Headers are in! GEEZ!!!!

[HemiLover]

Holy cow installing headers is a serious deal!! I picked up a set of JBA Shorty headers from fellow club member and just got around to installing them today. First off, sorry for no pics but the last thing I felt like doing today was snapping a bunch of pics!
The whole job was done from underneath with the front end up on jackstands. Did the drivers side first which proved to be the easy side, taking 3 1/2 hours! Had to drop the mid pipes (cats), undo the motor mount and jack the motor up an inch then removed the motor mount completely, undo the o2 sensors, remove the heatshields then the stock manifolds (which are pretty heavy suckers!). Swap over the o2 sensor to the header, line up the new gasket and bolt it in! Re-do all the undo then moved over to the passenger side......
"Edited" the passenger side took less time, but ended up taking nearly an hour longer because a few more things have to be removed - The alternator bracket, the dipstick and the motor mount in two seperate pieces. The passenger motor mount was the problem...... the stud that holds the mount to the engine bracket and also holds the alternator bracket was horribly cross threaded! Probably from the factory, and obviously with an impact gun! Man that sucker was a beotch to get off! Just as hard to get back on due to the cross threaded bolt and bracket! I thought it was gonna snap, but it made it (whew!)
Had I not had a great set of tools with many swivels, deep and shallow sockets, swivel head ratchets and ratcheting wrenches this job would have been darn near impossible! The crawler helped tremendously as well, but after lying on it for 8 hours with my arms up over my head I kinda feel like I got hit by a truck! This job is not for the faint of heart, short on patience or not familiar with intermediate auto mechanics. I decided to do it myself because the only shop in town that I trust wanted $450 to do it! Now I know why....
Results?? .... the butt dyno says YES!! Noticeable difference in torque all the way through the power band. Did it make me say HOLY CRAP HOLD ON!!!!.... not really, but it is definitely a nice improvement! It changed my exhaust note somewhat as well, but didn't make it louder like I anticipated.

[LowGo]

Congrats on the install. Glad to hear you got through it with relatively little trouble.

[MR. J]

Congrats. Glad you like them.

I hope to install headers someday soon, but I think I will pay someone else to do it.

[joseph]

$450, not so bad, my local midas wants $700 for the install.

[Big D]

You do realize that you do not have to remove the motor mounts to do this install. I chose not to remove them, which made my install a little quicker. Also, by not removing the mounts, you eliminate the possibility of the headers rubbing against the inner fenders by not getting the motor centered correctly.

[bklynmag]

Congrats. Glad it went without any serious surprises. Those studs on the motor mounts are a pain. I ended up leaving the mounts in because a couple of the studs gave me a fight coming out.

[HemiLover]

$450, not so bad, my local midas wants $700 for the install.

Just me joseph, but I would NEVER let Midas do this kind of work to my car! Especially not for $700.....

You do realize that you do not have to remove the motor mounts to do this install. I chose not to remove them, which made my install a little quicker. Also, by not removing the mounts, you eliminate the possibility of the headers rubbing against the inner fenders by not getting the motor centered correctly.

I wanted that to be the case but there was just no way! Especially on the passenger side, some of those manifold bolts would have been extremely difficult to access! Had no clearance or centering issues...only jacked up the motor about an inch, just enough to get the mount up off the frame so it could be removed. Maybe that's why I didn't have to fight some of the bolts as others have said...

[feros]

YUP pretty much the same way and time line I had on my JBA install.
But sure is worth it after all that work!!! The sound and power, get some hi-flow cats and you can really feel the differance!!!

[Cam]

Congrats bud, glad to hear it all went well. give it a couple of days after you stop putting your foot in her and you'll notice just how much midrange you really gained.

[HemiLover]

YUP pretty much the same way and time line I had on my JBA install.
But sure is worth it after all that work!!! The sound and power, get some hi-flow cats and you can really feel the differance!!!

Hi-Flo's are next!!

Congrats bud, glad to hear it all went well. give it a couple of days after you stop putting your foot in her and you'll notice just how much midrange you really gained.

Already started noticing this today! This is a great mod to do!!

[Flanman]

I put my headers in myself also. After "feeling like I got hit by truck", I think $450 is a bargain! It's not for the faint of heart DIY'er.

[hyperbolic]

Gongrats on the install. I did my Gibsons without removing the engine mounts in about the same amount of time. Of course I did have to make two trips to Sears to buy more offset and racheting wrenches. I think about checking the bolt tightness every once and awhile but haven't worked up the heart for another daylong labor.