's time to replace the 36 year old seat belts. Thanks Mike.

Lot of attention to detail, the headers look amazing!

The car looks great Trey.. those headers turned out awesome.

Trey nice work on the headers and the exhaust the ground clearance is perfect.

Quote:

Originally Posted by WSSix (Post 610109)

Here are the headers all freshly welded up. I gave up on trying to mig the tubes and just took them to Scotty Seals at Pro Chassis over in Hiram, GA. He routinely builds custom headers for blown mustangs so he knows what he's doing. He tigged them up for me and put the bullets on the ends of the pipes. I've installed them as you see them so I could make sure they do fit without hitting anything. I did end up having to take off the lower control arm brace on the driver's side. I'll come up with some other means to triangulate that piece probably when I pull the motor in the future.

http://i472.photobucket.com/albums/r...psq3ruqy90.jpg

http://i472.photobucket.com/albums/r...psj9wrr7qd.jpg

I'm very happy with how they fit. Only 3 or 4 plugs are a pain to get to but I bought a shorty spark plug socket since I couldn't make my own that really helps make life easier. If you can find a spark plug socket that has the hex cut to the bottom of the socket, you can simply cut it down and drill out the center section to make shorty socket. The ceramic of the plug will stick through the socket after you drill it out.

All in all, these headers are easier to install than the headers I put on this engine when it was still in my 4th gen. Plug changes are easier too even with the hard ones. I can't get a decent picture of the passenger side since it's so tight in that area. Something I was able to pull off is the headers are mirror images of each other coming out of the cylinder heads. They obviously change drastically after that but from the top they look the same.

http://i472.photobucket.com/albums/r...ps3qumsoah.jpg

Ground clearance is great! I promise, the system is fully installed in this picture

http://i472.photobucket.com/albums/r...psyiujnitx.jpg

See? There are the mufflers. I painted everything black to hide it all away.

http://i472.photobucket.com/albums/r...pslz2fcc08.jpg

Here's the collectors sitting up front and a view from the front. They are just under 4 inches off the ground, no lower than the oil pan, and above the front cross member still.

http://i472.photobucket.com/albums/r...ps9ujdof5s.jpg

http://i472.photobucket.com/albums/r...psq5w0qxww.jpg

The mufflers are 5 inches off the ground now. I plan to lower the car in the rear some more. I should have the mufflers between 3.5 and 4 inches off the ground when done. I really hope that's plenty of clearance for me to get in and out of the driveway easily. Right now, it's a breeze getting in and out. I wish I had taken measurements before I cut the old system out, but I missed the reminder I had left myself. Oh well, I know it's more clearance. I just don't know how much.

I didn't get a good picture of it but I put v-band clamps in the system just after they turn up from the mufflers. I can easily drop the system off of the car in a few minutes. The exhaust is a slip fit with a band clamp at the collector. Best design I have ever used. I have no idea why companies still use flanges any more. I won't if I can ever help it.

Next is pulling the headers right back off to have them sand blasted and ceramic coated. I'll be going black to hide any fabrication marks. I'll also be getting the new rear in and getting the rear springs dearched. I really hope that doesn't take long. After that, who knows. I really need to get better seats and seat belts.

Thanks

Thanks everyone! I'll get the updates posted soon, I promise.

Wow Nice! Beautiful set of headers

Well, I'm finally getting around to an update. I don't have a lot of pictures or much to report. I've been driving and enjoying the car as much as I can since it was on cribbing for most of the year it seems. I'm going to concentrate on odds and ends and interior for next year I believe. I think this will let me drive and enjoy the car more while still performing needed upgrades. I really need new seats and to have the seat belts redone. I'm pretty set on Recaros. It's just a matter of can I find vintage ones that can be rebuilt or do I just bite the bullet and get new ones.

Ok, onto the updates.

I had the headers coated in satin/flat black depending on who you ask. I like them this color. They do scratch easy and show the scratches so you have to be careful when putting them in and working around them. I taped them up when putting them in the car. I painted the entire exhaust system satin black from a rattle can. I didn't want to spend the money on coating since I knew it would be scratched over time.

One thing I did screw up with the headers is the flange. I put the flanges on upside down. I liked the look of them this way better and they fit the ports the same so I figured no big deal. Well, the gasket shows a lot more than normal. Oh well, I may put the gaskets in upside down one day if it ever really bothers me enough.

http://i472.photobucket.com/albums/r...psv0ok9xnm.jpg

The sound has started to already increase and rumble more from when I first finished the system. This is to be expected. It also works out a little better this way as I don't think the car has the traditional SBC rumble. It's smoother sounding than the typical alternating pulses from the engine. I was able to confirm my way of making the mufflers is just fine. I tore apart the can on my new motorcycle to shorten it and make it louder :D The insides where steel wool wrapped around the perforated pipe followed by fiberglass material just like I did the mufflers on the car.

Another area of the car I worked on was upgrading the rear end. Some of you may have found my thread where I talked about going with an odd ball setup. That's under the car and working well. I have Ford Torino tapered bearings on the end of my factory 8.5 10 bolt. I put a 30 spline TruTrac posi in there along with US Gear 3.90 ratio gears. The gears are quiet and you can really feel the posi working when taking turns. The Sumitomos don't have a chance now. 180k miles on the drive train, and I break 2nd gear loose. I'm happy! This is the 3rd or 4th rear end that I've set up that's been quiet. I'm waiting for my luck to run out one day in that area, lol. I finished up the rear end with a Moser cover that has the main bearing supports. It also has fill and drain holes which will come in handy.

An unexpected upgrade related to the rear end was to add Kore 3 rear brakes. I didn't want to spend forever trying to make the C5 kit I had on the car work with the new housing ends. So I called Tobin and he hooked me up with a kit and new flex lines for the rear. If you need a GM kit for a rear end that has Ford style bearings, you'll need to contact him. They have the kit. They just don't have it on the website. I now have Kore 3 front and rear. Quality was top notch just as you'd expect. I'm also happy to report I have a functioning parking brake. I'm really enjoying having it as a foot pedal, too.

I did my best to install the brake lines and flex lines in a compact, clean, and protected manner. I'm happy with how it all turned out.

http://i472.photobucket.com/albums/r...psomwarjbf.jpg

The last thing I did was to dearch the rear springs. I just couldn't stand how high it sat in the rear. I've brought the rear down about 1 inch and it looks so much better to me. Ground clearance is still great.

http://i472.photobucket.com/albums/r...ps7fjokg6g.jpg

That's about it for now. Like I said I have a mixture of odds and ends to do for a while. I need to come up with a coolant overflow container. I want to replace the gas tank so I can stop smelling fuel. I have a high speed vibration I need to work on. I think I'll go ahead and replace the driveshaft now instead of waiting til I rebuild the transmission. I'm not sure if that is the source of the vibration but this will rule it out. A better one is needed any way. I have a better gauge panel already in my hands that looks way more professional than what I have in there now.

The seat install may get complicated depending on what I do to the floor to accept the seats. I may go ahead and change the transmission mount at the same time since I think it will combine with the seat mounts. I'm really looking at and liking how DSE has always incorporated the trans brace as a frame brace. I don't want to pull the transmission now in order to do this though. We'll see what happens. The transmission has to be rebuilt at some point, too. Scope creep! Suggestions on my seat/transmission brace idea?

Thanks for looking!

Really turning out nice Trey!!! Good for you!!

Looking good Trey! Are you looking at a tranny crossmember for your car? If so these guys build a great looking brace. They are built to fit headers/exhaust like what we decide to put in these cars. I'm very pleased with mine so far. They also have mounts you can get as well. Maybe this will help
http://www.crossmembers.com/shop/cro...s-c-1_2_7.html

Way cool Trey!! I like keeping these cars over time and just improve them part by part overtime....It seems when tech on these cars become more advanced than what we started with, we simply upgrade (in time) to what we want. Definately makes it a fun hobby (at least for me)

Congrats and Cheers and Merry Christmas!!! ps, i'm waaaay overdue for an update...