Headers for 350 swapped Cutlass

[S.Ghayeb]

My limited experience with G bodies, long tubes require some finess to get it. I have used Flow techs in a 1980 Malibu wagon I had years ago, and it took a while to get them in. I scratched the hell out of the paint on the drivers side because i was frustrated, but they were OK fit and finish, they just don't last too long if your car sits a lot or unless you paint them once a year.

I only had that car a year, so it wasn't a big deal to me.

The questions I want answered, is how do people account for the drivers side header pointing straight at the trans crossmember? do you have a funky bent pipe or simply flatten the crossmember (which is really hack!)?

The cutlass I am getting has manifolds with header back 3" exhaust, and someone along the line has 5lb sledge hammered the cross member for clearance, but I would like to fix it correctly and put headers on it.

You see, i didnt expect a problem as such to arise when installing long tubes and needing an aftermarket crossmember for a "clean" install. I dont have a problem with flattening a spot or two to make clearance. Just wondering how much of a trouble is this car going to be right off the start haha

Is an aftermarket crossmember the only solution?

Starting to have second thoughts about getting it and spending the money on my LT1 F body 🙁

 

[DoubleV]

You would get an F-Body ( god I hate those.... ) over a minor crossmember 'issue'? Yikes. You could always just do what everybody else does; buy an aftermarket dual hump crossmember or just notch one side of the factory crossmember.

 

[GT_80]

I would not let the crossmember make your decision for you- For an extra $200 (even though I would b*tch about spending that on top of the header) the benefit of having long tube headers is pretty significant. You could always get shorty headers that exit in the same location as your factory manifolds as well. I am not sure they make them for G body's, but you can get S10 v-8 swap headers or Jeep small block conversion headers that are shorty headers and will get some benefit over factory manifold.

 

[S.Ghayeb]

I would not let the crossmember make your decision for you- For an extra $200 (even though I would b*tch about spending that on top of the header) the benefit of having long tube headers is pretty significant. You could always get shorty headers that exit in the same location as your factory manifolds as well. I am not sure they make them for G body's, but you can get S10 v-8 swap headers or Jeep small block conversion headers that are shorty headers and will get some benefit over factory manifold.

My main issue is shipping parts from the USA all the way to here. The headers alone can be 120-140$ in shipping costs, let alone a cross member. When I did my CC503 on my LT1 F-body, I purchased headers, Y-pipe, cam/supporting mods, gaskets and aftermarket rotors and hawk ceramic pads.....400$ in shipping alone.

Sometimes I wish I went to college in the USA instead of the UK just for the hot rodding scene and the affordability of it you guys enjoy! But I had to walk to college in the rain 5 days a week for 10 months

Either way, I am not one who cares much for cosmetics in a car (especially when it can't be seen) so grinding off parts to make a path for an exhaust pipe is fine by me. Just didn't want to NEED an aftermarket crossmember just for headers.

 

[DoubleV]

Just notch your existing crossmember. Better fitment, lighter weight, and cheaper cost vs aftermarket. You can't go wrong there.

Any exhaust shop around here will do it. All they do is cut a C' shaped notch in the crossmember, flip the piece they just cut out around, then weld it back into the crossmember.

 

[GT_80]

Just notch your existing crossmember. Better fitment, lighter weight, and cheaper cost vs aftermarket. You can't go wrong there.

Any exhaust shop around here will do it. All they do is cut a C' shaped notch in the crossmember, flip the piece they just cut out around, then weld it back into the crossmember.

If thats the case, I will get a stock cross member used, and cut and weld the piece in mine- I do not want to use the hammer clearanced one that is in my car now...

 

[MrHernandez]

Flowtech Afterburners and notch your crossmember, problem fixed