no more backfiring, header gaskets changed

[dsmith]

Last week I had asked if anyone had any advice regarding changing header gaskets in an ERA 427 with a 428 motor. Didn’t get a lot of responses and thought I would pass along some of the knowledge gained during my procedure.
First, let me thank Bob at ERA for supplying me with a quality pair of gaskets.
At first I had a difficult time finding gaskets and finally settled for Fel-Pro (Byson told me they do not make a header gasket for the 428). The Fel-Pro models that I had ordered came with bolt holes in the sides as well as the tops (the individual tube headers only have mounting studs top and bottom) and they looked like they would be prone to either leakage or blow out at those points. Bob was able to supply with gaskets that they custom make for their turnkey 428 instillations – bolt holes only on the top and bottom. They worked perfectly. - This is NOT a job that you want to have to do twice because you tried to save a few bucks

My first suggestion is to find someone that will allow you to use their lift. The only time I spent crawling on the ground was to set the pads on the frame. The rest of the job was done in a civilized manner. Access to the bottom header tube bolts is wide open with the starter posing the only minor obstruction.

Removed the heat shield and then began to anylize the situation. Taking the plug wires off is recommended. Remove all of the header to collector fastening tabs (All of the bolts that the previous owner had installed for the header to collector tabs were of substandard quality. I replaced all of them with hardened bolts.)

Following the instructions in the manual for removing the rear driver side tube proved problematic at first. I had purchased a wrench at Sears and bent it at the 40 degrees recommended in the ERA manual, However, the wrench I bought had more offset in it than the one ERA uses and it would not work. While fretting over the situation, I had a brainstorm. Removal of the other header tubes would allow access to that tube from the side.
I set about removing the side pipes and found it all but impossible. My son was able to help me and he supported the pipes while I took the bolts out and then worked each individual tube free starting at #2, then 3 and then 1. I then remounted the sidepipe and proceeded to tackle the #4 header tube. With access from the side, the top bolt was a cinch. The sidepipe and the #4 tube were removed from the car as a single unit.
Everything was cleaned and then remounted in exactly the opposite order. Naturally, getting the bolt on the top for tube #4 was a bit of a problem, but patience and a little fussing got it started and tightened without much of a problem. I locked #4 down tight and only snugged the rest of the tubes. The sidepipe was re-installed, the tabs bolted, and then the rest of the tubes were tightened… and the heat shield put back in.

The passenger side was a lot less time consuming. Removal of the heat shield was once again required. I disconnected the battery and rotated it 90 degrees to gain additional clearance and removed the plug wires. The same procedure was followed and it went quite quickly.

If one of the tubes does not want to come apart, move onto the next – as long as three come off, the fourth may be removed while still attached to the sidepipe.

I drove that car for about 30 miles and then put it back up on the lift to retighten the bolts, most were good, but a couple needed a tweak.

Took the car to Limerock on Sunday for the car show (about 125 miles roundtrip) and she never skipped a beat. That persistent backfire is a thing of the past. I must say, however, that I kind of miss the flames shooting out of the pipes, especially at night.

Thanks to everyone that helped with their answers to my post and I hope this is helpful to anyone that needs to tackle the job in the future.

smith