I bought the ~$479 including shipping OBX headers off ebay.

I have a TIG in my garage, so I wasn't as scared as some might be with respect to having to modify these just to try them out. I still may fab crude heater boxes out of some flat stainless and thinwall stainless tubing just to see if I can add heat to them for a few bucks.

 

I have purchased a set of NA headers. My biggest complaint was the collector. This was obviously not a "Burns" collector. Fact, headers I fab have better collectors, but I'll have $400 + labor in mine and still not be 321. For a street car where every horsepower is not critical, I think the OBX will work for many.

 

I saw your pics of the N/A collectors, and I agree that they would require lotsa grinding/finishing to get the maximum out of them. The turbo collectors do not look as bad - I will get some pics posted possibly over this weekend.

 

I saw the pics on Pelican about these headers. I think I even posted to say I thought the welding was very poor...

 

kellcats, so the OBX units are true 321 are they? What do the welds look like? Good quality? What about around/inside the collectors? Decent?

How was the fit? Any issues, or straight bolt on?

 

Nathan,
Didn't see your pleasent remarks on Pelican. Hey I didn't make'em I just bought them. On fitment, I had no problems with my specific set.

 

Maybe I didn't post it as it may seem unkind, but they were my thoughts. Sorry.
But they are excellent value for money as long as no foreign objects damage the turbocharger on turbo applications. On a NA application it doesnt matter so much.
The welding on my GHL's look great (from the outside anyway ) but I purchased these from Stephen Kaspar of Imagine Auto. I think maybe he inspects stuff he buys and if they are not right he sends them back.

 

Having seen many sets of GHLs and B&Bs, I'd bet a years worth of paychecks that your ~$2K headers are not made any better than my $500 set. If you think that a level of 'personal service' is worth a 4x multiplier, that's great.

 

The only thing I don't like about my GHL's is that the flanges mating surfaces are not SS. Stephen tells me there is a technical reason for this. I think we both got what we paid for. Either of us could be wrong though. Time will tell I guess. Good luck with yours.

 

I think we agree to disagree.

 

Yeah. Hehehe

What we have in common is that we are both happy with our purchase.

 

If these really are OBX headers, then you probably can't beat the price.
I've been contemplating puting a set of headers on my '87 930 anyway, so maybe I'll just take the plunge. Fitment question: Any issue just bolting them up in place of the stock units (minus the heater boxes, of course)? The pictures look like everything will marry-up with the turbo and wastegate. I'm not running a catalytic converter and have a Fabspeed single outlet muffler. Any issues with cross-over pipes or such things that I may need to know???

 

Mark,
Be careful when you bolt the headers to the exhaust ports. I bought Schnele's and the flanges were thinner than the OEM. It is easy to over torque the nuts and then snap off the stud if the threads run out before the nut tightens on the flange. Nathan ran a die up his studs to lengthen the threads and that is the best way. I had mine all together when I discovered the problem so I used two or three washers on each stud. Also, don't tighten them up until you have every thing bolted together including the turbo. Also, be sure and put the two halves of the headers together BEFORE you bolt anything to the car. Ask me how I know this! You will need an oil pipe to replace the one that goes across, under the rear of the engine. It looks like they will give you the oil reservoir to fit under the turbo and you will need a line from there to the rear left side of the engine to the sump. You will have to remove the funky little tank and breather tube thats on your turbo now. Most outlets will supply you with these hoses at extra costs that will fit the fittings already on your car. The tube I bought from Performance went in front of the engine under the transmission to the tank. Some people use stainless hosing but I think the shaped tube looks a lot better. You should also order twelve new copper nuts for the studs. The barrel nuts won't work anymore so you couldn't use them anyway. If you have any probs just fire up the Renn forum and we'll help you.

 

I got a new oil line hose (goes from engine case to oil thermostat in wheel arch) with my GHL's but my car already had one fitted from a previous owner who had a Powerhaus engine fitted in the car. I sold this new line to Miles965, a fellow rennlister who needed it for his 964T 3.6
I sold it because I prefer the solid lines. If you want solid lines instead of a Aeroquip type hose then you need to buy the 2 genuine Porsche lines from the early cars that came from the factory with the shorter headers. pre 1974 IIRC.
I'm thinking it is alot easier to fit the flexible Aeroquip type hose though.
The reason Miles need it for his 964T was that his had corroded away...

 

Thanks Rudy (and Nathan). This sounds straight-forward. I'm a good wrencher and can be innovative when necessary. The only thing bothering me is finding the right hoses/pipes, etc. that will mount up correctly.
Do either of you have a source for the Aeroquip type flexible hoses. In my mind, flex is a good thing....sometimes anyway. Thanks again.