This is a story about building a '67 Chevy II with a modern drivetrain, brakes, and steering. The body came out of a shed behind a barn in the middle of a cornfield in southwestern Virginia. It features genuine N.O.S. quarter-panels and fenders, combined with a frame and rollcage from Art Morrison. The motor is an LS1 from a '98 F-body, which came complete with two spun bearings. I got a complete replacement bottom-end from Lingenfelter Performance. The transmission is a Viper T56 six-speed mated to the LS1 using a GM bellhousing. I haven't done it yet, but I will have to replace the input shaft with a GM version since the Viper and GM input shafts are different lengths and diameters. The rearend is a 9-inch Ford, narrowed by Art Morrison. Both front and rear suspensions are coilover-based; the front is a Mustang II-derived design with tubular A-arms, and the rear is a four-bar with Panhard bar. Baer brakes are sitting in boxes, waiting to be called on to stop the car...if it ever gets going!
Obviously, no header company makes a header specifically for this combination. That's where Headers by Ed comes in. Eddy Henneman sells header kits for oddball combinations, though they require some fabrication skills. After I filled out his extensive questionnaire, Ed recommended a 1-5/8x36-inch equal-length header for this combination. This article outlines how I made the driver-side header.
The kit comes with mandrel-bent U-bends and J-bends, collectors, reducers (from the 3-inch collector to a 2-inch for the exhaust tubes), some straight tubing, O2 bungs, and flanges. Each flange is 1/2-inch thick, with about 4 inches of tubing TIG-welded in place and ground smooth, which really saves time during fabrication, since you don't have to dress these welds later when the header is complete.
 The Headers by Ed kit includes...  The Headers by Ed kit includes an assortment of mandrel-bent U-bends and J-bends, collectors, reducers, O2 sensor bungs, cylinder-head flanges, and some straight tubing. With some fabrications skills, this pile of pieces can be turned into... |
 ...A pair of custom-fit LS1...  ...A pair of custom-fit LS1 headers. The following steps outline how we got from there to here. |
 These closeups of the flanges...  These closeups of the flanges from the side and from the head mounting surface reveal their thickness as well as the smooth, perfectly ground mating welds. Shouldn't have any exhaust leaks here. Also pictured are the collector and collector flanges. |