There are actually a fair number of options for Spitfire 1500 headers.
The cheapest and most common is the Monza (Pacesetter) 4 into 1 unit,
available from various places like The Fat Chance Garage for $100 or so.
It works, but is not the best unit. Of course, that's what I happen to be
running on the Killer Spitfire autocross car at the moment! Well, I'm at
work so the car isn't actually *running* at the moment.
Another option is the 4-2-1 Maniflow unit available from APT (David Vizard's
place, mostly Mini and MG stuff, some Triumph stuff. This sells for about
$200. I think the latest phone/address/email info is in The Monster List.
I have not yet even seen one of these units, but plan on getting one later
this summer.
A third option is the unit listed in the Vicky Brit catalog, available for
about $450. This is a complete system, with what appears to be a TriumphTune
4-2-1 header, a 2.25" collector and pipe, then a Y pipe and twin silencers.
Again, not a unit I've seen in person, but I am tempted. I'm not sure of the
current price range of getting the TriumphTune bits into the country. Hmm,
I need to renew my TSSC subscription, they have some neat stainless exhaust
bits available, made by Bell, I believe it is, including a stainless 4-2-1
design.
The 4-2-1 design means that the four individual exhaust tubes become 2 tubes,
with cylinders 1 and 4 joining together ( the two 180 degrees apart in the
firing order) and 2 and 3 coming together. Then these 2 pipes are joined to
form the final exit. A 4 into 1 design has the 4 individual pipes come
together at the collector. The 4-1 design may produce slightly more power,
but in a narrow range of RPM. The 4-2-1 design gives a broader torque curve,
which is why I'm meaning to put one on Killer RealSoonNow.
All the headers will involve some grinding and file work. Also you may need
to grind away on those funky little mounting donuts, so that you get both
sides to seat on the intake and exhaust manifolds. One thing I highly
recommend is getting a ceramic coating on the new header. It will last a
lot longer, look like new for quite some time, and reduce heat in the engine
compartment. Cool stuff.
mjb.
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