65 DeVille - 429 headers?
 

Hi All,

My exhaust manifolds are cracked and blowing so bad I'm going to have to remove the engine to repair them. I typically can't get at 3 or so of the bolts holding the manifolds on - they seem an odd size?

My question -this will the second time I've welded them up. So Sanderson Headers? Has anybody tried them? I'm aware of the requirement to fab an alternator bracket but do they fit OK or is it a case of out of the frying pan into the fire? More torque and pickup would be good but not at the expense of noise either. I also don't want to find I have to modify the starter/ steering linkage/ brake lines etc to make them fit. Has anybody done it and what is the advice please?

How tight are they to the driver’s side and do they need modifying? I don’t really want to get into that.

Secondly why does the stock exhaust route the way it does? Seems a poor design for gas flow to me. I was thinking of a common dual system with an H pipe after the transmission would be a lot better for flow and torque. Any advice please?

Finally, normally when I take an engine out I at least open it up to see what it is like and replace the basics like oil pump, water pump, timing chain and gears, check the valves and clean out and possibly port the heads, clean out the sump pan, clean the pickup thoroughly, redo the timing cover and crank seals etc. This engine runs well and I'm tempted to do the minimal to it - it's always been an 'on the button engine' so don't want to disturb it too much. But any advice of what to address whilst it is out please?

Thanks all, Nick in Ireland

IDK about headers. There shouldn't be different size bolts but some times using a slightly smaller metric size socket will grip the older standard nuts and bolts. If you choose to take engine apart, Cadillac used a lot of different pistons. From -.010 to +.010 deck has letter stamps which indicates bore size. Of course a unique sizes have been discontinued. Also sometimes the cylinder heads will be frozen to dowel pins.