Reply to "1970 Boss 351"

Gary Hall made a decision when he drew up his Big bore headers, he made the header flange capable of bolting up to the OEM 2" tail pipes. Bad decision. Its kind of wonky to name a header "Big Bore" when it's outlet is squeezed down to only 2 inches in diameter. That's why the Big Bore headers are NOT recommended. In fact, of the headers I am familiar with, the only ones I don't recommend are the Ford spec exhaust headers found in US Panteras and the Big Bores, because both are desinged for 2 inch tail pipes.

Hall Pantera also sells the GTS headers, they are a good design for 4V heads. They have the large 2" primaries Ford recommended for the Cleveland, which leads me to believe that Ford engineers probably desinged them for DeTomaso. They are a truncated tri-Y design, which also reflects Ford thinking for that era. (The Austrailian XY Falcon GT-HO Phase 3 also had factory equipped tri-Y headers). They have no collector, but they mate up with 2 3/8" tail pipes and work reasonably well for a street car. Of course, as Dan Jones will point out, the mufflers leave quite a bit of horsepower on the table, but for a relatively inexpensive system that can be bolted on in an afternoon, and is reasonably quiet, they are a good value. If an owner decides he wants more horsepower later on its only a pair of mufflers away.

The PI Motorsport Big Throat headers are the decendants of the Mind Train headers. The Mind Train exhaust system was held in very high regard during the earlier years of the Pantera hobby, and even today when a set goes up for sale guys scramble to buy them. The Big Throats are a good design too. However, PI Motorsports doesn't sell a tail pipe to compliment their headers, you gotta roll your own.

I know the Byars sell GTS headers, most likely sourced from Hall Pantera. I'm not familiar enough with Larry Stock's headers to comment, but I know he has his own line of headers. Knowing Larry I'm sure they work well. I'm not even sure what Dennis Quella, Marino Perna or Steve Wilkinson sell. Other guys can comment and fill in my ignorance on the subject.

That leaves us with Pat Mical's headers. If you can afford them, they are the best; both in design, materials and craftsmanship. The problem with the Pantera exhaust system is that there just isn't much room for one! Most header designs try to fit every inch of primary tube possible in the engine bay leaving no room for a collector. That is a bad decision, according to Mr Jones a collector of proper diameter and adequate length is considered more important than a few extra inches of primary tube. This is where Pat Mical's headers differ from the others, Pat's headers have a good collector design.

Word on the street is that MagnaFlow mufflers flow very well, afterall there are no baffles in a MagnaFlow muffler, its just an empty can lined with sound deadening material. They are made with heavy gage stainless steel, welded & polished, and the sound is mellow compared to other choices. The drawback is they don't make a muffler short enough for a Pantera, so you're left with two choices, having a muffler sticking out behind your car or cutting, shortening and rewelding a pair of their mufflers to fit.

-G