Sounds like the old header game .... I had a set of HOOKER headers on a 72 CORTINA GT I bought new ... never did paint them but the problem I eventually ran into was the engine sonic vibrations kept destroying the welds that held the unit together ... they broke repeatedly at both the block and the collector. Due to that experience., those many years ago, when I got to the point of exhaust upgrades on Ole Reliable I opted to get a dual downpipe manifold and head pipe and constructed a 2" system with a 14" Magna Flow and a 10" bubble type resonator. So far it has worked well and given no problems. Has header technology improved that you now don't have the weld destruction problem ? OR was my problem specific to the Ford 2000 OHC engine ? My son keeps pushing me to go back to a set of headers and I must admit that the power increase on the Cortina was nothing short of amazing ... got real interesting when I opened the exhaust up ... it became VERY difficult to pull away without spinning the tires.

Brett
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Brett Sutherland & the 1.5 million mile 122 CANADIAN www.ecvintagevolvo.com