Previously, I had long tube hedders on my coupe and I knew I wanted my new hedders NOT to be too close to the ground. The natural choice was ‘shorty’ hedders. After exhaustively investigating the choices (brand, tube diameter, material, special application etc) I decided on JBA stainless shorties for a 351W in a ’65-66 body.
Upon removal from the box the first thing I noticed was the obvious quality and workmanship. I paid $545 which included shipping and they are worth it. Thick, 3/8” flange plates, 14 gauge 1 5/8” dia primary tubes, Firecone merge feature and a bell/socket-style collector. I did have to grind a couple of cast tabs on the OEM block to allow the hedders to seat completely on the heads. This may have been a problem due to the aftermarket aluminum heads I chose. I can’t say if this clearance problem would happen with OEM iron heads but who uses those?
Deciding on an H-pipe was much simpler, I looked at the JBA stainless 2 ½” dia. two-piece model recommended for my new hedders/application. Again, a high quality, well-engineered piece that fit perfectly and was easy to install. The only issue with the H-pipe is the driver side is about 1”+ longer than the passenger side. I don’t know why this is the case and it became an issue when I went to install the rest of the system. Delivered price: $190
At this point I was pretty sure I was going to use JBA for the remainder of my exhaust system even though I had been shopping for mufflers separately. Again, I turned to the JBA catalog and ordered the all-stainless steel side exiting exhaust with cherry bomb-type in-line mufflers. Here is where the H-pipe length became a problem. I installed the mufflers and pipes as instructed and found the driver side pipe that is supposed to exit the underbody in front of the rear wheel interfered with the front traction bar bracket where the passenger side did not. The obvious solution was to cut off about 1” which I did later. The fitment question that is NOT addressed in the JBA catalog is this system is not compatible with subframe connectors. To clear the subframes, the mufflers have to be angled downward front-to-back and in my opinion do not look right and are too close to the ground when installed. I returned them to the seller for a full refund less shipping.
The final piece of the build puzzle was the JBA full, over-the-axle with mufflers system. Delivered price: $436. The system is all stainless, well made with quality materials and it fits like it should. All universal mounting hardware and clamps are included. I used some of the clamps and modded the hangers for my installation. I did use several stainless band clamps by Dynomax. They are VERY sturdy and exert tremendous holding power on the pipes. About $14/each.
Upon removal from the box the first thing I noticed was the obvious quality and workmanship. I paid $545 which included shipping and they are worth it. Thick, 3/8” flange plates, 14 gauge 1 5/8” dia primary tubes, Firecone merge feature and a bell/socket-style collector. I did have to grind a couple of cast tabs on the OEM block to allow the hedders to seat completely on the heads. This may have been a problem due to the aftermarket aluminum heads I chose. I can’t say if this clearance problem would happen with OEM iron heads but who uses those?
Deciding on an H-pipe was much simpler, I looked at the JBA stainless 2 ½” dia. two-piece model recommended for my new hedders/application. Again, a high quality, well-engineered piece that fit perfectly and was easy to install. The only issue with the H-pipe is the driver side is about 1”+ longer than the passenger side. I don’t know why this is the case and it became an issue when I went to install the rest of the system. Delivered price: $190
At this point I was pretty sure I was going to use JBA for the remainder of my exhaust system even though I had been shopping for mufflers separately. Again, I turned to the JBA catalog and ordered the all-stainless steel side exiting exhaust with cherry bomb-type in-line mufflers. Here is where the H-pipe length became a problem. I installed the mufflers and pipes as instructed and found the driver side pipe that is supposed to exit the underbody in front of the rear wheel interfered with the front traction bar bracket where the passenger side did not. The obvious solution was to cut off about 1” which I did later. The fitment question that is NOT addressed in the JBA catalog is this system is not compatible with subframe connectors. To clear the subframes, the mufflers have to be angled downward front-to-back and in my opinion do not look right and are too close to the ground when installed. I returned them to the seller for a full refund less shipping.
The final piece of the build puzzle was the JBA full, over-the-axle with mufflers system. Delivered price: $436. The system is all stainless, well made with quality materials and it fits like it should. All universal mounting hardware and clamps are included. I used some of the clamps and modded the hangers for my installation. I did use several stainless band clamps by Dynomax. They are VERY sturdy and exert tremendous holding power on the pipes. About $14/each.
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