hey guys,
well I just finished rebuilding my 350 in my 81 K5. But i have been looking at exhaust and the only ones i see are like hedman and hooker which no offense look like the on sale item from Wal-Mart. They both obviously have the really high priced ones, but no one really knows for sure how well they work. I need to make a decision because I want good horsepower and good low end torque. Also the other companies I looked at only make headers for years 88 and above and since I have an 81 I am not sure if the application will fit. Thanks for the help
:confused:

in my experience you need to pay attention to flang widths. The thicker the flange, the longer they last without warping. I think that most headers perform pretty closly to eachother. It is just a matter of finding a company that makes a header for you application.
You pay for what you get. If you spend 200 bucks you will get crappy headers. They might last a year before they start to leak. Higher dollar headers usually have 3/8" flanges, these resist warping longer and will not leak as soon as a cheap headers will. So anyway, IMO, it really dosent matter what company you get them from. A header is just going to provide a less restrictive exhasut route then a manifold will and what your paying for is header coatings, routings and flange widths. If I am wrong I am sure someone will correct me.

hooker and heddman is all i'll run on a small block. i prefer hooker super comp. headers.

but i've run heddmans and had them last for 10 years before rusting through.

what i usually look for in headers is, equal length pipes. in other words each cylinder has and equal length of pipe going from the head to the collector.

and also flange thickness, like said before.

to me the hooker super comps are the top of the line and i'm curious if anyone else thinks a different brand is better and why.

I use Heddman on my truck for several years and haven't had a problem with them warping (too bad).
Anyway, I just use a good thick aluminum gasket, stay away from the paper gaskets, they are pieces of dog crap.
I have been told that cutting the flanges between each header pipe will get rid of the warping problem. :confused:

Get a good set of drop style manifolds and have them extrude honed. you won't have any leak problems. I know you want headers, and good ones last a long time, but they can get old fast and rust through. just my .02

hey guys thanks for the help and I will do some more research on it!

I installed a set of Thorleys on my 350 Burb January of last year and have been very satisfied with performance and relaibility. Nice thick flanges, good gasket sealing and the ceramic coating has held up just fine. I got a smoking price from Summit.