86 C1500 Sub headers

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Backfoot100

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Location
Florida
First Name
Eddie
Truck Year
1986
Truck Model
C1500 Suburban
Engine Size
Carbed 350
Wasn't sure where to post this seeing as I've found header threads all over the place.
It's a bone stock 350 that I'm wanting to up the ante a little bit with.

I've read all the threads and magazine articles about headers not fitting, having terrible craftsmanship and finishes that were far less than expected. Oh, and you definitely want a ball and socket collector fitting. Everything told me to not cheap out on these so I picked up a pair of Hedman P/N 69096 ceramic coated headers. They weren't the cheapest ceramic headers out there but far from the most expensive either.

I have to say I was impressed. The finish was polished ceramic which I wasn't expecting but I thought it was very well done. The craftsmanship was also very well done. Welds, tubes, flanges all looked great.
Next thing was the fit. They bolted right in perfectly...almost. The hard fuel and brake lines on the passenger side right by the motor mount just touched one of the runners. A very minor inconvenience that was fixed in a few minutes with a crowbar and block of wood without dinging the headers at all.
The last thing was how they hang. Everyone seems to think that most headers hang too low at the collector. These were no exception but now I now see what everyone is talking about in that regard. In my particular application it doesn't matter. It's two wheel drive with 20x10 wheels and will never be off road or slammed. I can still get anywhere underneath it on my creeper without having to raise it off the ground if I so choose. If anything hits the headers I'll have a lot bigger problems to worry about. Besides, looking at it from the side you can get a glimpse of them right behind the front wheels which looks waaaayyyyy cool IMHO.

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On a side note, any of you guys know what this number is? It's stenciled on the inside of the drivers side frame. I was too close to get a pic of the whole thing but you have the idea. I could crawl under it and get the whole number stenciled into it if you want it. I'm just curious. I don't remember seeing anything like it on the 88 I had unless I just wasn't paying attention.

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bucket

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Headman actually sells two different header designs for our truck. One version hangs kinda low, while the other version tucks up in higher.

I highly recommend double-nutting those collector bolts. I've found it to be the only sure-fire way of making sure they stay snug.
 

Backfoot100

Full Access Member
Joined
Aug 18, 2017
Posts
374
Reaction score
648
Location
Florida
First Name
Eddie
Truck Year
1986
Truck Model
C1500 Suburban
Engine Size
Carbed 350
Headman actually sells two different header designs for our truck. One version hangs kinda low, while the other version tucks up in higher.

I highly recommend double-nutting those collector bolts. I've found it to be the only sure-fire way of making sure they stay snug.

Thanks for that suggestion. I'd have never thought of that until they loosened up. I'll be taking care of that this weekend.
 

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