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Custom Exhaust Headers - Build Our Own Headers

Custom Exhaust Headers Measuring Headers
We dropped the headers back... 
   
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Custom Exhaust Headers Measuring Headers
We dropped the headers back in place and eyeballed the shape the tubes would have to take to mate to the collector. Notice how the tubes all bend together right by where the collector used to be. We cut out this section with the chop saw.
Custom Exhaust Headers Mock Up Layed Out
Minus the bends, we're left... 
   
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Custom Exhaust Headers Mock Up Layed Out
Minus the bends, we're left with what looks like a relatively easy transition to the collector. Time to connect the dots.
Custom Exhaust Headers Used Exhaust Headers
You could go out and buy some... 
   
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Custom Exhaust Headers Used Exhaust Headers
You could go out and buy some mandrel bends, which can run you $30 plus apiece, or you could do like we did and use the cheapest source of bends on the planet: a set of old, discarded headers. We unearthed a pair that look like they'd been dredged up from the bottom of a peat bog. We passed them through our chop saw a couple more times separating the collector and flange and again cutting the bends from the sections of straight pipe.
Custom Exhaust Headers Old Headers And New Headers
Instead of trying to make... 
   
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Custom Exhaust Headers Old Headers And New Headers
Instead of trying to make it fit while the header was mounted in the car, we come up with a way to build it on the bench. To do this we welded some more scrap steel bar to the top pipe and the collector, effectively locking in their relationship to each other. Now we were able to carry the whole thing to our workbench and work in a more comfortable and unobstructed position.
Custom Exhaust Headers Mig Welding Exhaust Headers
We used sections of the bends... 
   
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Custom Exhaust Headers Mig Welding Exhaust Headers
We used sections of the bends from the pair of long-tubes we cut up to piece together our new routing. We used a MIG welder to tack everything in place, starting with the bottom tube, knowing that we would be building the rest of the tubes around it.
Custom Exhaust Headers Welging Mistake Blew Though
It didn't take long before... 
   
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Custom Exhaust Headers Welging Mistake Blew Though
It didn't take long before we ran into our first problem-we blew a hole right through the tube at one of the places where we were making a tack weld. No big deal, right? Think of it as an opportunity to practice filling holes.
Custom Exhaust Headers Filling Welding Hole Custom Exhaust Headers Adding Matierals Custom Exhaust Headers Hole Sealed Up

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