Headers

[cameron02]

Well the headers that tickford put on the 302 definately wont fit in my DRB Cobra.

Is there an off the shelf block hugger that will fit a DRB? Has any body used a particular type. Did they fit straight in?

Castle Auto has quite a variety but he can not guarantee they will fit.

www.castleauto.com.au

Maybe I will have to get them custom made?

I am also thinking of getting them coated by Jet Hot. Does this company have a good reputation? Any of you good people used them?

www.jet-hot.com.au

Regards

Cameron

[REPTYL]

If you're looking at ceramic coating, HPC in leongatha is the place to go, they have a pickup and delivery service and is considered one of the best in Australia. I used them to do my exhaust and inlet manifold.
I have herd some very average reports about Jet hot.

I had my exhaust custom made. I gave him the chassis and body separate so he had plenty of room to work. Came up a treat.

http://www.hpcoatings.com/hipercoat.htm

[Bryan Wilson]

Cameron,
My headers were Jet Hot coated and after I had the car for about six months the coating bubbled and burnt off. They are generally stuffed and I painted them with VHT silver.
There was a thread on Club Cobra a while back and none had a good word to say about Jet Hot.
Cheers,
Bryan

[batdan]

Hi Cameron,

DRB do a pair of mainfolds for the 302W for about $500. Have you checked these out ?

Any other issues fitting the engine?

Cheers,
Dan

[cameron02]

Hmmm!

Thanks for the "Heads Up" guys. Or should I say "Headers Up"

My next door neighbour is currently rebuilding a 57 chev. He also had bad reports about Jet Hot and also recommended HPC.

Hi Dan, I've asked Peter at Gt40 to send me a pic of the DRB headers. I'm also not sure they make them with holes for O2 sensors but will find out.

I have not actually tried to fit the engine yet but I know that the huge assembly on brackets for the alternator etc just isnt going to fit. I also want to run airconditioning but I cant currently see any way of utilising the ford compressor. I might be able to find a spot for it once the engine is in.
On the positive side My steering is now complete. Got the connecting rod from a steel supplier for $10. The diameter was slightly bigger but it only took a little sanding on the ends and it now fits the uni joints perfectly.

Made any progress lately Dan?

[750hp]

I can't seem to have any luck with my HPC coating. An engine dyno is probably the most extreme situation for the coating, but mine didn't last one power pull before they went from an almost chrome appearance to a dull grey with the texture of sandpaper.

I sent them back after the dyno was finished, and the pipes were redone (at half price). They looked superb, but all it took was for my motor to run with retarded timing at idle for a minute, and the pipes lost all their shine again. Nothing has started falling off them - like it did on the dyno - but they certainly aren't like you see in the photos...

Having said all that, the coating has proven to remain tough enough after a number of months. While it may not look the best, I'm sure that it's still a lot better than just using high-temp paint, or porcelain coating.

[batdan]

Hi Cameron

Not too much progress lately, I am waiting on some parts to arrive from over your way.... Hopefully here in time for the summer holidays...

[peter de]

I have had the headers in my 62 Fairlane HPC coated (347 Stroker, Aluminium Heads etc.) and I couldn`t fault the product.I will definitley use their coatings on my cobra.

Dan and Cameron, any plans to make the sidepipes functional ?

[cameron02]

Hi Peter De,

Functional sidepipes are illegal in Victoria and since I'm going to be using mine as a daily driver, I'm sure I'd get done.

I've decided not to have side pipes at all.

Are they legal in Kiwi land?

Hey Craig,

Interesting about the HPC coating fading, then again your engine probably shoots flames half way down the exhaust system. At least it stays on. Have you found it lowers engine bay temp? I'd be interested as this is my main reason for getting it done.

[peter de]

Cameron

HPC coating has definitely lowered my engine bay temperatures. One of the main reasons I have used it on my Fairlane is because I had problems with my clutch slave cylinder getting "cooked", no such problems now.HPC do say that their standard coating (which I have used) is not capable of withstanding extreme temps such as race cars, and when initially running a rebuilt motor to make sure you have air circulating through the engine bay. I did this using a household fan and my headers look as good as the day they went in.

Sidepipes are legal over here. I either want working sidepipes or, like you, none at all.

Regards

Peter

[750hp]

Cameron - there's a noticeable drop in temp with the coating. My previous Cobra also had HPC, and you could touch the headers only minutes after turning the engine off. The current car runs the pipes REALLY close to the footbox, as I lengthened the footbox by 20cm. As a result, I'm now using a header wrap as well. I know that this is supposed to speed up corrosion of the pipes, but if I have to replace the pipes after 4 or 5 years, it's worth it for the lowered footwell temps. In fact, with the extra heatshielding that I attached to the footbox walls, I literally cannot feel any temperature at all inside the car.

Peter, go with the sidepipes. Other than the constant worry about passengers or curious onlookers burning themselves on the pipes, the sound of sidepipes is fantastic !!! You'll have a whole lot more ground clearance by running the pipes out the side, too.

[PCC]

Don't I know it. I spend more time traversing potholes / speed humps etc than doing anything else.

Not for much longer.... suspension rising this week.

[Aussie Mike]

I agree with Craig on running sidepipes.

I've been building my own headers and sidepipes. I picked up a DIY header kit from DiFilippo that has the laser cut header flenges, gaskets, collectors and a ton of 90 and 45 degree mandrel bends. The whole kit was about $385 and I'm having lots of fun building them. There are a bunch of pics in my gallery that might give you some ideas.

I'm trying to write an article for the next snake tales on DIY headers that may help too.

As to sidepipes being illegal in Victoria... The problem isn't the sidepipe as such it's the fact that the exhaust exits towards the pavement. I spoke to my engineer on this and providing they have cat converters, duct the exhaust to an appropriate location and have adequate protective shielding on the pipes you will get through (I plan too). And if the shielding and the ducted exhaust just happen to fall off after it's registered, I'll just have to live with it I guess

I didn't want to build a complete rego exhaust only to replace it with the sidepipes afterwards so I set about building a system that will comply for rego and that I can quickly/easily change to the configuration I wanted after rego with minimal changes.

Cheers

[cameron02]

I've been trying to post a picture of the block huggers Peter at GT40 Australia (DRB) supplies for $575. Unfortunately I'm only on dial up so This bulletin board times out before it uploads. If any body would like me to send them the pic please email me.

[PCC]

send it to me and I'll upload it.

[cameron02]

Thats a good idea Peter.

Your email address is not listed in your profile. I tried using the email function at the bottom of your post but it does not seem to have a facility for attachments.

If you like you can email me at coco7@optusnet.com.au

Regards

Cameron

[750hp]

Cameron's photo.....

[batdan]

Hi all,

Yep, I will probably make the side pipes functional, no problem here in NZ with that I believe.

I did hear however that on the DRB that only the two front pipes (where the four come out through the body) are functional, the other two are just for show. I think it must me a tight fit up round the front suspension. I guess this would affect exhaust performance in some way ??

Peter de, where abouts in NZ are you ?

Cheers,
Dan

[peter de]

Dan

The footbox is extended for more footroom in the DRB, this is what gets in the way. I think that two pipes would not be enough for a standard 302 let alone a modified one.The trouble is I don`t have any formulas/guidelines to prove me right or wrong.
Anybody out there have any suggestions?
If I am right, then it will mean that the footbox will need to be modified to give enough clearence for four functional pipes.
I would love to hear how others have gotten around this problem with their DRBs.

Dan, I live in Oamaru. Whereabouts are you?

Cheers

Peter

[batdan]

Peter,

I'm in Wellington.
Do you know of any other DRB's down you way ? When I first started looking the dealer was based in Christchurch from memory.

Cheers