Here is the other update to share.
I was notified by the shop that I had a misfire in cylinder # 3 (I think). I was not too surprised as this problem also occured on cylinder #4. The Hedman Hedders 68620, mid length headers fit my old 350 SBC Gen I with no problem. But the new motor is a BluePrint 355 with BP alum heads. These heads feature a straight spark plug hole like the original motor, but the spark plug holes are located 1/2" higher. This means that there is less clearance for the spark plugs and I am buring the spark plug wire boots on the headers.
So, I also made some calls today and asked BP for a header recommendation. They do have a relationship with Sanderson Headers, but not Hedman. THey also said that Sanderson has a set of the BP 8002K heads, just like mine so they know how to build headers for this head design. Of course my next logical question was what model number do I need for my 70 El Camino. I was not surprised to hear that they did not know. Headers are designed for the motor and the car, not just the motor and heads that are being used.
So, I made another call to Hedman and Sanderson. Hedman said that they do not have headers specifically designed for the BP heads. That is too bad because I like Hedman Hedders. So I called Sanderson. They were very nice and helpful. They do have the BP heads in their shop and they recommended the CC17 headers to fit my car. However they were concerned that the tubes may need to be dimpled to have proper clearance over the spark plugs. So, they told me they would call me back after lunch so they had time to throw a set of headers onto the BP cylinder heads to make sure they did not require any customization. If it did, they said they would do it for me. I love this kind of attention to detail and custimization work.
When I got the call back, they said the headers were ready to go with no customization. So, it looks like I found the perfect headers. I asked about the gaskets, becuase I wanted to use high quality copper gaskets and they told me about there proven no gasket design. I was shocked and sold! They use heavy duty steel plate with an offset to match up with the cylinder head. Only a small bead of hi temp RTV is required to get a seal that is not likely to leak. I have certainly had my share of exhaust leaks and found that my crappy bolts were the cause. I switched to locking bolts and these were much better, but I was using a cheap gasket, because there are very few out there that fit the 68620 local port headers.
So, back to the muflfer shop for my fourth change over. These guys love me as I make them rich with all my modz. haha.
I also decided this time not to wrap the headers. I am going to splurge on the black ceramic coated headers and if I don't like the temp level of the pipes I can always wrap them later. I was thinking that I can just wrap the one tube by the tranny dipstick. Becuase I dont want to burn my hand when I check the fluid level and I love this about the wrap. But, I decided to just buy a new Lokar tranny dipstick that mounts higher up on the firewall insteadd of the current one which is lower and mounts onto the tranny bell housing.
I cant wait to get these mounted and report back later. I wanna drive soooo badly. I have not taken the car out for the past month and a half and summer is starting to wind down.
I was notified by the shop that I had a misfire in cylinder # 3 (I think). I was not too surprised as this problem also occured on cylinder #4. The Hedman Hedders 68620, mid length headers fit my old 350 SBC Gen I with no problem. But the new motor is a BluePrint 355 with BP alum heads. These heads feature a straight spark plug hole like the original motor, but the spark plug holes are located 1/2" higher. This means that there is less clearance for the spark plugs and I am buring the spark plug wire boots on the headers.
So, I also made some calls today and asked BP for a header recommendation. They do have a relationship with Sanderson Headers, but not Hedman. THey also said that Sanderson has a set of the BP 8002K heads, just like mine so they know how to build headers for this head design. Of course my next logical question was what model number do I need for my 70 El Camino. I was not surprised to hear that they did not know. Headers are designed for the motor and the car, not just the motor and heads that are being used.
So, I made another call to Hedman and Sanderson. Hedman said that they do not have headers specifically designed for the BP heads. That is too bad because I like Hedman Hedders. So I called Sanderson. They were very nice and helpful. They do have the BP heads in their shop and they recommended the CC17 headers to fit my car. However they were concerned that the tubes may need to be dimpled to have proper clearance over the spark plugs. So, they told me they would call me back after lunch so they had time to throw a set of headers onto the BP cylinder heads to make sure they did not require any customization. If it did, they said they would do it for me. I love this kind of attention to detail and custimization work.
When I got the call back, they said the headers were ready to go with no customization. So, it looks like I found the perfect headers. I asked about the gaskets, becuase I wanted to use high quality copper gaskets and they told me about there proven no gasket design. I was shocked and sold! They use heavy duty steel plate with an offset to match up with the cylinder head. Only a small bead of hi temp RTV is required to get a seal that is not likely to leak. I have certainly had my share of exhaust leaks and found that my crappy bolts were the cause. I switched to locking bolts and these were much better, but I was using a cheap gasket, because there are very few out there that fit the 68620 local port headers.
So, back to the muflfer shop for my fourth change over. These guys love me as I make them rich with all my modz. haha.
I also decided this time not to wrap the headers. I am going to splurge on the black ceramic coated headers and if I don't like the temp level of the pipes I can always wrap them later. I was thinking that I can just wrap the one tube by the tranny dipstick. Becuase I dont want to burn my hand when I check the fluid level and I love this about the wrap. But, I decided to just buy a new Lokar tranny dipstick that mounts higher up on the firewall insteadd of the current one which is lower and mounts onto the tranny bell housing.
I cant wait to get these mounted and report back later. I wanna drive soooo badly. I have not taken the car out for the past month and a half and summer is starting to wind down.