I purchased a used pacesetter header for my 1979 12A (calif. car) and it will not fit. My cat. con. is at a slight angle. The header pipe, which has a flange on the end goes straight back. Is it because mine is a california car? I bought the car in New York but it does have a calif. emission decal on it. Or will the header fit 81-85?

 

More than likely fits an FB.

 

Aftermarket headers arent designed to mate up with the stock smog control gear.They are made to bolt to the engine,replacing the exhaust manifold and precats.Then, a presilencer fills the gap between the header and the stock midpipe which leads to the muffler.

Also,the 79-80 cars do not have a cat from the factory.It may look like a cat,but its actually a heat exchanger which works with the big,heavy factory thermal reactor exhaust manifold.......Unless someone previously removed the aforementioned items and installed an FB style cat system.
If your area does visual inspections along with the tailpipe sniff test,the header will fail.It doesnt actually affect smog output as long as the cat/airpump system is working right,but there are no smog approved/exempt headers made for our cars. So it comes down to a technicallity........

 

what dont you know?

 

well riddle me this........If there are 6 apples and you take away 4, how many do you have?

 

Well,I dont know what the capital of Uraguy is!?

Seriously,I went through upgrading everything in my car over the last 10 years.Starting out with a bonestock car,you tend to work upwards,thus Ive made a lot of mods that were only stepping stones,and are no longer a part of my finished project.......like headers and such.That,and a quick stop by Mazdatrix's site,or a peak into my factory service manuals will usually give me a definitive answer to a question that Im not 100% sure about.....

 

6

 

A. The Pacesetter header is designed for the '79-80 exhaust system. It is supposed to bolt to the heat exchanger, which acts as a pre-muffler. It is the FBs that it doesn't fit.

B. You do not have a catalytic converter. If you do, someone has previously bodged your car.

C. The header WILL NOT be a bolt-up fit. It's fairly close, but you can expect to have to oval holes and such, since they aren't drilled in the right locations. But the angles and lengths are right.

You can expect to lose a few HP with the Pacesetter compared to the factory thermal reactor, unless you port the collector.

 

The car came from calif. and has calif. emissions. The legth is right but the angle is wrong. The cat. or heat exchanger has an angled end on it. The header is straight back. Sounds like I'mgoing to be in trouble when I go to get it inspected. I guess I better sell it. Thanks for all of the input.

 

Are you certain about A, and can you explain the part about losing horsepower with a header versus the stock manifold?

 

Yeah, I would like to know as well, not saying its inaccurate, I'm just curious.

 

Pacesetters are just that, they set the pace, but dont win the race! lol

oh btw, Montevideo is the capital of Uruguay

 

Pacesetter is at the very bottom when it comes to "performance" headers for 1st gens. They suck, thats all there is to it. I'm kinda surprised that no one told you to sell that POS header. It works well to get rid of the heavy stock manifold and they do look nicer too, but it may give you a 5hp gain in power. Most likely none at all. I wouldn't go as far as to say you'll lose power though. Anything is better than a stock manifold.

 

you have 4 apples you only took four.

 

Man, if you were in the Cali area, I could have sold you my mid-section from my 79, if you don't have it. Since I only have the heat exchanger to the muffler. oh well...

 

I realize that these headers kinda suck, but are you guys saying that it wont bolt up to my 85 12A exhaust? Thanks

 

IF YOU HAVE SIX APPLES AND YOU TAKE AWAY FOUR THEN YOU HAVE TWO ******* APPLES LEFT. DAMN!!!! 6-4=2.

 

You fail, read it again.

 

Just so you guys know i bought one of these off the discount rack at summit racing, and it installed perfectly on my 85 FB. I have an aftermarket high flow cat near the back, and i just had to cut off the flange and a little tubing and it slipped together with a reducer. It works just fine i think. Prolly not the greatest gains, but its better than stock mani with 22 year old precats.

RoninRX7

 

You have 4, because there are 6 apples and you TOOK 4... you didn't possess 6 to start with... it is assumed you possess 0 at the time 6 apples exist.

 

Wow, this is great. You guys are awesome, lol.

 

OOOOOOOOOOOO, Ok i get it now. Silly me!

 

LOL.
The apple riddle owned this thread.