hello; I felt the same way as to other choices of products for the TB but when I had to basically pull teeth to get an answer I gave up on the GSCA headers.
Good luck to who ever got them and I'll see when I get my TA's product.
IBBY
GSCA header feedback
- Thread starter jlat
- Start date
Good luck to who ever got them and I'll see when I get my TA's product.
IBBY
Not many people are posting their results with these manifolds, so I'll add my $0.02.
I ordered mine last year, and I finally got around to installing them this past weekend. For the record, I have a 40,000-mile car, and I was looking to replace the stock manifolds, since they are starting to show signs of impending cracks. I wasn't looking for performance gains or anything like that. I was just looking for a decent quality manifold that looks nice, fits in my car with no modifications, and will hopefully hold-up a bit better than the stock manifolds. The GSCA says that these manifolds "cannot be improved upon", so I figured I'd give them a try.
First impressions:
The manifolds were wrapped in plastic and then bubble-wrapped, so they survived shipment quite well. The quality of the coating on the outside was very good. A long time ago, I had my turbo shield and intercooler pipes powder-coated satin black, and the coating on these manifolds is a very similar color. They will look very cool under the hood. Like others, I was a little disappointed in the quality of the welds. They look pretty decent on the outside, but a little poor on the inside. I did find one piece of loose coating around the O2 sensor bung on the inside - I removed it with my finger. It was probably large enough that it would have damaged the turbine wheel on my just-rebuilt TA-49. That would have really ticked me off. I did not find any other loose slivers of any kind. The flange is significantly thicker than stock, so hopefully this will help durability. I also agree that they could have trimmed-up the tubes inside the manifolds a bit better, but they are not terrible. With the exception of the coating sliver, I was overall satisfied with the manifolds.
You can see nice photos of the manifolds here (thanks CliffyC!): http://turbobuick.com/forums/threads/new-hedman-headers-from-gsca.374159/
Install:
The manifolds themselves went onto the heads with no problems. The holes and collars on the headers are designed so that you can either re-use the stock manifold bolts/studs, or you can use the stainless bolts that come with the manifolds. I chose to use the new stainless bolts in all locations except for the three studs on the driver side that are actually used to hold something (alternator bracket, A/C L-bracket, and dipstick tube) - in those locations, I re-used the stock studs. For some reason, the GSCA didn't see fit to send three new studs along with the bolts, so now I have 9 pretty bolts and 3 ugly studs holding my manifolds on. One concern I have is that the new bolts don't have any lock washers or anything, so I am worried about them loosening up over time. We'll see.
I chose to install the manifolds without the "Remflex" gaskets. I just used a thin layer of ultra-copper RTV, as many others do. The heads and manifolds are pretty flat, so I suspect this will be OK.
I had a helk of a time getting the two-piece cross-over installed. The fit between the two halves of the cross-over was very tight - the only way I could get them completely slid over each other was to oil them up and beat on them with a mallet. I'm sure that will smell nice the first time I fire the car up. It was very difficult for me to get the amount of overlap and rotation angle close enough to allow the ball-and-socket joints on the manifolds to line-up properly. I'm still not 100% sure I got them right. The first time I fire up the car, I'll have to crawl under it to make sure I don't have exhaust leaks at the ball-and-socket joints.
...and that's all I have for now. I will post some pics when I get everything else put back together under my hood. My car doesn't leave the garage until all of the salt is washed off the roads - that usually doesn't happen until April. So, I won't be able to comment on performance or other issues until then. If anybody else has been running these manifolds, I'd love to hear some feedback. I'd especially like to know if anybody has had problems with the bolts loosening up.
I ordered mine last year, and I finally got around to installing them this past weekend. For the record, I have a 40,000-mile car, and I was looking to replace the stock manifolds, since they are starting to show signs of impending cracks. I wasn't looking for performance gains or anything like that. I was just looking for a decent quality manifold that looks nice, fits in my car with no modifications, and will hopefully hold-up a bit better than the stock manifolds. The GSCA says that these manifolds "cannot be improved upon", so I figured I'd give them a try.
First impressions:
The manifolds were wrapped in plastic and then bubble-wrapped, so they survived shipment quite well. The quality of the coating on the outside was very good. A long time ago, I had my turbo shield and intercooler pipes powder-coated satin black, and the coating on these manifolds is a very similar color. They will look very cool under the hood. Like others, I was a little disappointed in the quality of the welds. They look pretty decent on the outside, but a little poor on the inside. I did find one piece of loose coating around the O2 sensor bung on the inside - I removed it with my finger. It was probably large enough that it would have damaged the turbine wheel on my just-rebuilt TA-49. That would have really ticked me off. I did not find any other loose slivers of any kind. The flange is significantly thicker than stock, so hopefully this will help durability. I also agree that they could have trimmed-up the tubes inside the manifolds a bit better, but they are not terrible. With the exception of the coating sliver, I was overall satisfied with the manifolds.
You can see nice photos of the manifolds here (thanks CliffyC!): http://turbobuick.com/forums/threads/new-hedman-headers-from-gsca.374159/
Install:
The manifolds themselves went onto the heads with no problems. The holes and collars on the headers are designed so that you can either re-use the stock manifold bolts/studs, or you can use the stainless bolts that come with the manifolds. I chose to use the new stainless bolts in all locations except for the three studs on the driver side that are actually used to hold something (alternator bracket, A/C L-bracket, and dipstick tube) - in those locations, I re-used the stock studs. For some reason, the GSCA didn't see fit to send three new studs along with the bolts, so now I have 9 pretty bolts and 3 ugly studs holding my manifolds on. One concern I have is that the new bolts don't have any lock washers or anything, so I am worried about them loosening up over time. We'll see.
I chose to install the manifolds without the "Remflex" gaskets. I just used a thin layer of ultra-copper RTV, as many others do. The heads and manifolds are pretty flat, so I suspect this will be OK.
I had a helk of a time getting the two-piece cross-over installed. The fit between the two halves of the cross-over was very tight - the only way I could get them completely slid over each other was to oil them up and beat on them with a mallet. I'm sure that will smell nice the first time I fire the car up. It was very difficult for me to get the amount of overlap and rotation angle close enough to allow the ball-and-socket joints on the manifolds to line-up properly. I'm still not 100% sure I got them right. The first time I fire up the car, I'll have to crawl under it to make sure I don't have exhaust leaks at the ball-and-socket joints.
...and that's all I have for now. I will post some pics when I get everything else put back together under my hood. My car doesn't leave the garage until all of the salt is washed off the roads - that usually doesn't happen until April. So, I won't be able to comment on performance or other issues until then. If anybody else has been running these manifolds, I'd love to hear some feedback. I'd especially like to know if anybody has had problems with the bolts loosening up.
1quick87GN
Member
- Joined
- Jan 20, 2010
I have a set on my stroker motor. They have been on for about 6 months now and I am pleased with the way the sound. Installing the crossover pipe was tricky. Like mgmshar said, I had to use a mallet to get the two sections together only to find out I had to take them back apart for some modifications. The crossover will not clear the oil pan when a girdle is used. I made some marks in the crossover and had two inches added to each side to lower the pipe. I was not expecting that but it all worked out in the end. The finish on the hedders is holding up without any issues. They look great. I did have to reuse one of my hedder bolts. Its the one that the dipstick is mounted too. That is the issues I have had with them but now that all is done, I like them.
...as a final follow-up, I wanted to post some final impressions, now that my car is back in one piece and has recently gone for its first spring drive.
So far, I haven't heard any leaks, so I must of gotten the tricky two-piece crossover lined up right. I chose not to use the "Remflex" exhaust gaskets on the cylinder heads, choosing ultra-copper RTV instead. I haven't found any leaks so far.
I think the engine sounds a little more rumbly and drone-y with these manifolds, although it's been a long time since I heard the stock ones, so I could be wrong. Overall, if there is a change, I like it - makes the car sound a bit meaner.
Below are some photos with and without flash. I like the way the new black finish on the manifolds complements the satin black powder coating on my pipes and turbo heat shield.
The only question now is, "how durable are they?" Time will tell. So far, I'm happy with them.
Hope this helps...
So far, I haven't heard any leaks, so I must of gotten the tricky two-piece crossover lined up right. I chose not to use the "Remflex" exhaust gaskets on the cylinder heads, choosing ultra-copper RTV instead. I haven't found any leaks so far.
I think the engine sounds a little more rumbly and drone-y with these manifolds, although it's been a long time since I heard the stock ones, so I could be wrong. Overall, if there is a change, I like it - makes the car sound a bit meaner.
Below are some photos with and without flash. I like the way the new black finish on the manifolds complements the satin black powder coating on my pipes and turbo heat shield.
The only question now is, "how durable are they?" Time will tell. So far, I'm happy with them.
Hope this helps...
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