Small block headers for my Cuda?

[74 340 4speed]

I want to put a nice set of headers on my 74 Cuda.  I can not afford TTI headers.  I know they are good, but I can't justify spending that on headers.  My car does not have power steering or air, so I would assume there is more room to work with in there.  It is a 4 speed car.  I have priced the regular hooker competition headers at around 190 bucks, the headmans at 145, and I haven't really looked into anything else.  I do not want a coated header.  I have jet-hot ceramic coated longtube headers on my 99 camaro SS and they are starting to pit and rust, so I won't buy another set of those.  I want a good fitting header that I will not have to beat on it get it to fit in the engine bay and for spark plug clearance.  Help me out guys!

[Chryco Psycho]

well virtually any header will go under the steering but it really hurts ground clearance

[AprilsPink72Cuda]

The Hookers that came on my car originally sat really low.  Very easy to scrape up.

[go-fish]

Spark plug access isn't bad but almost all headers will have a tube going under the steering link on the drivers side. The passenger side fits great.
You will have to disassemble part of your steering components, put the header on the drivers side then run the link through your tubes. I suppose you could cut the tube and run it into anther tube so it doesn't have to go so low. If you have to farm this out you might as well buy TTi's and save money on fabrication costs.
If you go the steering-through-the-tube route be prepared to scrape in some situations. I learned to avoid scraping by adjusting my driving.

[Jacksboys]

I have the hedman headers on my 360.  They fit in well, but you may have to lift one side of the engine to slide them in.  Also, they require you to unbolt part of the steering linkage which goes through the pipes and lowers your ground clearance.     And finally, the back two spark plugs on the driver's side are a pain to remove.     If you can deal with these problems, then you should be happy with them.   

[Chryco Psycho]

or buy the TTi s do it right the first time and skip all the above problems

[Mopar73340]

   My TTI's fit great. I always hated headers for the above reasons so although I also think the TTI's are expensive I knew they were the way to go. All plugs are easy to access and they go above the steering linkage.

[74 340 4speed]

I bought a set of hooker headers earlier this week.  The car is at stock ride height with a 225/60/15 tire on the front.  I will never lower the car so I dont think that scraping will be a big issue.  I'm used to driving around a LS1 Camaro SS with longtube headers and a true dual exhaust that hangs low and I have never bumped a header primary.  The ceramic coated headers aren't worth it to me because I have jet-hot coated headers on my Camaro SS that where made by jet-hot and they have rusted.  The car sits in a fully enclosed garage 98% of the time and it's never driven in the rain so I know that coated headers aren't all they are cracked up to be.  The TTIs would be nice but I could buy almost 5 sets of hooker headers for what i would give for one set of coated TTIs.   I don't think that the plug access with the hooker headers will be bad at all.  If I can change the plugs in an LS1 where 1/2 the motor is under the firewall, the 340 in the cuda should be a piece of cake I hope..     Here are some pictures of it, and the exhaust.  The exhaust pic was taken about a week after the headers were put on so they still look okay in the picture.

[tactransman]

Those had to be a pain to install!

[go-fish]

SLP, huh? I think Ed Hamburger built that company. He was big into Mopar stuff and did great things with Mopars in the 70's.
Nice Camaro, I likey!

[Jacksboys]

The car is at stock ride height with a 225/60/15 tire on the front.  I will never lower the car so I dont think that scraping will be a big issue.

Just to let you know that my hedmen headers are the secone set, because the first set got bent from a rock on a friend's driveway.  My car was sitting at stock height with 235/60/15's on the front, so it is something you will need to always keep an eye out for.

By the way, nice Camaro.

[PlumCraZRT]

How do you start the Camaro in the pic without the battery being hooked up?    Maybe this is the sort of technology us Mopar guys have been missing out on... small block cheby's truly are the superior engine.

[Chryco Psycho]

GMs use the side post connection

[74 340 4speed]

How do you start the Camaro in the pic without the battery being hooked up?    Maybe this is the sort of technology us Mopar guys have been missing out on... small block cheby's truly are the superior engine.

Side post battery my friend.    Thanks for the compliments everyone.  The LS1 is a remarkable engine that responds well to a nice heads/cam package.  My friend has a 2003 Z06 Corvette 6 speed.  He put trickflow heads on it, vengeance racing's vindicator cam, harland sharp roller rockers, fast 90 mm intake and throttle body, headers, and an electric water pump and made 521 rwhp, 464 rwtq.  This is with a stock LS1 short block, 346 cubic inches.  

[74 340 4speed]

Those had to be a pain to install!

lol, they weren't that bad, actually.  Tightening the last header bolt on the passenger side is a major p.i.t.a though.  It took me 30 minutes to get the #8 spark plug in there.   After a while your hand starts cramping, and it deforms enough to fit between the header tubes to put the plug in there.