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John Wright · Jun 5, 2020

Rudolph Schenker said:
Will headers ruin the stock appearance or is that an "acceptable" upgrade? Looking for opinions

I get comments about my numbers matching RS/SS being hacked up because I want to build the car for me to drive and drive hard I will. The transmission was sold to another camaro owner and replaced by a Viper T56 six speed, the engine is sitting on a pallet and has been replaced by an 89 TPI that has all forged internals and sports a 78/75 turbo with megasquirt MS3 engine mangement. The factory 12 bolt 3.07 diff was swapped out of the stock housing and an eaton posi with 3.73's are inside. So build the car the way you want and don't worry about the comments. If you want an all original time capsule or an all out race car, do it your way and enjoy the car.

BillyDean7173 · Jun 5, 2020

On one hand, you have a fairly original car by the looks. Why start changing it? If you bought the car for horsepower, you know that's not going to happen stock-wise so why bother?
On the other hand, headers are a good Day 2 mod, but then you have to take into account your brackets and the rest of your exhaust.
At then end of the day, it's your car so tweak what you think will make you happy. That's what I did with my 73Z. It's mostly stock with a few custom touches here and there. I don't like the stock exhaust system on these cars, so I went with a custom exhaust. That was the biggest change on my car.
Just keep all of your parts for reference, yourself if you want to change something back, and the future buyer who wants a stock car.

dcozzi · Jun 9, 2020

BillyDean7173 said:
That sucks. I'm thinking about putting louvers on my 71 because I like the old school thing.
https://www.sfxperformance.com/parts/AST1003.htm#prettyPhoto

$290 for ABS plastic is pretty steep but, I'll bet you cannot get those anywhere else.
I love the pic with the luggage rack with CB radio antenna attached.

BillyDean7173 · Jun 9, 2020

dcozzi said:
$290 for ABS plastic is pretty steep but, I'll bet you cannot get those anywhere else.
I love the pic with the luggage rack with CB radio antenna attached.

Agreed. I'll just have to shop around. Maybe I'll find a place in Texas that I can drive to because shipping will be silly expensive.

Yeah, I like old school but the luggage rack and CB antenna is a bit much for me. I'm not doing an 8-track, either. And yes, I have some . . .

dcozzi · Jun 9, 2020

BillyDean7173 said:
Agreed. I'll just have to shop around. Maybe I'll find a place in Texas that I can drive to because shipping will be silly expensive.

Yeah, I like old school but the luggage rack and CB antenna is a bit much for me. I'm not doing an 8-track, either. And yes, I have some . . .

Yeah. The rack and antenna won't wind up on my car either.

mikeceli · Jun 10, 2020

Nice project!

If your considering stock looking engine upgrade, utilizing the later roller lifter, one-piece rear main seal L98, you might want to red this.
https://www.hotrod.com/articles/0611em-vortec-small-block/

It uses "Engine Quest' new, iron heads that combine the Vortec combustion chambers, with a thicker casting at the head surface, to prevent cracks. They bolt onto said blocks.

I have a 89 IROC Z Vert 305 TPI / A4 project. I am the second owner of a STOCK, a 1979 Y84 "Bandit" Trans Am 403/AT.