My car had headers and some Dynamax mufflers, with some over the axle tail pipes without tips - just a slash cut pointed at the ground. I wanted the original looking tail pipes and close to original sound, so I chose to go with the Gardner. But, because the engine had been built pretty stoutly, I wanted it to breath better than the log manifold would allow, so I went with the AMES 2.25" Ram Air manifold. I hope it breaths well enough for the way the engine has been built and tuned.
njsteve answered the question on how the head pipes are configured, but to be more specific, there is no welding required with the Gardner system. See photos below and they should answer your questions. These are photos of all of the components laying on a friend's shop floor before we began the installation. The clamps and hangars are on a workbench and are not pictured, but they are all there.
Here are a few before shots, showing the old system. Look at how close the headers are to the starter and the oil filter. No wonder the starter gets heat soaked and drags on a hot start.
Here is a shot of the car on the frame contact lift for the removal of the old system from the header collectors back. Once we got that much removed, we moved it over to the drive on lift. We removed the headers and will install the new system with the suspension loaded.
A Tale of Two Shops....You've Just Seen the New Shop...Now, Here's the Old School Shop.
This shop has been in operation for over 46 years specializing in drivelines and springs. They have never had a lift and do the work old-school on jack stands with crawlers. Check it out.
3.73 Ring & Pinion is out and the new 3.08 is in.
Check out the pattern! Also check out the Detroit Posi Carrier. It uses the clutch packs instead of the helical gears, so we added GM's AC Delco additive.
Had to replace the axles - both showed signs of wearing where they ride on the bearings, so I went with the Yukon Alloy performance axles, with new bearings and seals.
Is this a date code on the brake drum? 10/73?
BJ