raulotero91

hey guys, i have 2 questions. I have a 79 corvette with stock exhaust manifolds. I wanted to get headers, but im not sure if they would interfere with the positioning of the spark plugs since they are right under it. Wouldn't it be difficult to access them?

also, i am having a delayed acceleration problem, and i believe that it is the fuel pump. were is the pump located and what steps should i take to replace it(external fuel pump)

any help would be appreciated

Quil

Getting to the spark plugs with headers isn't too bad at all...it's a little tighter on some, but not enough to delay you much.

I believe your fuel pump is going to be a mechanical pump on the passenger side front of the engine block, down towards the oil pan. You really should check your fuel pressure before you go throwing money at a problem you may not have. For all you know, your fuel filter could be clogged, timing could be off, or you could need to adjust your carb. Check your pressure first and see if it's within spec.

Just one man's opinion...

pauldana

I have a 79 with headers also... fit is fine, but I would suggest ceramic coated ones, I am switching mine out this week to them due to very high under hood heats and spark plug boots being cooked.

Al Davis

I have a 79 w/ stock heads and Hooker Super Comps. Everything fits perfect. I am going to install AFR 180s, I hope they fit like the stock heads. I heard AFRs fit good as well.

73StreetRace

When I bought the car, it already had headers on it. But I don't find it's difficult to access the spark plugs.
With the appropriate tools, I would say one or two minutes to change one of them.
However some of them are not so easy, like #5 and #7, because of master cylinder, steering column, oil dipstick & other hardware on driver side...
I mean, not so much room for your hands and see what you do at the same time.

markdtn

Are you doing anything to the engine besides headers? The headers alone won't really help much. With all the heat they add to the engine compartment, they would be the last thing I would add after intake, cam, heads, etc.

Drunken Peacock

I have Headman Elite ceramic coated headers. They're awesome! And you can go with shorty plugs. They cost a bit more but their easier to install and clear the pipes better.

Reggie Dunlop

Do not believe any of that.
Going from the stock exhaust to headers and duals will increase horsepower by at least 20 and torque by 30+. This is single best mod for a '75 and later C3. It took my bone stock '79 L48 from 15.8 to 15.2 and picked up 6 mph in the 1/4 mile. There is no harmful increase in under hood temps. I have run headers on all my daily drivers since 1976 with no ill effects.

Quil

Stock late-model C3 exhaust has to be the mother of all bottlenecks...

73StreetRace

Same thing for me !

KapsSA

When I had headers on my black79 changing sparkplugs was a 15 minute job. From above!
I have a sparkplug socket with a 3/4" hexhead top. That and a 3/4" box wrench made changing most of the plugs easy. I did use a ratchet and extension on a couple of the them.

wytevette

I don't remember what brand of (eh-hem, "inexpensive") Headers I have. But, a couple of the plugs are very difficult to remove with a standard wrench. I made up a wrench from a spare 5/8 (not deep) socket. I just welded a six inch handle onto the socket, and drilled a hole through so the spark plug ceramic would poke through. That makes the job easier.

Duke94

Here's a thread on changing the FUEL PUMP.

Gary

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c3-t...fuel-pump.html

C3 4ME

Ceramic Coated hooker super comps on my 79 with a 4 spd, and they clear everything fine. Plug changes are a non issue to me. I think some are easier to get to from underneath, though. If I were you, I'd buy them uncoated, check the fit and then send them out to be ceramic coated, in case you need to dimple a tube to make them fit, you don't want to do that after they've been coated.

jb78L-82

Totally agree!!! I bought my car in 1983, all stock, including the exhaust manifolds, y pipe exhaust, stock mufflers, cat, AIR pump, etc. I progressively changed everything in the exhaust system, one at a time, including a cat test pipe with the OEM exhaust, removed the stock mufflers for Monza Turbos with the y pipe exhaust and test pipe, added true 2.5 inch duals with the Monza Turbos, removed the stock manifolds for McJack's shorty headers, removed the AIR pump and hardware, etc. OMG-the difference now with the 2.5 true duals, Monza Turbos, McJack's shorty headers and zero pollution control versus the OEM y pipe cat exhaust is unbelieveable-at least 30-40 horsepower-much more driver friendly especially with the mid to high RPM power of the L-82 with my 4 speed. The best performance modifcation one can make without tearing into the motor.