In a message dated 10/7/98 12:18:46 PM Pacific Daylight Time,
laifman@flash.net writes:
> sounds like it has the "Tri-Y" headers (not that they were any good).<
Perhaps your lowly opinion of the LAT-27 headers has been influenced by
Wallace Wyss, author of the book Shelby's Wildlife. Referring to the Tri-Y
header design first offered on the 260 Cobras, Wyss describes them as an
"...almost laughable exhaust manifold." Dyno tests conducted at Shelby
American showed they produced a gain of only 3bhp over stock Falcon manifolds,
while Huth tube-type headers produced a gain of 19bhp.
Enter Doane Spencer, who redesigned the Cobra Tri-Ys to improve the flow
characteristics and had them recast in aluminum by Buddy Barr. Referring to
pages 75 & 76 of The Book of Norman, Doane's design resulted in a gain of 6
horsepower over the Huth tube headers, or a total of 25 horsepower more than
the stock Falcon manifolds! These, then, were the headers that Doane ran on
the #55 race car sponsored by Hollywood Sports Cars. Later the design was
recast in iron by Horsepower Engineering and marketed as part of the optional
LAT-27 header kit for the Tiger. The word "Tiger" was cast on the outboard
face, the part no. "HSC 1" on the inboard face of each manifold piece, and the
kit also included a special cast iron right hand engine mount, marked "HSC 2."
Years ago Dr. Palmer borrowed a set of LAT-27s from me, and after a good bit
of trouble and expense, had some reproductions made by a foundry in Missouri
or somewhere. Apparently the results were not too satisfactory, as I don't
think very many of these were produced, nor that the special motor mount was
part of the package. I have continued to see sporadic advertising for these
from time to time, so maybe the foundry retained the molds or something. (How
about a little help here, Bob?) The repro manifolds still say "Tiger" on the
face, but "HSC 1" is missing on the back. I don't know how they flowed
compared to the originals.
Over the years, I have run both LAT 27 and tube-type headers (including
original LAT 73s), and frankly I can't tell much difference between them.
Today, unless they're NOS, there is no source for genuine LAT 73s. So LAT 27s,
which are also rare, become the most logical alternative for the collector.
They work and they're rare. You ask what they're worth? I'd say quite a bit.
Dick Barker
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