Road Runner Nest

in case anyone was wondering...hedman headers is the way to go(at least for a 71 satty with a 440) simple install, tons of clearance

pass side...jack up motor, take out HUGE heavy-ass manifolds, replace from top with header...give a couple strikes of the palm to snuggle in

driver's side...jack upmotor, take out manifold, remove starter, put header in from bottom (have it held in place) and re-install starter.

sounded great and seemed to have pretty good power(i didn't hook up the sidepipes, just ran open headers to go around the block)

i also replaced the valve cover gastkets, as i've always had trouble with them (i've tried rubber and cork). this time i got a rubber-coated material ( idr what it is), but they are solid and so far seem to be doing the trick

i just got my HEI type distributor today, so that'll be going in this weekend, as well as hooking up the sidepipes

Do you have power steering or AC compressor or anything else that might normally get in the way?

yep, it's a power steering car and it had column shift, but that's been removed, so the only thing that should've given me a hassle was teh ps pump, and i checked the specs on teh headers first to make sure they work with ps - some brands do and some don't.

i've had good luck with the hooker competition headers. the passenger side will go in from the bottom by only unbolting the tie rod end and idler arm, and the driver's side will go the same way as long as you pull the starter and steering links over there. pretty painless for headers. no doubt the headman's are a good fit too and cost about $75 less than hookers. oh yeah, mine's got power steering too.

yeah, you can get a set for about 150 plus shipping and all that joy, but i got mine stumbling on them in the dsm register...brand new...this cat had a superbee and sold it, so these were left over...picked em up for 100 bux 5 blocks from my house

How hard would it be to remove the starter if something happens,and do you have the stock starter or a smaller high torque one?

not too big of a deal to remove...it's a stock type starter...

it could be that i haven't found the best way to go about it yet, but with both the hedman's and hooker's i've had to pull the header to get the starter out. i wouldn't call it a huge problem, but it definitely sux to lose coolant, make a mess on the engine paint and have to buy another set of header gaskets to boot, but then i'm a creature of convenience.......i think? then again if that were true i'd have kept the old iron manifolds huh?

AH! I remember now! one of the studs came out while I was removing the header and I remember the antifreeze coming out of the head.The question I have is, is there enough room to remove the header without removing the studs? The headers I had came with bolts.

i believe you need to cut the studs off a lil shorter (i used bolts, as i have almost brand new heads (put em on a couple years ago). when i got the car it had heads with studs and headers, they were just cut a lil shorter than normal.