mrzods13

Looking at these for my 68 Newport. Summit and Jegs both have them for $159 shipped. Full pipe headers comes with bolts and gaskets. Just have to modify the shift linkage possibly. Any input or opinions or anyone who has a newport that installed these would greatly be appreciated.

inri

For just a stock type engine they should be ok. BUT, depending on your engine hp and what you want to do (stockish cruiser or street/strip) you could get much better headers that will increase the exhaust flow and free of much more hp, sometimes in the neighborhood of 25 hp or so.

Kern Dog

These headers work but there are drawbacks. They have clearance problems with the steering linkage and column automatic linkage. If you are willing to modify a few things to get these to work, they are an okay value.

78D200

Hedman Header's steel headers are an "ok" header. I had a set on a J10 and they rusted within a year but were still sealed. I had some issues with getting them to seal when installed too.

Depending on how you drive your Newport, I'd keep looking into another set of headers. Long tube headers are great for motors that make power in the mid to higher RPM range (5500+). Most people when driving on the road and highways never see this RPM range (unless they are street racing which we don't like hearing about). A set of shorties will help create power from idle to ~5500RPM. This is great for most people with mostly stock motors. You can add an intake and carb later on they should work well together assuming you get an intake that creates power in that RPM range.

mrzods13

I did buy them I got them for 138.99 shipped from summit. I could always switch it up down the road.

mrzods13

I have the 383 2bbl.

Kern Dog

One thing Hedman offers is a superior collector connection. Some use a ball and socket collector that uses no gaskets. They allow some small degree of MISalignment and STILL seal well. I'm not sure if all of their headers are this way. Other manufacturers should offer this feature.

inri

Mrzods,

I too had a pair of similar headman headers on my *ahem* '69 GTO. The black paint will fade pretty quickly and the will look much older than they are. I had not leak issues or anything else. If you want them to keep looking nice you may want to have them protected (high thermal coating). But that alone would cost more than the headers...

mrzods13

I will probably coat them with a high heat ceramic spray to add extra protection. I am on a budget so thermal coating is out.

78D200

Strip the headers first. If you coat them before installing them without first striping them, the paint under the coating will still want to flake off causing the coating to flake off.

Kern Dog

Good advice here ^^^^/
Another tidbit: Spray 3 thin coats of paint rather than 2 thick coats. The paint only has to be thick enough to cover and protect. The paint is more likely to flake off if it is too thick than if it is too thin.

pro-tech

I sand blasted the pipes then panted them with what you are saying high heat ceramic paint and when you first start it just let it idle for a while and let it smoke/season the paint. The paint holds up very well and looks great. I had no issues with fit up either on my 1972 Duster 360 The collector ball sockets are great. Good luck there worth the money.

mrzods13

What kind of mods so I have an idea.

Drag Pak

Sandblast first as mentioned, and then thoroughly dry them immediately before painting with a heat gun. You will be surprised at how wet the bare metal becomes from atmospheric moisture.

Kern Dog

In some cases, you'll need to dent a tube or two to get adequate clearance from the header to the steering box. Some designs also run close to the torsion bar or shift linkage.
I am more familiar with the 78050 pipes. Those require different spark plug boot ends on cylinders 5 and 7 because of the routing of the header tube there.