Have a FaceBook, Twitter, or other social networking account?

Link them to your fanatic account!

Add An Account

TAKE ME TO...
Automotive Lifestyle
AUTOS: The Hot Rod Build, Part 7: Making The Headers
The custom exhaust manifolds are carefully shaped in the tight space to clear the steering and starter.
Bob Golfen  |  Posted June 06, 2010   Phoenix, AZ
The custom headers have been fabricated to fit within the cramped confines of the '32 Ford frame while allowing free-flowing performance. (Photo: Bob Golfen)
This is the seventh of a multi-part series focusing on the building of a 1932 Ford “Deuce Coupe” hot rod. The scratch-built car is being created at Hot Rods by Dean, an award-winning street-rod and custom shop based in Phoenix, for a Glendale, Az., customer.

The goal: to build a classic street rod from modern components, including a new all-steel body, that will be authentic and indistinguishable from one created from an original 78-year-old car.

The Deuce Coupe is looking sharp with its new radiator/AC condenser fitted into an original shell. (Photo: Bob Golfen)
Nothing like a new set of custom headers to set off the performance potential of the ’32 coupe that’s taking shape at Hot Rods by Dean.

The fat tubes snake around each other, bundled to bypass the steering gear on one side and the starter motor on the other. They were hand-formed by craftsman Ron McCorkle to match perfectly with the 347-cubic-inch aluminum Ford V8 that was custom built for the project.

The hot-rod experts at the Phoenix shop decided to create the headers from scratch when a set of commercially made headers were deemed inadequate for the engine.

“These (custom headers) are significantly freer flowing, and they clear the steering better and clear the starter better,” McCorkle said, adding that the headers are made from 1.75-inch diameter tubes rather than the commercial headers’ 1.50-inch tubes. “These have bigger tubes, a bigger collector and rounder ports that fit the engine better.”

The exhaust headers on the right side have to clear the starter with enough room that the electronics won't fry. (Photo: Bob Golfen)
Creating the headers required quite a bit of finagling, he said, twisting and turning short sections of curved tubing to bend around each other and clear the obstructions inside the narrow frame. The space around the steering gear has to allow for its movement, and the starter needs to be away from the electronics-killing heat.

McCorkle said he has developed a system for making custom headers.

“I always start with the longest tube, trying to make it clear, and I attach the collector to that,” he said. “Then I get the rest of the tubing to connect. That’s just one way of doing it.”

While installing the header pieces, he installed spark plugs and boots in the engine to make sure the headers clear them with enough space in between so the boots don’t melt. The starter also needs some extra space so that it can be removed without having to take off the exhaust system.

“Because it’s a street car, we weren’t real concerned about making each tube equal length,” McCorkle said. “It will have plenty of power as it is.”

On the driver's side, the header tubes are tucked in around the steering system, which is wrapped in masking tape for protection during assembly. (Photo: Bob Golfen)
For now, the headers are tack-welded in place. Next, they will be removed from the engine, the sections welded together, then ground smooth. After that comes a coating of silver Jet Hot ceramic coating, he said. “It looks like chrome but doesn’t tarnish as chrome does.”

McCorkle has been working on the other end of the exhaust system, too, placing the twin mufflers up under the car on jacks so that he can plan and create the dual exhaust. “The exhausts will route around the differential and come out along the frame rails.”

On the front of the car, the new radiator with its air-conditioner condenser attached fits snuggly into the original 1932 shell that was located for the project. The shell is in remarkably good condition for a 78-year-old part, and it looks sharp bolted onto the frame.

The connecting tubes that will run from the AC condenser to the firewall also had to be considered when McCorkle built the right-hand-side headers. The complexity is somewhat mind-boggling, but the veteran hot-rod builder and sprint-car racer shrugs it off.

“It just takes some planning ahead and visualization,” he said.

The mufflers are held up under the car with jack stands as the exhaust system is designed to fit. (Photo: Bob Golfen)
The engine sits with its carburetor attached: a Holley 780 four barrel with vacuum-operated secondaries for fuel economy as well as performance. The shop is waiting to receive a new water pump that will accommodate the customer’s desire for original-looking fan belts instead of a modern serpentine belt.

“This water pump goes to a serpentine system, and since we’re using V belts, it turns the wrong way,” McCorkle said.

Another tweak was made to the floor and transmission cover inside the car when the customer, Corky Chumbley of Glendale, Arizona, sat in the car and found that there wasn’t quite enough space for his right foot on the throttle.

Although the custom alterations required some fancy sheet-metal work, McCorkle again shrugs it off as no big deal.

“I just cut a recess in there so that his foot would fit better,” he said.

See the first six parts of the hot-rod project at:

The Hot Rod Build, Part 1.

The Hot Rod Build, Part 2.

The Hot Rod Build, Part 3.

The Hot Rod Build, Part 4.

The Hot Rod Build, Part 5.

The Hot Rod Build, Part 6.

For more information about the Phoenix hot-rod shop, see Hot Rods by Dean.

Bob Golfen, Automotive Editor for SPEEDtv.com, is a veteran auto writer based in Phoenix, Arizona, who has driven and evaluated essentially every new vehicle sold in the United States. A lifelong car enthusiast with a passion for collector cars, car culture and the automotive lifestyle, he annually attends and writes about Arizona's famous January collector-car auctions, focusing on Scottsdale’s monumental Barrett-Jackson Collector Car Event and other Barrett-Jackson events. SPEEDtv.com fans email Automotive Editor Bob Golfen at

Play! SPEED Fantasy Racing and Super 7 Sweep
bob_golfen's avatar

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Bob Golfen

MORE BY THIS AUTHOR
Advertising | Jobs | Feedback | FAQ | Terms of Use | NEW Privacy Policy | Ad Choices | Site Map
Fox Sports | FUEL TV | FX Network | National Geographic | IGN | AskMen
The Motor Sports Authority, SPEED and associated logos are registered trademarks of Speed Channel Inc.
All Rights Reserved © Speed Channel, Inc. 2012

All external links will open in a new browser window. SPEED.com does not endorse external sites.