Hey guys,

I was putting a new centerpipe and muffler on the Rex and I got to looking at the whole setup. I don't think i've ever seen a manifold or headers that looks like this. I figured my car had the stock manifold when I bought it, but it looks like nothing I've seen on other factory setups. I even crawled under another 7 at a local grocery store to confirm that his didn't look like mine. It didn't.

I was looking at the pictures of RB headers, and it doesn't look like those to me either. Does anyone know where this pipe came from? Is there a chance that it was custom made??? I am stumped. Here are some pics. Let me know what you guys think! Your opinion is what matters most to me!

I was also thinking that they might be the crappy pacesetter headers. The guy that had it before seemed pretty redneck and I can see him buying the pacesetter products because he doesn't know any better.

Anyway... here are the pics....

 

By the way,

On the last picture, does anyone know what the bracket with the nut and bolt coming off that pipe is for? There is nothing near it so I don't know what it is supposed to mount to. It's just hangning there for no reason???

 

It looks like a Pacesetter header to me. The RB header is the only other major header that I've seen for the SA/FB, and that thing certainly didn't come from RB.

 

Im pretty sure you nailed it with saying "redneck"= pacesetter.

 

For funding reasons I think they're staying on right now, but someday I'll switch them out for RB....

 

I've never seen the Pacesetter headers but it's definately not RB. The ones from RB, the rear tube has a hump in it cause like all GOOD headers, the tubes r of equal length.

 

I'm having problems with the car dying and a fluctuating idle. Is there something you are supposed to cover with a block off plate when you install headers? I wonder if someone was dumb enough to put junk like this on, if they also neglected to block something off and it is causing a leak somewhere??? Just a thought..

 

from the pics it is very hard to tell, I would not be so fast to jump on the band wagon. depending on how long they have been on the car the headers could be from a few differant companies. what size pipe are they? do they leak exhuast? R.E. made some that were simlar looking to those and much better qual than the pace setters. is your engine from a 79? if not you dont have to block anything off with plugs

 

welll with open headers... absolutely no backpreasure and i have those exact headers... i baught em ceheap thats the only reason lol thought somone custom fabed a pair or somethin lol.

 

The pipes are 1 3/4" inside diameter each. The whole header is roughly 2ft. 6in. long at its longest point. What does R.E. stand for? My 7 is an '85 so I guess nothing had to be blocked off then huh?

Does anyone know where I could find a picture of the pacesetters to compare? Thanks for all the input!

 

so you don't know where they got them from originally? It's killing me not knowing where these things came from. I MUST FIND OUT!!!

 

What about Mind train? I have never seen their headers, bu i know they make some for the first gen.. anybody else?

 

They are pacesetters. I just looked at the pic of them in Victoria British, and they even have that pointless metal piece coming off of them.

 

RE stands for rotary engineering they have not been around for a while early 90s I think, I had some of theirs a few years ago. pipe size was 2 inch though. and they were more like 2 ft long not 2 1/2 their hanger was on the collector if I am remembering right. so that puts them out. you may be better off finding out by exclusion. you now know they are not racing beat, mazdatrix, rotary engineering. so 3 down about 10 more to go

 

YEap, they are un-equal length headers. I have had them on my car in the past. I think after driving a RB headered car, RB is much better. But if you DO buy a pacesetter, somehow make it a equal length piping through faburucation. I used mine to make a long tube header for the bridgeport. That made a HUGE difference in high end power.

 

I would say there is a pretty good chance they are pacesetters. The people that had the car before were pretty ignorant about import cars. They probably just bought the first thing they saw, not caring if it was any good or not.

There was a kid at the house when I was picking up some parts for the car and he told me that it had a full Potenza race exhaust.

I"m like WTF?? I just got done cutting most of it off with a hacksaw. THE CENTERPIPE WAS PATCHED WITH A CAMPBELLS SOUP CAN!! If that is a Potenza race exhuast then I say to hell with it! lol

They obviously didn't know what they were talking about, so it wouldn't suprise me if they don't know how to shop for the right car parts either...

 

Yet another person telling you that they are Pacesetters, and I would like to point out that, if you have an SA, the "pointless" metal piece is positioned almost in the right spot to attach to the factory exhaust hanger on the side of the transmission.

Of course, if you do not have an SA, then the metal piece makes hard contact with the head shield instead. SA's didn't have that enormous Heat Shield of Doom underneath the car. No cats, you see.

By the way, where is thje collector? The Pacesetter came as a two-piece unit - the collector bolted on. Did you take it off with the rest of the exhaust? (Or did it not come with the car?) The Pacesetter's collector, incidentally, was sized and flanged to attach to an SA's heat exchanger, which works as an effective pre-silencer, actually. Damned restrictive one, though. (I eliminated it in favor of, ah, something else )

If you can fabricate a new collector, the Pacesetter really isn't that bad. The main problems are when you first install it, you have to redrill and reposition every single bolt hole because they are too small and in the wrong place. And then the collector is a pile of crap, there is a ton of excess metal where the two pipes converge and the exhaust gases have to go through a roughly 2" by 1" hole in the middle. Much grinding necessary. Unmodified Pacesetters have been dyno tested to lose 10hp over a stock manifold. (Engine dyno not some wimpy ricer-boy chassis dyno!)

The fact that it is thin wall doesn't seem to be a problem, in actuality, other than a bit of "ringing" heard through the pipe walls at idle. At least, I haven't managed to burn through a set yet, and the bluing from exhaust heat seems to keep them from rusting.

 

Yes, I believe I have the collector, but it is taken off right now. You are talking about the bolt on piece that changes the exhaust from two pipes to one correct? Bolts on with six bolts to the header?

I looked inside the collector and thought it looked pretty restrictive myself. There is a bunch of extra metal inside the collector that obviously is ruining the design. That is what made me wonder if someone made this thing themselves, because the collector looks like a piece of crap.

Can I grind out the excess metal on the collector to help the collector flow a little better? Also, my new $50 centerpipe doesn't fit because it is about 2 1/2" too long. Is it because of this crappy pacesetter setup? I was going to have the centerpipe cut to fit, and then welded back together. Do you think I should just wait and buy a RB header? I'm eventually going to get one and I'm guessing it is a different length correct? Meaning I would have to modify the centerpipe yet another time...

 

Also Pacesetter headers have to be ground down at the top near the intake if you are going to a aftermarket carb. setup!.

 

why is every body slagging custom headers. i know a guy in winnipeg who makes his based on a design from an ols SCCA spec7 racer who trialrd an errored untill he got it right. custom is not crap, and is often better than mass produced...if you go to the right guy!

 

I didnt see anyone "slag?" on custom headers, I wish I couldve built my own and saved some green$.!

 

ok with that info they have to be pacesetters.

 

Yes you definitely want to grind out the collector. It takes a *lot* of time to get it all out, though.

 

FYI- If you have Racing Beat headers, there is an "RB" cut into the mounting plate that attaches to the engine. The tubes seemed bigger on the RB, as well...

 

save for some RB headers.... please do that for yourself.... save so much time.....

just sell those headers on ebay... $30 for the startingbid... lol... then you will be $30 closer....



Thanks, Laterz, Andrew