I have an update.
First off, my smog guy told me that because all the smog ports and fittings are in the block/heads, that I can use any headers I want. WOOHOO!! I went online and bought a set of Hedman headers off of Amazon for $275.
Next, I had to remove the old manifolds. I managed to grind off all the old bolt heads with a long neck, electric die grinder. I cut off pieces of the manifold as I went using my angle grinder with cutoff wheels. That was fine as I am switching to headers and scrapping the old manifolds was acceptable to me.
The headers fit great, but the passenger side won't fit the factory metal heat shields that protect the spark plug boots. When I took it in for smog, the shop really recommended doing something about heat management as the new headers get glowing hot from the rich exhaust. To fix the head issue I bought some Heatshield Products Header Armor. It works GREAT! I can hold my bare hand an inch or so away from the header pipes. I couldn't do that with the old manifolds, so I expect the temps. under the doghouse to be much lower.
Now that the carb. was redone and the headers are on, old Mabel is running smooth and strong. We go on a trip this weekend and I will update with post voyage feedback.
Jose
