Looking for some cheap headers for a E body small block that do not go under the steering linkage.....It appears from the pics that the cheap Summits and the Hedman's are nearly identical from the pics and do not go under the steering....Doing a search only found old results from when the cheap headers went under the steering....Any recent experience w the cheap Summits?

Get some Doug's D453's.
They are worth the money

We ran the Summits on a Charger Fit was decent and they lasted pretty good.Ran them on my plow trucks for like 20 years For a cheap header they cant be beat.They are made by a name brand maker.Rocky

A cheap header that DOESNT go under the steering linkage is not possible. No such thing.

IF you have a small block, it will be a toss up of;

Hooker Super Competition headers at 1-3/4 tube.
Doug’s headers
TTI stepped headers.

Header with ground clearance? The cheapest will be Dougs raw steel. Speedway motors on ebay sells them for $478 free shipping. I used a 10% off online discount at Advance auto.com (10% off but capped at $50 max savings regardless) So with the discount and sales tax I paid $480 for my raw steel D453 headers. They are uncoated but the metal is not Hedman, Hooker-Black Jack crappy thin The Dougs are made from STEEL and not tin.

He asked for cheap.Maybe over 400 is cheap to you but not everyone.Had decent ground clearance on the Charger with Summits.Yeah stering went thur the DS tubes but fit was still good.One set on my plow truck I got 10 years.Not bad for cheap under 100 buck headers that lastedin salty Ohio.The set on my jeep lasted as long also.Rocky

I never said Dougs were cheap. They are not. Theyre expensive. But they are the LEAST expensive of the "great" headers. My suggestion is Summit brand headers, raise the front end as much as PRACTICAL and drive carefully.

He asked for cheap, but also asked for not going under the steering linkage. On an E-body that combination starts with the Dougs mentioned above. Truck and Jeep headers don't add much to the conversation because even the cheap ones route with plenty of clearance to other components and ground clearance usually isn't an issue. On an E-body with the stance of the two in OPs post, cheap headers will be low to the ground. Unless you drive very careful the drivers side will end up with dents eventually.

I've run cheap headman and cheap summit about 10 years apart. Summits were thicker flanged and seemed better built, but with the gap in years headman may have improved theirs too. Look up the installation instructions, Jegs is better about a convienient link than summit. I'd bet money the cheapies still wrap under the center link especially if it lists the same application as fitting a bodies also.

I HAVE NEVER understood why the low cost header companies will not offer a header with the TTI/Dougs routing. They have the tooling and equipment. For example- say Walker or Hedman takes their entry level tubing and routes it correctly. Sells those headers for $275-$300 while still offering their traditional pipe smashing design for the current $230.

Easy to answer. 1)The jigs (research and development cost) already exist and people keep buying them as is so why change. 2)The wrap under the center link design was done so that one part fits more vehicles meaning fewer part numbers to try to stock and do production runs on.

Its not a matter of a "low cost company" as hooker sells or once sold both smash tube design and better routed super comps.

I dont know ran a 66 Charger with Summits which were hedmans with 14 inch rims.Never had a problem hitting even on Ohis crappy roads.Oh yeah it was pretty much driven daily at about 30 miles one way.Rocky

If cost is the primary consideration, the "house brands" or Hedmans were the cheapest last time I looked. Put a set of Hedmans on a 440 '64 B once, and I didn't have to touch the steering linkage; engine was out of the car, though. Laid the headers in & dropped eng/trans in. The collectors though were a bit high, had to have S-bends fabbed to connect exhaust.
I've never hit headers on anything, even the rather low-hanging SB A-body stuff, though I have caught the collector flanges of a couple on the edge of the trailer if the approach angle was too steep.

It used to be you could find NOS Dougs B & E body headers on Ebay. Those days are probably long gone. I have a NOS set of JRs headers, that I thinks are are for a B or E body but are probably not worth the cost of shipping to find out the do not fit.

I have a set of cheap Blackjack headers I bought 30 yrs ago on another Challenger of mine....small block and do not go under the steering...Maybe I'll steal those..look at the pics of the headers Summit currently sells if the pic is accurate no way the steering goes thru it.....unless all 3 of those tubes go under.....and this much worse than just one....

https://www.summitracing.com/parts/sum-g9040