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Headers required or just cool?


Clever Idiot

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Will the stock iron logs have clearance issues with the Monte? If I can save money by not getting headers, I'd rather do that. My Camaro has the LS3 and makes plenty with those stock manifolds, so I figure why drop the money if I don't have to.

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Maybe a little more performance and a little more cool factor and a little different sound but if the budget don't allow then go with stock manifolds. Not totally sure they will fit but you can always go with headers afterward. Get that baby motoring.

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If they'll fit, go for it.  It's probably not going to make much of a difference.  I don't think that the stock truck manifolds were going to fit in mine, and the Speed Engineering headers fit perfectly for $300 shipped so that's what I went with.

 

You'll probably have much better clearance than a Chevelle will.  A set of 98-02 LS1 manifolds may fit.

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DJ, you haven't said it but it appears you're dropping an LS into a Monte?

 

There are decent gains to be had with small and big block engines but not so much with the different LS firing order.

 

Nice stainless headers will clean up your engine bay but they are costly.

 

As these cars never came with LS engines, there's no original iron manifold to use but I'm sure they've been found.

 

I'd suggest you look at the conversions sections of LS1tech or Team Chevelles to see what everybody else has been using.

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Paul,

Yep - I sold some organs on the black market and I got the LS3/4L65E Connect and Cruise package. It has manifolds on it but I’m not sure which car they’re for (or even if there’s a difference between vehicles for the stock LS3 manifolds). I like the way the headers would look, but like you said: PRICEY. It’s got all the power I want out of the box for now, so I’m just focused on getting it in and getting it running.

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I tried two set of headers and a set of truck manifolds before i decided to just go with 2010 camaro exhaust manifolds.

Perfect fit and they work great

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Let me back up a little, I first tried the stock truck manifolds, both sides it the frame, I bought some 04 GTO manifolds with down pipes and bung, the driver side fit with some grinding the passenger side would not fit, I tried two different after market headers and had no secures. Finally the 2010 camaro manifolds worked and I used the GTO down pipes with bung for o2 sensors.

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i would try using your stock LS manifolds first. aftermarket headers look cool but they are a hassle. At work we buy headers for the Ls swaps but they never fit without modification unless they are skimpy tiny little suckers. Sometime we end up buying 3 or 4 sets for the chevelles before we can come up with a match... and these are companies that have made the headers specifically for that car. Dont even get me started about the oil pan, engine mounts and crossmember kits. 

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i would try using your stock LS manifolds first. aftermarket headers look cool but they are a hassle. At work we buy headers for the Ls swaps but they never fit without modification unless they are skimpy tiny little suckers. Sometime we end up buying 3 or 4 sets for the chevelles before we can come up with a match... and these are companies that have made the headers specifically for that car. Dont even get me started about the oil pan, engine mounts and crossmember kits. 

Have you looked at the 1 3/4" Speed Engineering headers for your swaps yet?  I'll grab some better photos tomorrow, but they fit with no clearance issues anywhere.  

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Have you looked at the 1 3/4" Speed Engineering headers for your swaps yet?  I'll grab some better photos tomorrow, but they fit with no clearance issues anywhere.  

I dont think we ever used them, at least the name is not familiar to me.

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  • 4 weeks later...

On my C10 LS swap I used the Hooker cast manifolds, they fit nice and close to the block and the exit position makes it easy to hook up the exhaust. Hooker suggests them on there A body swaps as well. They make a set of down pipes for them as well. One of the guys that runs the LS C10 swap page did a dyno shootout with a bunch of different headers and the Hooker manifolds and did not see much power gain until the very top of the power band. Get them from CPP as white box for the cheapest. I paid $217 shipped from their eBay auction.

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