We have all been there. Taking the time to build up a nice clean motor, spending the time and effort to detail this and that. then it comes time to fit the headers and we find out the kit supplied ones are....less than ideal...
Case in point: 66 Nova with the small block chevy. engine builds up nicely, headers are the weak link.
i think we can do better
supplies needed:
a small piece of wood to use as a buck
8 lengths of the appropriate sized solder
a drill bit the same size as the solder
a hack saw blade or dremel with a cutting disc
heat shrink tubing
super glue
first things first, this is the solder i will be using to make them. it equates to approximately 2 inch headers in 1/24 scale
i use my side cutters to cut 8 lengths slightly longer than i think i am going to need.
first thing to do is straighten out the tubes...
to do this, put then between 2 pieces of wood and roll them back and forth a few times.
Next thing to do is to drill your holes in the wood to act as your template. (you can mark the wood ie: sbc, so you only have to drill once and can use it over and over. make templates for other engine headers as well on the same piece for future use)
Now that we know the basic spacing, we can start crafting the headers.
Insert your tubes
Using the kit supplied headers as a guide, start bending with the tubes that are closest to the block.
take your time and try to match the bends. if the kit supplied headers dont look right. find a pic of a real set and duplicate them as close as possible.
the outside tubes have to sit away from the block a little bit to allow the inner tubes to have clearance. i use the shaft of a small screwdriver to space the next tube away as i bend it.
When you get them all bent where you like them, pull out the super glue and use it to join the tubes on the inside where the adhesive wont be seen later.
if you take your time, you should end up with something like this.
Both sides done...
Now you can cut them to length. use either a hack saw blade, or a dremel with a cutting disc. don't worry too much on the side that goes into the block, you can nip them to length with side cutters since that end will be hidden inside the heads.
When you have them cut to the proper length,
We need some heat shrink tubing for the collectors
Cut 2 short pieces of the heat shrink
Hold the heat shrink in place with a pair of tweezers and use a lighter, candle, or whatever heat source you have to shrink the tubing in the proper place
When complete they should look like collectors..
Headers are essentially done aside from paint, so now you need to drill the block with the same drill bit you used on the wood to be able to fit the headers on the engine.
Make sure you drill where the header tubes are supposed to go.
Remember to test fit them into the kit chassis, this is the time for any necessary adjustments. tweak as needed.
When you are happy with the fit you can slide them out of the block and send them to the paint dept for the color of your choice.
I slacked off and didnt paint these ones yet but you can see they look better than the kit supplied ones.
set of block hugger big block ones i did for a different build.
have fun with it.
cya next time
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