Road Runner Nest

Okay, first the disclaimer: I hate headers for numerous and varying reasons, mostly to do with the inconvenience of the install.

Second, I need a whole new exhaust anyway. Right now I have no cross-over pipe, the pipes are dangling low due to missing hangars that have rusted off, the rust-colored pipes turn to a cloud of rust dust when touched, and the J.C. Whitney exhaust tips stick out like 18 inches from the rear of the vehicle.

Thirdly, I have about a $200 budget with which to work.

All this being said, here is my issue:

The previous owner Mickey Moused every damned exhaust bolt (did not even use studs) to put the '70-'71 casting Hi-Po cast-iron logs on. In order to rectify this, I need the OEM-style exhaust studs and sleeve bolts ($40) and another the flange bolts ($20) as priced from R/T Specialties. Add in the cost of sandblasting ($40?), some Eastwood (or equivalent) 1500-degree cast-iron gray paint ($20), new block and flange gaskets ($20) and the cost of brazing the holes closed after removing the flapper valve ($20), and I'm right at $150.

For this cost, I can get a set of new (and lighter) Hedman Shorty headers which includes all mounting hardware and gaskets anyway, and then sell off the '70-'71 Hi-Po manifolds.

Since my friend has an exhaust shop and is giving me the hook up, I'm leaning toward the latter decision. The headers are lighter, MAY give me a small gain over stock (I'm not worried about it), and all is fresh and new. The final cherry on top is that I may even turn a little profit with the sale of the Hi-Po manifolds.

My car is a '73 Road Runner (originally a 400, now a 440), factory 4-speed, power steering, power brakes, A/C (long removed but not by me). Think I'll have any install/clearance/other inconveniences with the shorties? I plan to coat them with Eastwood cast-iron gray header paint if I go this route.

Thanks for all opinions. I'm open to suggestions. Thanks guys!

i have hedman long tubes and love them...easier to work on items, install was pretty simple - only took a couple hours maybe, and both headers weigh less than one manifold. performance gain was noticed in my app, but i also went to 3" exhaust (overkill, btw...2.5" would have been large enough imo). haven't seen the shorties, but i'm sure they would be better than manifolds - i didn't want to mess with having downpipes bent anyway, though.

I weighed the iron manifolds versus the full-length Dynomax BlackJack headers I sold (they weren't for applications with power steering) and the bricks weighed in at 19.2 and 18.6 lbs for a total of 37.8 lbs. The headers weighed in at 12.8 and 13.0 lbs. for a total of 25.8. This is a total weight savings of 12 lbs.

Regardless if it was only 12 lbs., the headers felt so much lighter. In fact, I wish companies would put ball-joint connectors at the end of their headers because I can imagine, if the exhaust pipes aren't allowed to move, the headers actually cracking as the pipes rock and vibrate. Or just put a hangar as close to the header as possible.