Mike's 1973 D22 Complete tear out. From the Roof down!

[RockwoodMike]

My Hedders came today..Only the best for Rebecca!!

.38 thick flanges..14 gauge tubing..heavy duty!!

[Eyez Open]

I still have the itch for that type of header..chrome look.

[RockwoodMike]

https://www.holley.com/blog/post/header_finishes_how_to_choose_what_s_best/

The original headers that were on this were chromed..that burnt off..That shows how hot these things can get..

The ceramic coating should hold up better..Also these new ones have 14 gauge tubing..with .38 thick flanges.

Regular headers have 18 gauge and .31 thick flanges..

Yea, I paid a good price for this..but I think it is worth it..

[Eyez Open]

Agreed on the coating application, actually most of the conversation on quench/heat was founded on high heat and detonation.

Low compression smog motors generate huge amounts of heat energy. The first time I opened the dog house in my RV I couldn't believe the lack of circulation design. Big blocks only compound the issues.

I've seen thousands of posts acknowledging performance gains using headers. Which make no sense since historically headers scavenge exhaust at above 5000 rpm and then create hp/ energy.

All of the vapor lock issues, all of the cracked manifold's, abysmal mileage, and poor preformance...Once upon a time we called it lugging a engine..again night heat. Ever notice the gearing in a RV it's incredibly low, designed that way to makeup for combustion efficiency.

It's my opinion only headers aid in heat dissipation quite a bit. Well worth the investment and ceramic coatings insulate some of the heat from the engine bay...Oh and then there is that chrome look..lmao

[RockwoodMike]

With the ceramic coating and an engine that needs a cam break in, Hedman is recommending NOT to have these headers installed till after break in..Too much heat for the fresh ceramic coating..

They want you to use your old headers then switch them out after the break in..

Here is a couple of pictures of mounting the fuel pumps and filter..It sure is easy to do things in the frame and engine bay with no engine installed!! Also not having a floor in makes it easy too!

[Edmather]

Hi Mike, Thank you for posting these up, really helpful!

Ed

Pic 1-2..Doing the first section of glassing..About a foot wide..Takes about 1.5 pints of resin to lay it up..

Pic 3-4..Second section with about an inch overlap..

[RockwoodMike]

Hi Ed,

Here is some pictures of the original eyebrow piece..It was made just like the original walls..Aluminum skin..foam..wood skin..All glued together and then pressed..

All of the outside edge wood pieces were just gone from wood rot..That allowed water in everywhere..

Those aluminum cap pieces were there because of the attempted sealing with silicon..The screws that were there were gone because the wood was gone..

That is the story of this whole RV..All new walls..new roof..

But with the fiberglass, it will roll over the edges, where ever the wall meets the roof..And that will be the water seal..not the aluminum pieces..They will act as finish trim and not act as a water block..

[RockwoodMike]

It was too windy and cold to do any fiberglass work..Worked on the dash..cleaning it up..

Pic 1-2. this is what I have to work with..

Pic 3-4.. the center support was cut..I don't think I did that..Why would someone do that?  Gotta weld it back up..

[RockwoodMike]

Doing the welding and then the grinding

[RockwoodMike]

After welding, I just test fit back in the mounts..Everything good..

[RockwoodMike]

Sanded it all down and primed the inside and out