what thickness and quality metal are the logs and long tube pipes made of?
how do thay holdup to the weight of the turbo?

My whole exhaust is made from 16 gauge 304 stainless. Its not recommended to have the exhaust support the weight of the turbo. My turbo is supported from the motor plate and front radiator support with 1/2 chrome-moly tube

What a hunk of crap that is! looks like the welder threw up all over some pipes.. You can make weld el's look good if you plan it out well & can weld.

or you could just build a set of headers that dont look like hammered dog [Edited by Moparts - Family Friendly Site - Keep it clean] out of regular header material, and be fine...

Alot of ways that work money and fabrication skills play a big part .large long tubes will heat up your engine compartment better but look more intimidating also may help delay the hit of big boost to help hook your car.
4 cylinder engines can benifit from tuned headers designed to keep the pulses even to spool big turbos.
8 cylinders dont have this problem and a simple log manifold keeps the velocity and the heat high to spool you up faster it does not take alot of boost to make you happy and get you hooked.
build what your wallet can aford and move up from there.
sise the turbo right and get a good wastegate and you will be in love also not a bad idea to learn the tuning lesons on a low buck engine first.

You can simply weld a flange on top of one of your manifolds run a crossover from original outlets with some type of slip joint or flex joint to deal with heat expansion.
Also turbo needs a oil supply and a large oil drainback to the pan i have made a plate and used the fuel pump mounting pad for a quick down and dirty path...
add turbo and wastegate and go......

Heres some fun cobbling from years ago.

What about exhaust flanges on the head? Cut 'em or leave 'em as one piece?
Mine are 1/2" hot rolled steel and won't hold gaskets. The old headers used normal header flanges. I cut those and they wouldn't seal either.
Header leaks are a way of life for me.

Good question, With the time spent into your car I would have never thought that it would be a problem for you. Every gasket you have tried has failed? What about a Cometic for the header flange. Are they milled flat to the flange or do they have a raised ring around the port? The only thing I've heard about the 1/2" flanges is the if all the bolt holes are tight around the studs it will shear off a few from expansion. My W9's are one piece & I'm not sure about cutting them, but I hope they will seal well with a machined fit.

I have been making mine one piece and have had no problems. I also don't even use headers gaskets just the red high heat RTV exhaust sealer. When it comes time to take the headers off, I can take all the bolts out and they are still stuck there . ( just takes a little wiggle and they snap off.

Flange material for carbon steel I always use COLD ROLL material it is allot stronger than hot roll formed steel because it is work hardened during the forming process. You can tell the difference between hot roll material and cold roll material quit easily .
Hot roll stock has mill scale ( that blue flaky skin ) and cold roll does not.

One piece hot roll flanges come completely flat , but once you weld your tube on the back side, it will put around a 1/8 overall back bend to the flange surface. This helps out considerably on sealing the big dodge two center exhaust ports.

I was incorrect. They are cold rolled steel.
I did not do a raised bead around the ports. The flanges were flat when I installed them. All of the bolt holes are over sized to prevent the studs and bolts from breaking. I do have studs wherever possible. It makes things MUCH easier to assemble. An early B engine compartment is pretty tight, especially with the later B K-frame.

I have tried a variety of normal exhaust gaskets as well as solid copper. The Cometics are next on my list.

It seems that exhaust leaks are a way of life for me.

Im not going to be using motor mounts. Im going to use a plate and the alternator is going to be moved anyways. So which manifolds would be the best to look at? The C body stuff or what? If that dont work I think some weld els might be looked at.

Thanks

A driver's side C body manifold will fit nicely on the passenger side of the engine. The exhaust outlet will be facing a bit down and towards the outside.

I don't know a good one to use for the driver's side. All of those I've ever seen had somewhat long outlets that face almost straight down. They would need to be cut off and welded into something more favorable.
Welding cast iron is a pain so I'd either find someone with experience or go to something else.

What do you guys think about starting with the hooker headers flange kit?



2" primary. I think they are $175 at Summit.

To me it is a little expensive for what it is. But what are some of the other alternatives?

I am really leanin towards going with these and bolting them on backwards

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/HED-78070/

Well I don't think they will clear the steering box.

I guarantee they won't