Hello everybody ! thank you for your comments about clutch on my 455 1968 442 , so I go with centerforce , will see!!!! Now I need your opinion about headers , I use the car for street usage only , witch model quality-price you prefer ?

 

Hooker 3902 is a good, fair priced, well fitting choice. This is what I am running on my '68 4-4-2 with the 400 BB. There are other versions of this header that will also fit your ride, but prices vary on finish.

Others will offer other opinions, from well-fitting "chineseum" cheap ones to really expensive versions. There are many options.

 

Thornton's. Oldsmobile Big Block Headers | Thornton Muscle Cars

 

I hear good things about the Chinese ebay specials, which is unfortunate.
I had to beat the hell out of my Hookers, more than a pimp slap.
Cross your fingers- the ARH I ordered 9/7/23 are supposed to ship (for the 3rd time) TOMORROW!

 

Flemming mentions a point several have suffered - having to beat some Hookers (among others) to fit. My 3902s went right in with no problem. Perhaps because I replaced the completely worn and sagging engine mounts before I attempted installation. My 4-4-2 is a 4-speed, so I had to take out the bell crank, thread it through the header pipes and re-install both the header and the bell crank in tandem. I didn't have any fitment issues, no interference, no rubbing anywhere, no hammering or banging to fit.
YMMV.

 

************************************************** ************************************************** ************************
I will say that ARH's To me fit the best,, no adjustments ever needed, perfect welds etc, I have had these on my 3 corvettes & 2 of my camaro's. I have tried several headers, nothing fits as good or made as good as the ARH'S. THE old saying maybe true, you get what you pay for ??? Now I am back to manifolds, have to keep that stock look...

 

Yeah, the Chinese stainless headers are nice and about $2000 cheaper than the ARH. In my 70 with the 350 it hit thr drivers motor mount, need a tiny clamping to clear the Wix 51258 oil filter and the most compact mini starter is needed with trimmed terminal posts. Also it interfered with installing my Canton pan mount, whose drain plug is still seeping. With the better shaped BB motor mounts and taller deck height, you should have none of these problems. Mine don't hang super low, even on my 350. They is even a dent for the Z bar. No leaks and still look great after a year of use. I did treat them Autosol Bluing Remover that also protects them against further corrosion. I think I will treat the rest of the Stainless exhaust this weekend. My whole dual exhaust, which is 2.5" Stainless back to the mufflers, even with the overpriced local custom aluminumized tail pipes, cost less than ARH headers by themselves.

 

Centerforce is great. Best clutch I ever had on my 67.

Headers are a pain in the butt on the street. My 450 dollar pair (over 20 years ago) had to be "massaged" into a mess. (Beaten to a pulp...) And there was issues with the Z bar in my 67. Cooking starters and bottoming out. Leaks, leaks, leaks, ...

But they sounded amazing.

P.S. it took till the 3rd order with Lynn at Mondellos, for this set to roughly fit. California to NY, and back, over and over again. Cost a small fortune when exhaust was finally done. Only to have to tend to it constantly...

 

This had me laughing due to its totally non-politically correctness.

 

thank for your comments , tell me the best place to buy hooker 3902 , fusnick don't have so Holley is it correct ? Have a good day !!!

 

Summit has them
https://www.summitracing.com/search/...keyword=hooker 3902

 

Here we go! I finally got my ARH, and get this.... they don't fit! 🤬 I was advised to mock them up for bolt hole alignment, and am glad I did. The Wix 51049 is a no-go; they require a 51258. Thanks @Tugla for saving my bacon! Even using the variable clocking feature on the Powermaster 9510, the motor housing wouldn't clear. Heat and beat on expensive, new parts! Woohoo!

 

WOW! Guys swear by their ARHs! I never would have thought you'd have fitment issues with them I have way more clearance with the Hooker 3902s.

This is the thread I mis-remembered the fitment of my 3902s. I stated earlier there was no issue (posts 2 and 5). That was wrong. I have a four speed, and due to collapsed/melted motor mounts, I had to massage the lower radius of the number 7 long tube to fit over the bell crank. That was the only issue, and it fit better after I replaced both motor mounts.

Bummer about the ARHs!!!!

 

I AM VERY surprised you had this problem with these headers, I never have had this happen to me with ARH ! Sorry you were mislead in thinking these would work no problem.. Maybe there quality control has dropped off. DO they look like they were made good , bends & welds etc ?

 

Honestly, I'm not that impressed. At this point, I'm in them for the stainless.
The flanges aren't dead flat; they're going on brand new E-brock heads. The welds are okay. They didn't "wow" me, especially after the wait and price point.
I hate the cliché, but it is what it is.

 

NO reason for that, I wonder if you should not of sent them back and said this is not acceptable. BUT, I know spring is around the corner ! If I ever need a set of headers I will think twice about this..

 

I sure do appreciate you sharing this experience. You saw the post I put up a week or two ago asking for header fitment feedback and, at that point, you hadn't received these yet. Your feedback has convinced me to go with the (much) cheaper Hooker's. No way to justify double the cost with these issues. Hate that you had to deal with the frustration but take some minor level of satisfaction in the fact that you helped this Olds brother save about $800-900 bucks!

 

I wish Hooker made theirs in stainless.
Are you going to coat them? I've yet to make the high temp spray bomb work right, even following the cure instructions.

 

Yeah, exactly my issue with them. For $2000+ dollars they should be bolt on, with ZERO issues. I was OK flattening and moving one
tube, running the 51258 filter and the most compact starter with the terminals trimmed down on a pair of $200 shipped Stainless full length headers. Yeah, everything seems to have issues bolting on without modifications these days.

 

are you going to wrap those pipes that are pre heating the oil in the filter?😜

 

An oil preheater is a bonus, right?

 

My worthless two cents....
Spending 2k on a set of headers with horrible fitment and quality control, I would send them back for a full refund. Not worth the the time and money in my view.

 

Different animal but, similar issues as what Flemming is reporting. Small block ARH 1.875" primary headers...# 2 primary hits the block and the flanges are not true. It's not too terrible and I can get them to work just fine. There looks to be enough room for the oil filter and starter but, I'm mounting a clearview oil filter remotely so, moot point on my application.

 

My preference would definitely be stainless (can't convince myself to roll the dice on a 'no name' import brand) so I'll go with their hi temp ceramic coating. I'm not a fan of the polished look but for $900 I can live with it. Hopefully, I won't have to massage any of the pipes but the chances of that are relatively low based on the mountain of available feedback over the years. Not sure what I'd attempt to spot them back in with if the coating cracks/breaks.
Selling anything at a premium requires you to prove to the customer the extra money is worth it. ARH has a good reputation but that can disappear overnight with just a few quality problems. Feedback like yours is exactly what we need to be informed. thanks again!

 

ARH must have lost their recipe, their headers fit my ‘71 442, MT car perfectly, even the oil filter fits…

 

The Hookers hit the steering shaft and passenger upper control arm. That being said, I would get them bare/painted, fit them, and then do the coating. The coating will damage easily if you have to ding the tubes.

 

ARH can eat a bag of djcks!!! Now, the tube hits the frame right where the brake line is 🤬🤬

 

 

That is pretty bad. My $200 shipped Stainless headers look pretty easy to install compared to these. Sad considering the price difference and they are technically BBO headers. If I swapped frame and motor mounts to the BBO style, would have needed to do nothing. My tube needed less flattening. A few years back, these were cheaper and seemed to always fit, apparently not anymore. One guy did get sent the wrong headers from them years back, hopefully that is the case, probably not.

 

So, after putting them in the car, they crash into the control arm and steering shaft, too.
I was so mad; I fired off an angrygram via email to Kathy. She actually answered within an hour, on Sunday, and I just spoke to Nick. He wants to make it right, and suggested that maybe a set of G body headers got mixed up with A bodies during packaging. They're calling back with an RMA to retrieve them.
That's both good and bad. I'm off this week and the Gear Vendors is supposed to be delivered tomorrow. I'm now at a complete standstill waiting on these blasted headers AGAIN.

 

If it lowers your stress level, you could forward the gear vender to me so that it’s not on your mind…🤪
sorry to hear the header woes….I just went with the Thortons, look great, no install issues. Probably leaving 10hp on the table…but it’s just a cruiser though. Mine won’t have your HP or see the strip time yours gets. Standing by… 🍻

 

PSA TIME: If you bought a set of 64-67 small block headers and they don't fit, call ARH. A set of small blocks went out with my big block headers in the box. I was sent a set of smalls with the big block number on it.
They're making it right, but I don't have a time frame.

 

I wonder if you got Flemings442 big block headers?

Fleming442 wrote:
A set of small blocks went out with my big block headers in the box. I was sent a set of smalls with the big block number on it.

 

I finally got them installed, and man, are they tight! I had to ding them around the control arms because I don't have stock motor mounts and i have a bunch of caster cranked in.

 

I finally got them installed, and man, are they tight! I had to ding them around the control arms because I don't have stock motor mounts and i have a bunch of caster cranked in.

 

So actually nothing was wrong with the fit being as you made modifications that ARH don't jig up for correct! For a off the shelf header's you would have had more problems. I am totally happy with my ARH header's on my 1970 442 turbo 400 nothing interfering except I did move the portioning valve to the top side of the frame years ago when I had hooker's on . But in the mean time you blasted a company that sent you the wrong header's ! That happens quite often with other companies as well. My two cents delete the bad info post you made as really doesn't reflect the end result! Maybe you should just take a chill pill. I know frustration can get anyone up tight. Your end result is what counts. Have a good day.

 

He just needs to pimp slap them around.

 

They sent the wrong headers. The first set was for a small block Olds that were shipped in a big block box.That was why they did not fit, this is now the correct set of big block headers. **** happens.

 

No Fleming is right on this one and this isn't the first time they have mixed up headers. I remember another guy getting A body headers for his G body. Maybe for 2K+ they can weld a plate on each header with the part number stamped on it. Just an idea ARH, saves pissing off customers.

 

Agreed, especially because the OP is considering going this route on a cruiser.

All the pitfalls that can come when going headers on 1964-1988 Cutlass should be laid out there. Fleming made out much better than me. Seeing they got it right on the 2nd try. Rather than when I dealt with Mondello and it took till the 3rd time to get it right. Keep in mind my car was in a shop on a lift when all this back and forth was going on. So not bad for 20 years later and 5 times the price.

442 1968 I would look at it this way. Much like marriage in the USA, there is a 50% chance it won't work out great. But as a wise older gentleman told me many years ago, you have to try ... Bottom line, Fun71, dc2x4drvr, among others went with headers and had great experiences.