I did the driverside from the top and the passenger side from the bottom, it wasnt to bad once we got the car high enough.

Yes you can do it in your driveway, the mids should be easier too. Took me 2 days of working on it about 10 hours total, but I also had a friend helping me that put Pacesetter long tubes on his car about a year ago so it wasnt bad

 

dude, you can do this in your driveway with hand tools, I did it myself and I'm an idiot, as many on this board know

I installed midlength headers(AS&M) and a ypipe, in my driveway, pretty much the first "real" mod I did.

All you need is to get a jack and jackstands, you can definately get it high enough without a lift.

It's not a really technical job, just time consuming. All you do is take stuff off, and put it on. Only thing you can really F up bad is if you crossthread or strip your head threads, but jsut be extra careful and you'll be OK.

I'd recommend doing a OVTC wire setup and new plugs while your there. Also, I used stage 8 locking bolts with felpro gaskets, no leaks for 3 years.

Some other issues you may run to is the steering shaft rubbing the primary, if that happens you'll have to play with it to get it to fit. Worst case scenario is i used a grinder and took off a little off the shaft.


Any questions feel free to ask, you can PM me if you want since I've been there done that.

Brian

 

I've done it several times on V6s without issue.
I've dont it once on a V8 (LT1) and well ...

I did it on jackstands, no need to remove the engine (although that may have made it easier)
Just lift it up as high as the floor jack will go. High enough to roll under and still move your arms.
I did a lot of my undercar work with my legs under the trans to get a better angle.

It wasn't easy and my arms were all cut up when I was done. Didn't lose too much blood.
Drench all of the bolts with lube the night before you start, I used WD40 (there are plenty of others that work as well or better)
Getting the passenger side off was the hardest part, I was under the car holding a ratchet on the bolt while someone above pushed it with a long stick. Took a good 40 min to get that last one off.
The gaskets leaked, so I replaced them with felpros (don't waste your time with the ones they give you, felpros are not expensive and they will save you 4 hours of reinstalling gaskets)
I took the valve cover off to fit the drivers side in and didn't put the gasket back on right. Oops, oil leak down the back of the block.
I took the dipstick off to get the header on the passenger side.
Bolting up the passenger side is kinda tough unless you have a good assortment of tools. I used a ratchet with a universal and some extentions.
The A.I.R. tubes were a bitch to get back in, needed a 22mm (?) box end wrench and a swear jar for that one.

Running open headers to the shop to get the Y pipe altered to fit was kinda fun Probably should have ordered the correct Y pipe in the first place

I melted wires 6 and 8 on the headers and ended up replacing them.
I'm going to convert to OTVC as soon as I get out of the dog house and have money to spend on the car again.

Looking back on it, I should probably have just paid someone to do it.
But it was a great learning experience.

If I can make one suggestion: have a friend nearby.
Not so much to help as to keep you motivated and laughing when you get so stressed that you think about putting it all back the way it was.

 

did it all myself in under 2 hours.

 

Right it takes almost that long to remove the stock exhaust manifolds

 

was the motor out of the car?

 

how much do they cost to install at a shop?

 

Too much. I was skeptical about doing my LTs. But 12 hours later.....and alot of patience it was done. And I saved myself probably $600

 

Thanks for all the replies guys. I'm finding all of this extremely helpful. I'm glad to hear this is something I can do within a week or so on and off in my own driveway. This is a mod i've been holding off on, but I feel the time is nigh. Hawk, I did all of my plugs and wires in November, I believe. Would you still recommend that I do all of that while im in there? Trust me, I'll pm a few of you guys if I think I could benefit from more answers. Thanks!

 

My LS1 was cake. My last LT1 I had was slightly more of a challenge. They where shorties and went in thrue the top.

 

Sh**... I would have paid $600 to save myself the annoyance


LS1 guys do have a bit of an advantage here, due to the narrower block. Gives an extra inch or 3 of space.

 

I installed mine through the top, my Pacesetter LT's... but I guess that's because the heads were off anyway lol took like.. 30 seconds to slide them in.. and about 5 hours to get the heads on, plugs in, wires on, headers bolted up, and intake on and all wired up.

 

I'd say if your wires and plugs look good, keep them no need to change em.

Oh, one more thing, the dipstick will have to be removed to get the headers in. Getting that back in is a PITA and a half. Your going to probbaly have to buy a new dipstick and bend it so it fits, or do what I did and buy a lokar flexible dipstick and put it in. You'll know what I'm talking about when your doing it, haha.

 

Honestly, I think the weekend project cost me that much in faction points with the wife. On the other hand, "saving" $600 allows me to justify buying rockers, custom headrests and some other toys

 

Its definitely something you can do in your driveway. I had to jack the car up pretty high to get one of the long tubes in from the bottom, but I also put up an extra pair of jack stands and a bunch of blocks incase the car came down it would have something else to fall on other then me. Plus, shops charge a pretty good buck to do that kind of job.