Has anyone swapped their headers for manifolds? Sound related question.

[Dino]

I have some rusty headers on the 440 and beside the fact that it's hard to reach anything in the engine bay with those things on, I'm also starting to have mixed feelings about the sound it makes. 

I have always loved headers for their added hp and their wild roar, but man it's getting pretty hard to sneek out of my subdivison early in the morning and I know I must be waking up a few people.  This thing is loud!

Yesterday I got stuck in traffic.  Weather was awesome so I had all the windows down and after a while the loud idle started to get on my nerves, people around me were probably looking the other way.

What happens to the sound when I swap the headers for manifolds?  Again I love the rumble but I wouldn't mind if it would quiet down just a little.

Would I be losing any performance with an almost stock 440?  Would I care since I run 2.96 gears anyway?
Oh and what's the difference between manifolds and hp manifolds?  How do I know what I'm looking at when I see manifolds on CL?

If you did the swap or went the other way, what are your thoughts on the matter?

[404NOTFOUND]

I had hp manifolds and found it harder to change the plugs than with headers. This was with both straight and angle plug heads. Noise levels were the same regardless, too loud for all the reasons you mentioned. Lots more power with the headers. The problem was the Flowmaster mufflers, not the headers. Now running headers with Ultraflow mufflers. I can now make as little or as much noise as I want.

[Troy]

I don't think the headers are necessarily the cause of the noise. I'd be looking at pipes and mufflers. The factory HP manifolds do make it a pain to reach a couple of the plugs - but the headers make it harder to reach the starter. Nice HP manifolds are expensive.

Troy

[Paul G]

How old are the mufflers? Mufflers can deteriorate with age.  The insides go bad and they get loud. Headers are only slightly louder than iron manifolds, unless they are rotted out too. Usually headers will make a "ting" sound. Not a bad sound.

[Dino]

Hmm very interesting.  Looks like manifold is not the way to go, I'm glad I asked!   

The mufflers are old, I don't know how old but they could stand a replacement I'm sure.  When I'm cruising it gets pretty quiet, not modern car quiet but decent.  At idle it's a rocket ship though.  Very cool when you want to show off, not so much when you try to get out of your subdivision before sun up.

I'll look into new mufflers, I hear nothing but good about the ultraflows so I'll go that route.  The headers are not going to last forever, they look pretty rusty now.  Don't think I have the ting sound yet though but having one leak is not helping either.

When I swap the mufflers should I do the pipes as well or can I keep those as long as they're in good shape?

[440]

What sort of exhaust exits do you have Dino, do they run the full length of the car straight out the back, or dump down just before or after the rear end?

[Dino]

What sort of exhaust exits do you have Dino, do they run the full length of the car straight out the back, or dump down just before or after the rear end?

All the way back.  Looking at the pipes they do look ready to vaporize and it seems the ds tip clamp is not really holding that sucker on anymore!

This is what it sounds like, leaky header and all.

http://s1207.photobucket.com/albums/bb477/Dino-69/1969%20Dodge%20Charger/?action=view&current=Charger013.mp4

[440]

My guess is the packing in the mufflers is gone. Installing an x pipe will also mellow it out some. I'd keep the pipes you have unless they look like they are leaking and have holes in them. Often times you can see leaks by a grayish black soot build up around the pin hole.

[Dino]

My guess is the packing in the mufflers is gone. Installing an x pipe will also mellow it out some. I'd keep the pipes you have unless they look like they are leaking and have holes in them. Often times you can see leaks by a grayish black soot build up around the pin hole.

I need to look up sound clips so I can figure out what I want.  I love the deep rumble and I do love the way it idles, I just need to be able to turn the volume down a bit.

I'll check for pinholes.

[404NOTFOUND]

My guess is the packing in the mufflers is gone. Installing an x pipe will also mellow it out some. I'd keep the pipes you have unless they look like they are leaking and have holes in them. Often times you can see leaks by a grayish black soot build up around the pin hole.

I need to look up sound clips so I can figure out what I want.  I love the deep rumble and I do love the way it idles, I just need to be able to turn the volume down a bit.

I'll check for pinholes.

It's not a Mopar but, there's a guy on U Tube that made a video of his red '70 Chevelle big block with Flowmaster mufflers and also another video of his car coming out of the shop with Ultraflows. Nothing like hearing the same car back to back with both brands. It was the best comparison I could find. Have a look. Those videos are easy to find.