I am trying to find out my options for headers. My car is a '92 LT1, and I am using the AFR 195 heads.

I'm assuming you want long tube, not shorties? Do you prefer coated or stainless steel?

Matthew

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I'm not worried about the look, so any material is fine. I am wanting long tube. I looked at Hooker, but they say they won't fit with AFR.

I know that lots of people here have roughly three header types. Exotic Muscle, Stainless Works, and Melrose.

I bought the Exotic Muscle long tube with catted extensions that will fit into the stock exhaust or other aftermarket system. I installed the headers myself and I thought they were a piece of cake. A couple of simple things that have to be done for installation. Flip the motor mount bolt on the drivers side to gain clearance needed for header. Standoffs are included for two of the longer bolts on the center runners. Also, one alternator bracket gets moved or removed, I can't seem to remember what I did with that , but still was not a problem and had no problems without it.

I just took these headers off when I pulled the motor and they look as nice as new with 5,000 miles on them, minus a few scratches here and there from my own rough handling.

I would definitely buy these again and recommend them to anyone. If I can install them ... anyone can do it.

i have em's too.. it was the first pair of coated headers i ever bought.. i was so happy i wouldn't have to look at rusted headers anymore but of course my luck the coating didn't last as i would have hoped them too. could be cause the car was outside for a long time without running but they are only 2 years old and its coming through..

If you plan on driving the car quite a bit and have the cash, I'd suggest going with stainless steel rather than the regular steel with coating variety. The coating will take a serious beating from road debris and eventually fail letting the steel underneath rust away.

I've got about 50k miles on my Hookers (L98) and they look pretty bad underneath. It won't be long before I get holes in the lower tubes.

Exotic Muscle (EM) is currently running a Group Purchase on their coated long tube headers.

On the coated I read not to use them during the engine break in period. Basically not to put extreme heat to them until the have fully cured.

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So I suspect that its ok to put them on a new engine during break-in if they already have miles on them?

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From what I understand, Merl at EM will re-coat them for a modest charge if they peel or rust. These tubes are pretty darn stout pieces of steel, so I suspect it will take a while to rust them through. Mine still look great, but I don't keep the car outside or even drive it much in wet weather. I think with modest use they should hold up very good.

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You should be fine. I am not the expert in this area (or in any area), but here is a link with the footnote.

http://www.holley.com/2061-1HKR.asp

Whats wrong with TPIS? I'm very pleased with mine. Car isn't a daily driver so I'm sure they'll last until I decide to get rid of it. Uncoated SS gives off a tremendous amount of heat in the engine bay. I had a set and know all to well how hot they get. Granted they'll probably last a lifetime but the damage from this extra heat is not good for other components on the engine. If you decide on SS I'd definitely get them coated.

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Nothing wrong with TPIS. I forgot they had LT1 headers. I kept thinking they were for the early cars only.