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Ram Horn Exhaust Manifolds

13K views 14 replies 9 participants last post by  JimN 
#1 ·
Not interested in using headers. Ram Horn exhaust manifolds are supposed to be best flowing cast iron production part ever made by Chevy. Will Ram Horn Exhaust manifolds work on the 1973-77 A body with a 350 without any modifications? Not sure straight centre dumps will clear frame. Truck style with centre dumps and angled outlets might. If not which cast iron production piece will flow better than my stock 1973 units?

Thanks
 
#2 ·
Ray;
The Ram-Horns are fairly short and hug the engine, they should fit fairly well. You would have to make a pair of front pipes (manifold to muffler), this well also address any frame clearance issue. Ram-Horns are pretty good flowing stock manifolds, I have a set of 2.5" from a Vette on my Stroker, their are hard to find today but repops are available, you can find a set of 2" on e-bay or in a boneyard, their still floating around.

P.S. Welcome to the forum. :waving:.... Tell us more about your ride.
 
#3 ·
Thanks Jim,

I would look for the 2 1/2" parts, in fact there are some on e-bay right now and close to my Toronto home as well. GM Performance Division still offers the Corvette Ram Horns at 2 1/2" through the dealers, although I'd hate to see the price.

As for my car it is a 1973 Pontiac LeMans GT. GM Canada says one of 3,761 built. I know, this is for Chevelles! You see in Canada GM built Pontiacs along side Chevrolets so pretty much all Canadian Pontiacs built between 1955 and 1977 run Chevrolet chassis and drive trains. Our Pontiacs were named differently as well. In 1961 you had the Laurentien with the 348 triple carb set up and then the 1964 & 65 Parisienne Custom Sport was a hot performer with the 409 dual quads, then later from 67 on the 2+2 with the 396, 427 and 454 up to 1970. Our midsized Pontiac was the Beaumont from 1964 to 1969, SD cars - Super Deluxe, look like Chevelle SS's on the outside with Pontiac grilles and trim and totally GTO interiors. Engines were 283 up to 396 depending on year.

Small blocks were know as Pontiac "Astro-Flash" and big blocks as "Astro-Jet". Notice any similarities to Chevy "Turbo-Fire" and "Turbo-Jet". There was even a 396 called "Econo-Jet" a 2bbl version.

My car looks like a 73 GTO on the outside but mechanically it is 1973 Chevelle. Mine is a 350 with a TH 350 trans. It has bucket seats and no console with a column shift! I like to keep it looking stock and try to use GM NOS or good used parts when I can. The engine has a ZZ4 Bowtie aluminum intake, Edelbrock #1406 - 600 cfm replacement carb all exiting through duals. I use a pair of 90's Bonneville SE mufflers, the ones everybody complains are too loud on the Bonnie, which have good flow and a nice deep tone. This is no drag strip car but it moves out smartly and sounds good doing it. It is a weekend cruiser that the whole family enjoys that maybe gets 1,000 miles per year. I am having trouble with the passenger side exhaust manifold leaking hence my question. Might as well try and upgrade when a repair is needed.

Thanks again, Ray
 
#4 ·
I doubt you could use the old ram horn style manifolds on an A body.
I believe they will dump right onto the frame.
You'd have to make a super sharp 90 degree bend right out of the dump and that would probably kill any benefit you were trying to get on flow.

Just put headers on it.
 
#5 ·
Thanks Mr69,

That was certainly my impression as well. There does not appear to be enough clearance for the centre dump to go but onto the frame. I was hoping someone had tried and knew for sure.

Any suggestions on a good quality header for the 73 A-Body?

Thanks, Ray
 
#6 ·
Ram Horns won't fit any of the a-body chassis at least not not without cutting torch the frame.
 
#8 ·
Ray White said:
Thanks Mr69,

That was certainly my impression as well. There does not appear to be enough clearance for the centre dump to go but onto the frame. I was hoping someone had tried and knew for sure.

Any suggestions on a good quality header for the 73 A-Body?

Thanks, Ray
Hooker Super Comp ceramic coated

OR

If you want some real nice headers, call Lemons headers. 805-239-4238
or visit their website at www.lemonsheaders.com
I just ran into Dan Lemons at Subway. Nice guy!

Be sure to check out the customers cars on the website. Lots of wheelstanders !
 
#9 ·
AS mentioned, Ram horm manifolds won't fit an A-body. I don't think that even the Ram horn versions that are angled back would even fit. But, even if they would fit, I seriously doubt that you would gain anything with the angled Ram horn manifolds because they were ONLY available in a 2in version, same size as the regular Chevelle style manifolds. The ONLY small block ex manifolds that will provide any worthwhile benefit are the 2 1/2in version. Those manifolds ONLY came on the 62-65 HP 327 Vette engines and the full size Chevys with a 300hp/327.
Those manifolds were still availalble from Chev parts dept up until last year. They are now discontinued!!! Sure, they are available from some of the aftermarket sources, but the prices are climbing fast. But, it doesn't matter, the 2 1/2in Ram horn manifolds CANNOT be used on any 64-later A-body!
 
#11 ·
#15 ·
Watch out for the Sanderson cast iron headers in the ram's horn style. Sanderson told me that the headers would fit my '65, when they didn't I had a heck of a time trying to return them. I ended up swapping them for the Sanderson shorties which were not the greatest performers and did not seal all that well. I wound up finally with Hedman full length headers which turned out to be a great choice.
 
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