mightyram50.net

Anyone have any words of wisdom about Pace Setter Headers for 79-85 d50's.

I am thinking about ordering a set to fix a problem I have with my stock exhaust header.

They are okay, but far from the best. Doug Thorley made a Header that was top notch; contact them to see if they are still available. I got 1 from them last year for 220 shipped, i think. It is industrial chrome plated and is a beauty to look at; but more importantly, it is tuned to the torque peak of a 2.6, unlike the pace-setter that is tuned for the horsepower peak.

Thanks for the reply, I'm not changing it for the looks just functionallity. (I.E. Get the truck back on the road)

it might be worth your while to weld the flange to the bottom of the collector and i sanded off the crappy pacesetter paint and repainted with high temp stuff. also the mikuni carb requires an O2 sensor so you also have to weld that in. I also recommend deburing the inside of the exhaust manifold side flange. It's pretty rough certainly enough to slow down flow. all this might feel a bit like polishing a turd but i think it will be worth your while.

good luck

Also be sure the mounting flange is fairly flat where the flange meets the exhaust ports. If they are not, either use permatex ultra copper gasket maker on both sides of the gasket, or grind the flange smooth enough to seal. If you grind too much, the pipe will not be sealed to the flange, and it will need to be welded up to seal. I have an earlier version that had better welds that I could grind flat without leaking, and I used only permatex copper, no gasket. No leaks at the flange for 20+ years.