Block Hugger Headers

Looking to buy a set of ceramic block hugger headers for my 33 Plymouth w/360. so many brands out there, what's the opinion on a good brand.

I have summit ceramic block huggers on the 318 in my desoto. I'm happy with them. I did have to very slightly file the end holes so they would slip over the end studs on the heads.

Fit is usually good but from a performance standpoint I believe the longer and smoother transitioning the collector area is- the better.

I ended up buying a set of Summit ceramic. perfect fit and they look good.

Bought mine off of E-bay - "Racing innovations and Supply". $169.09. Chrome, not powder coated or ceramic, and they will discolor, but fit was good and the price was right.

Is your frame wider than a stock '33 at the front? Looks like you have extra room.

Don't know what a stock 33 is, but mine is 23 1/4" between the rails at the front.

just bought a cuda with a set of hedman block huggers----every tube is cracked at the collector area-----and someone had to dent one collector to keep it off the ministarter-----speed shop guy said throw them away--they all crack....this car was a daily driver and sometimes saturday racer-- dont know how many heat cycles these headers went through---but they didnt hold up well......

"they all crack"??

If you look at the way block huggers hang, its not real surprising there may be a cracking issue.

Standard headers tend to hang straight down from the exhaust ports, where the majority of the weight of the block hugger headers is a few inches inward of the exhaust ports. That would put the strain of the header weight on the tubes at the bottom of the tubes, and would cause the flanges to bow inward at the top, and outward at the bottom of the tube flanges. Picture the block hugger trying to hang straight down instead of bending in.

Usually, all header collectors are connected to pipes the are held stationary under the car. With normal headers, the weight is hanging straight down off the exhaust bolts, so the collector and pipes are hanging without stress. Since the block hugger headers are already trying to move away from the block, the collectors and pipes become another stress point that is caring the header weight, something they were not designed to do. Eventually, all that stress will create problems for the weakest point, probably the collectors and/or the block flanges. Then you add in a few years of heat cycles, the the header material becomes brittle, the collector is more subjected to the heat and cool cycles then the flanges are.

Probably a support bracket for the block huggers about the bell housing area would help relieve some of that extra stress, but I'm just speculating, I have no real life experience to back it up. Gene

Using your reasoning, all fender well exit headers should be cracked - or any headers that extend ( in or out from the flange center line) more than a few inches.

on the block hugger header design[?] cracks i have had any experience with , those were for SBC's and they were the "cheapo" $89.95 models. those are the ones with the thin tubing and/or the "chintzy" chrome plating. those did seem to crack around the collector area, but i really blame that on the junk, offshore material. i can't recall the brand, but there were three different brands, and all three were bought from reputable outlets. they didn't last long, and i was asked to try to repair them if possible. well, one zip with the welder told me they were made from imported steel, and any of you who do ANY amount of welding know the action you get when trying to weld that stuff. and yes, the coatings/plating was removed before trying to repair. these things i agree, should be tossed in the junk, or used on your demo derby car. even on a derby car they would probably not be a good choice.

I bought mine from Racing Inovations. Stainless tubing (5/8") with 3/8" flanges. $169.09 shipped to my door. Only have about 1200 miles on them so far. Tubes discolored at the bends pretty quickly, but no cracking so far. All welds looked quality done. Time will tell. They are out of stock BTW.

Any steel that is chrome plated can be subject to hydrogen embrittlement. The hydrogen atoms in the water solution can migrate into the steel. They fit in the steel's internal structure or lattice as single atoms, but they "want" to form molecules, and the molecules are too big to fit in the lattice. So now there are all these little forces pushing the steel apart. Chrome needs to be heat soaked for hours to drive out most of the hydrogen. That's why chrome plating suspension parts isn't a good idea.

One would think that headers would drive off the hydrogen as they run pretty hot. So they'd have more tendency to crack soon after installation.

R.

your point about chroming and the embrittlement issue is spot on. i'm not a big fan of chromed suspension items for that reason, but if done correctly using the proper after chroming procedures, these items seem to work reasonably well. however, over many years, i have installed harley pipes and hot rod pipes in all configurements that were chrome plated, and these, being quality items as well as very costly, exhibited only the blueing one comes to expect at the exhaust port. as they were items not made from import steel, none exhibited cracking issues that seem to be common in some headers now days. rust was a concern, however, at the collector joint because of the chroming process not being very good at that juncture due to the confines of all the pipes coming together. i have had cracking issues a couple of times due to a couple of systems lacking proper hanger support. those i blamed on the support issue and excess vibration and flex encountered, not the item or the chroming process. today, it seems there are more imported items at an attractive [cheap] price that draw customers, and then some wonder why problems crop up. i guess it all comes down to the "you get what you pay for", and the "if it's too good to be true, it probably isn't" statements. [regarding pricing of these items.]

Carrera coil overs on my 33 all came chrome plated. Guess Carrera has a secret?? Everything else is ether powder coated or Por 15'ed.

carrera and afco both use some kind of a heat treating [i think] process after they chrome their springs, and guarantee them for life to a 2% or so height and rate spec. i wouldn't be a bit afraid of using those chrome springs. like the aussies say : "no worries !"

I can believe the 2% thing as I have seen zero ride height change over the first 1K miles I have put them on.

No secret to preventing hydrogen embrittlement, just extra costs.

Cheapo chrome stuff doesn't do that extra.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydrogen_embrittlement