headers

Header / Exhaust Problems

I bought the "Pacesetter" brand headers with their "Monza" exhaust system when my original system finally rusted out. I sure wish I hadn't. The header was almost impossible to mount in the car. After hours of trimming the frame, heating and bending the pipes and about 10 test fittings, I finally got them installed so they wouldn't rattle against the frame. The Monza system never worked out. They looked great, but I could never get the system to fit right and they were FAR TOO LOUD. I'd get a headache after an hour long ride, so I started wearing earplugs when I took long drives.
Within the first year of operation, the headers started to make odd noises. I could hear an exhaust leak, but couldn't find it. I tried tightening the clamps that hold the intake and exhaust manifolds to the head, thinking that I had not fully tightened the lower clamps. Nope. Finally, I took the header off and found the two spot welds that held the totally useless "emissions pipe" to the center tubes had broken loose. (First picture - repainted to make the holes stand out for photos, and the emissions tube cut shorter.) I recently had the two middle tubes crack about an inch from the mounting flange. These cracks are a probably a result of having to "heat and beat" the system in order to get it mounted in the first place, but it's just another reason not to buy Pacesetter brand headers.
I wish I had spent the extra money to get a stainless steel header in the proper "4-into-2-into-1" design from a reputable manufacturer. These cheap 4-into-1 systems are apparently good for power above 5000 rpm, but who drives their Spitfire at that engine speed very often? I bought a new header from Spit Bits. I'd have spent less money in the end if I had bought the entire stainless steel exhaust system that Nigel has available at Spit Bits.

I had a local exhaust shop custom bend a pipe to fit between the header and a stock rear muffler. I could feel the lack of performance this muffler caused though - just strangling the engine. So I had the center pipe re-bent to exit on the center line of the car, and had them attach a short DynoMax brand "performance muffler", a "Y Pipe" and twin chrome tips with beveled ends. This is all hung from the hole in the center of the rear valence panel with a proper muffler hanger.
This set-up is a lot less noisy than the Monza system, but still has a nice "throaty" sound with a little rumble on up shifts and deceleration.

OK - so I finally broke down and bought a Bell Stainless Steel Header from SpitBits. It was a beautiful set of pipes, but it just would not work with the Canon intake manifold I bought from JAM Engineering. The different photos at left exaggerate the difference between the Pacesetter (bottom) and the Bell (top), but you can see the Bell tubes come straight out from the head, where the Pacesetter tubes are canted outward, allowing the manifold to fit in between the tubes. JAM now sells a different Canon intake that eliminates this problem. Dual SU's would have been no problem to fit - as seen at right on a spare 1296 "FD" engine in my storage building.
So - I'm stuck with using the crappy Pacesetter header again. I got it welded up, and actually welded the entire system together all the way out to the tailpipes. It sounds good, it doesn't rattle. It doesn't leak. It just works. There is something to be said for that...