I must have his last set. I bought mine used from them in early 2007. They said someone had returned them (they were no longer made) after failing to get them installed. Needless to say, they fit fine. I had them ceramic coated dark gray inside and out and they still look new 10 years later.
PS - Boy Racer Richard Mayor makes (or did make) a fine set of headers.
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Have to say the DW headers look better. Not sure why Kirk went for the #1 & #6 branches the way they are.
Steve, sometimes you just get lucky! I referred someone to Kirk, only to find out that he'd stopped making them because he got complaint(s) that they weren't fitting; he'd been using the same jigs for ages! Maybe it went to the owner of a
bent car, or the individual was short on imagineering?
Here's my current set fresh from Jett-Hot (cleaned/blasted & then internal/external coatings applied); except for some slight dulling of the shiny finish, they still look exactly the same.
I cannot recommend the application of the thermal barriers strongly enough (!) however, I do recommend that you always test-fit them to a car prior to sending out, so if any
fine tuning needs to be done, there's no risk to the coating.
Yes, Richard's headers were designed by a NASCAR fabricator and manufactured using a 6-cylinder chassis jig. They have thicker diameter steel tubing, all mandril bends, and beautifully tig welded. I think I got the last pair.
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Pure Healey porn Dougie! It's a wonder that Basil didn't ban those lusty images
a few years ago i had a set of stainless headers made to accommodate a swap i was doing at the time...Porsche 930 with 700 plus hp ls7 motor. i had them built from a kit that was provided by the fabricator....various pvc tubing and some custom metal parts. i then assembled a header system from the various pieces in the kit to accommodate the space, chassis or whatever. the assembled mockup is then shipped back to the header fabricator and the headers are built.. i was very pleased with the result...a little pricey but well worth it to me!
And to continue along those same lines, there's now a readily available "kit" of snap-together PVC pieces (various tubing sizes and quantity of pieces) to speed up the process.
Very clever, though I've bought readily available headers for much less than these modeling kits cost, so unless you're in the business of custom swaps, not really cost effective. Although, if used carefully for ones own needs, there may be a demand for "lightly used" kits, passing between diy builder types.
V8 kit for 1-5/8" tube @ $775.00!
https://www.trick-tools.com/icengineworks-1-5-8-inch-header-modeling-kit-240-piece-1625pro-7850
See the Trick Tools 2:42 minute video here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0wIgQeYYLHA
When I made the headers seen in my initial post, I used some scrap pieces (32" long, as I recall) of CLX cable assemblies (offshore/marine grade aluminum-clad/PVC vinyl-covered electrical multiple conductor) that was the same 1-1/2" O.D. as the tubing I was planning to use. Once bent, it would retain its shape, and I screwed these to some mock-up flanges (9-layer marine plywood) and used screw-type hose-clamps to keep it all together. I towed the car and took my "models" to the local muffler shop and the guy came as close as he could to replicating the bends in aluminized tubing. Some of the back to back bends couldn't be done in his machine, so he came as close as he could, and then I cut, trimmed/mitered and welded them back together.
While it's not impossible to make
homemade headers from a box of parts, you've got to really want to do it! There is no savings of time or money to be had by doing so, and it's a little above the average individual's natural skill set (not to mention the amount of patience required). Don't forget, besides the tubing work, you still need a set of flanges cut/milled (though I suppose a laser-cutter could make short work of that) plus collectors/transitions, connecting flanges, etc., etc., etc. It's a pain in can!
Now all that said, HOW do you suppose headers like these, made of stainless steel with gorgeous TIG-welded joints can be available__for BMWs no less__on ebay for around $100.00?!?! It bewilders me...