hp stock manifold or headers

[DAVE JONES]

MY question to you guru's is this. I have a 1970 340 set up with a 6 pack from a 1970 AAR cuda. I am running this in my 69 cuda. I am running the original
hp stock exhaust manifolds now and am thinking about putting on some 1 5/8 or 1 3/4 headers. which will develope more power and would the difference be worth the headaches of headers in an A body. I'v heard pros and cons for awhile now but I think you guys could shed some light on this and set me straight. As of right now I have
2 1/4" exhaust to the back end and was thinking of going to 3" if necessary for either setup if the gains will be worth the money. I am running stock J heads with 2.02 valves and have been ported. I have been thinking about using the edlebrock head assy in place of my stock heads but I dont know if there would be that much gain in performance. my CR is stock (10.5.1), MSD ignition.
I have been looking into stroking the motor out also to build more torque but I know that it is real expensive but I does seem like a good bang for the buck but am unsure of the cost vs gain. any and all opinions are welcomed here on any or all of the things that I mentioned above....Thanks for all your input and help.....DAVE

[Squad]

Headers will definitly give you more power, especially if it is ported or you have a bigger cam. If it were mine I would get a good set. If you want a little more room on the drivers side you could get a light weight starter, they help. As for the size, I think 1 5/8 would be sufficiant. They can be a pain but if you get a good brand they are worth the power gained.

[This message has been edited by Squad (edited January 23, 2000).]

[hemi-1]

The passenger side 340 hi-po exhaust is a good one, but the driver's side is pretty poor. In fact, a new Ram truck driver's side exhaust manifold flows better. Headers are worth an easy 30+ horsepower on a decent 340. Tube Technologies Inc. (TTI) has step headers for a 340 that, unlike every other small block header, do NOT go under the front crossmember. They also have a complete mandrel bent exhaust system to fit up to these headers in either 2.5 or 3 inch. Their exhaust systems fit great and do not leak. Of course, they aren't cheap; figure on about $1000 for both headers and exhaust. Or, for about $550 you can just get the complete exhaust system to bolt to your hi-po manifolds. Like I say, not cheap, but you get what you pay for. Any header that goes under the crossmember is going to hit the road every once in a while no matter how careful you are. I've seen these tubes get flattened almost shut in just a matter of weeks. Plus, most off-the-shelf cheapy headers leak and can't be installed without hammering on the tubes for clearance. If you're interested in TTI, their number is 1-909-371-4878.

You can certainly modify a 340 to make a good bit more power than stock without going to headers, but things like $1200 Edelbrock heads, huge cams and so forth are a total waste as long as you are running the factory manifolds.