Looking for some good fitment headers for a 383 motor in a 1973 Satellite with manual steering. Looking to keep price below $400, can it be done and is the fitment good, can I keep stock starter or use a mini starter?

Probably most of the cheap headers will fit okay, especially since you have manual steering. If you have a spare head around, bolt the header on it first to ensure that you have plenty of room to get a plug socket on the plugs. Easier to ding a tube or two for plug clearance before it goes in the car.

for a street applicatioin 383, it would be hard to beat the value of the $105 summit brand headers.

i was looking for headers also, 71 runner with a 440. here are some that i found on summit, but i think im going to go tti just for the quality and the fitment. removed last pair of $100 headers with a sawzall

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/WLK-85...Size|7.2L%2f440

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/HED-78...Size|7.2L%2f440

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/BIG-13...odel|ROADRUNNER

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/SUM-G9...odel|ROADRUNNER

nice thing about summit, give you an idea of what you may have to modify with each header, like shift linkage, no p/s. etc...

I'm running a used set of summit brand headers on my 74 satellite with a 440(original 318 car so it has the tight small block passenger side inner fender). The summit headers fit great and only needed a couple small dings for clearance. I run power steering and a junkyard mini-starter. With a 383 being slightly narrower, you should not have to do the dings I did. I can post some pics tomorrow if you want to see where I had to clearance them. Was only 2 or 3 spots.

Waddaya mean tight pass side small block inner fender? Did the 71-74 cars use different inner fender panels for big block apps? This would be the first I'd heard of that.

73/74 BB B body

cut out covered with a rubber matt

SB... note a metallic shield to access to UCA instead the big cut out and rubber matt

I have the $105 Summit headers on a 400 in my son's '73. The pass side fit like a glove...no issues what so ever. The driver's side needed to be dinged to clear the PS box (but you have manual) and I had to run a mini starter. Otherwise, they fit great. Unless you want show chrome or polished ceramic that is going to only last a little while for you, there is no need to waste your money on more expensive headers. Here's some pics I have --

Thank you for the explanation. I love this hobby. I just keep learning stuff day after day...

And for comparasin, here's some pics of mine, original 318 car with a 440. The 440's a little taller and a little wider than a 383 or 400 so the fit is a little different.

Here's the passenger side. The bulge of the passenger side inner fender actually protrudes OVER the frame rail there, just killing space in that area. You can see where the tube touched my fender and blackened the paint a bit before I dinged the fender there. I just pulled the motor today and I plan to trim that area back so the inner fender is flush with the frame rail and weld in a piece of sheet metal so this issue isn't so bad. But other than having to ding the one tube/fender area(the back one of the middle two cylinders, the one beside it had a little room so was fine), the passenger side summit header fit perfect.

Here's the drivers side, had to ding the tube slightly on the front of the two middle cylinders just a hair to clear the power steering box. I used a junkyard ministarter and had no clearance issues there. I just pulled the motor today and I will clean-up and reuse these headers. For $100 and only two small dings for clearance, I'm not complaining. For how easy these went on, I feel sorry for some of the guys on here who've had a hard time with tti headers.

If you're willing to go $400, consider spending a bit more and look at Schumacher's tri-y big block header.

Daytona I sent you a PM