I know this question has been asked many many times but can anyone point me in a good direction or can make a nice set of turbo headers? My plan was to modify or make my own but with working 12 hr shifts I havnt found time to plan or make them. So please if anyone can help it would be great. Thanks

 

i saw some cast iron sbc turbo manifolds on ebay for 600 per pair.......do a search ..most of the time you will be building your own since there isnt much of a market for turbo headers for 3rd gens

 

The idea was to build my own but with working so much I hardly have time to think. Hopefully ill get some time so I can search but thanks for the input and if anyone else has some suggestions feel free

 

Being an 87, single turbo makes it easy to keep your AC. I've got a lot of info on my single setup at http://mentalsocket.com/Iroc87/turbo1.html. Might give you some ideas for a layout.

 

Ac is gone have most of the stuff ready for a twin setup but appreciate the info none the less

 

theturboforums.com

Theres a guy there with name 10secgoal. He makes headers for about 600 bucks. really nice setups that should fit these cars and make a good base for a TT setup Hangs them over the front of the valve covers or pipe to whereever you want.

http://www.theturboforums.com/smf/in...topic=127269.0

Stainless works also makes a similar set

http://www.stainlessworks.net/produc...o-headers.html

 

Thanks Orr knew it would be a matter of time before you chimed in. I'll take a look and see where that gets me. Just wish I had the time iv done most of everything else , makes ya happier knowing that you did it.

 

Email was sent hopefully he will get back to me soon

 

Yeah the DIY turbo stuff is awesome, I get a kick out of it when ppl ask me where I got my turbo stuff from, and I just say I fabbed everything.

But buying stuff is ok too, makes things soo much easier and faster sometimes. If i knew about those headers from turboforums, I likely would have bought them. I just didnt know about them til way after my build was done and even then, I still asked about pricing. I plan on redoing my setup to hide the turbos and those headers would be a nice start.

Stainless works are nice since they are stainless steel. Last forever and shouldnt crack if you dont hang a heavy turbo off them. 10secgoals stuff is similar design but cheaper due to mild steel. It should last too, as mine have been fine for the last 2 years. I willl be inspecting mine again this fall/winter when I tear it all down again.

Those header designs require you to pipe the downpipes under the headers which can be tricky with a long run of pipe. Snaking it through there is possible but getting it all to fit and install/disassemble without taking off the header itself could be a challenge. May need to segment the downpipe with a couple of flanges. My manifolds are nice in that you can go between rear 2 cylinders on each side. They just sit the turbos up way too high and forced me to cut the hood. I can modify my design easily to hang them like those headers above however. Thats my goal way down the road

 

I like the way the turbo's stick half way out of the hood on your car, looks mean!

 

Its great for heat management too. cant get a better heat extractor while idling and maybe even at speed. I've had alot of people tell me it looks mean and I think it does, but the look needs cleaned up some. I need to custom cut the hood abit cleaner to either follow the turbo shape or make it more uniform.

 

If you want simple and fast then just modify stock manifolds. I posted a pdf file in another thread with a picture of some. If you want high HP then go with stainless header design.......hardest, expensive, slow to build.

 

Your headers are 16ga or 18ga mild steel right?
I don't understand why people always are saying SSAC / ebay headers are thin walled junk and will crack. Lots of people at TTF and here have thin walled mild steel headers.

 

I love the way yours stick outta the hood looks menacing . And the DIY stuff is great. Even if its not the fastest thing on the road you have a lot of people beat bc you can and did do it by yourself. I have yet to see pics of the headers but I think I understand how the downpipe will be ran but I was already planning on making part of the pipe in a segment for easier access

 

16 gauge mild steel pipe. Now its not uniform thickness. At some points in the bend sections its thinner/thicker than other areas. But its a beefy rugged design and can support a crapload of weight on it since its part log/part header and the weight is distributed across 3 of the 4 primaries well. Theres alotof weld between the 2 middle runners that go into the main feed pipe so that adds alot of strength/ support.

I thought stainless steel had different heat expansion rates and could be prone to cracking. I havent seen many crack tho, atleast posted on any of the forums i visit. I dont know anyone really using that SSAC/Ebay stuff either.
The weld quality is likely the difference maker. If its not welded together well, then it may be prone to cracking more often. I've seen n/a headers crack due to poor welds.

 

Id be interested in at least reading/seeing how you did the stock manifold. The idea crossed my mind but wanted to go the header way. Still it should be a good read

 

Tools:
3" cut-off tool
60 to 90% ARC nickel rod
90amp capable ARC welder
drill
old grill or outside fire pit

Material:
1/4" or 3/16" plate for box
1/2" or 3/8" plate for turbo inlet

Steps:
Cut off original outlets and weld
Cut out plate to make box and weld
Pre-heat to 300+ degrees
Post-cool buried in speedy dry overnight

See the PDF I posted last week or the week before for pics of manifolds. Some people have simply used a MIG welder instead of the correct ARC process and filler rod.

 

What is the rough cost of building your own headers? And where would you normally get all the stuff. Just pricing tho I have very little time

 

I started with hooker flanges with stubouts already welded on. Thats the expensive way to start. 175 for the pair. I got maybe 275 in materials, which mainly was just buying a bunch of J bends in 1 3/4". needed 2 small pieces of J bend 2.5" pipe for main feed section. Then reducer cones for the transition for the rear primaries. T4 flanges, wastegate 38mm flanges. I"m not 100% sure how much I had in it. It may be abit less than 200 in materials but that sounds reasonable.

I figure 8 j bends for each primary tube, at 15 a pop. T4 flanges 60 a pair. 38mm wastegate flanges, 20 a pair. 2.5" j bend, 18 bucks. 4 transition cones from columbia river mandrel bend, expensive at 13 a piece, 52 bucks total. 1.75" to 2 then 2 to 2.5 to attach rear primary to main feed tube. Thats about 270 right there but i may have used less than 8 j bends.

My buddy then finished TIG/MIG mix the setup for 120. I just tacked and patched up any leaks I found after the finished welding. About 570 in a pair of these...not bad I guess. Now you can see where the turbo forums headers around 600 bucks would be a good deal but you still need flanges for turbo and such. If your better at welding than I, then save 120 or so.

IF you start with a bare flange, you likely can save even more money. A good thick flange only for the head should be less than 40 bucks i would think for each one

 

check out my build thread if ur willing to run a v belt setup without ac i can build u a set of twin turbo headers pretty cheap, and i gaurentee they will outlast about 3 cars. they are built out of weld els and heavy wall tubbing

 

here ya go heres 2 pics

 

Very nice , I am running what seen to be the same setup as you lol I'd b interested in you making some let me kno an idea of how much

 

let me price up a set of sbc header flanges and the inlet flanges again and ill give ya a price
quick guess will be around 450 shipped for a pair of headers

 

Alright, guy I work with has a set of cheap ebay headers he said he will give to me and modify to fit for nothing but I will eventually need a good set being I'm sure they will crack or what have you

 

I wish I worked with people like that. If you end up not using them or take them off later on you can ship them my way.

 

Ya its nice I worked with him my last job for 2yrs I left for college he went to a new place, ended up running into him. The headers come towards the front of the car a bit long, hopefully we can cut them back a bit figure out a way to 90 them and make room for a wastegate ill keep ya posted on how well it works and of course when the replaced ill be sure to keep ya in mind