Need info on a 510 Stahl Header

[racerdave98]

I'm a newbie to this forum. I have a Stahl header with the part number 596-174. Since Stahl is out of business I can't seem to find anything on the web about this part. I need to know if it will fit my 510 with an L18 engine. I'm thinking it's for an L20B which is 1" taller. Any help will be greatly appreciated.

[john510]

Even it if were for the L-20b it should fit.There's only one way to find out for sure.

[datzenmike]

I think ProFab in Aurora Oregon, (503) 678-2948 or  Stahl Headers by ACP, (717) 232-2800. (Greg) They may have bought all the dies and equipment. You could try there but I don't know what they know about old 510 headers.

 

The L20B is 2cm or 3/4" taller. I would stick with the stock cast iron header.

[racerdave98]

Thanks for the info. This is a Vintage Racer so the stock header is out of the question even though they work almost as well as most after market cheap headers.

 

[racerdave98]

On 9/3/2018 at 6:30 PM, john510 said:

Even it if were for the L-20b it should fit.There's only one way to find out for sure.

Just wanted to know before next season starts in case I need to be looking for one that would work.

[datzenmike]

Vintage racing doesn't allow stock parts?

[G-Duax]

There is a Nissan Motor Sports header on eBay........

[racerdave98]

10 hours ago, datzenmike said:

Vintage racing doesn't allow stock parts?

Sure you can run stock parts, but I'm looking for all the HP I can find. Stahl made the best header for the 510 and it made the most in HP gain.

[racerdave98]

4 hours ago, G-Duax said:

There is a Nissan Motor Sports header on eBay........

Thanks, I'll check it out.

[Stoffregen Motorsports]

The Stahl header was a good header back in the day. Having been a racer myself, I would be wary of using a header built for an L20B on an L16 or L18 in a race car. You're already going to be so low to the ground that bottoming out is going to be a problem.

 

You could always modify the header by bringing the collector up closer to the floor.

[racerdave98]

2 hours ago, Stoffregen Motorsports said:

The Stahl header was a good header back in the day. Having been a racer myself, I would be wary of using a header built for an L20B on an L16 or L18 in a race car. You're already going to be so low to the ground that bottoming out is going to be a problem.

 

You could always modify the header by bringing the collector up closer to the floor.

I agree, that's the reason I was trying to find out if this header will work on my L18. I raced MG Midgets for years and we couldn't buy the correct headers, so we would cut out about an inch of the down tubes. Can't do that with this header though. 

[Tedman]

FWIW, here's a link from the wayback machine to Stahl's site in 2006.  Looks like the 510 L20B header model #23 was only offered with 1 3/8" or 1 1/2"  tubing, while the 510 L16/L18 model #24 was also offered in 1 5/8" and 1 3/4".  You could probably get the L20 header made custom with larger tubing, but if yours has the larger tubing, that might be a clue. Or not.

 http://web.archive.org/web/20060504154930/http://www.stahlheaders.com:80/Frame New RR.htm

 

[racerdave98]

7 hours ago, Tedman said:

FWIW, here's a link from the wayback machine to Stahl's site in 2006.  Looks like the 510 L20B header model #23 was only offered with 1 3/8" or 1 1/2"  tubing, while the 510 L16/L18 model #24 was also offered in 1 5/8" and 1 3/4".  You could probably get the L20 header made custom with larger tubing, but if yours has the larger tubing, that might be a clue. Or not.

 http://web.archive.org/web/20060504154930/http://www.stahlheaders.com:80/Frame New RR.htm

 

Thanks a bunch. I did do some rough measuring from the exhaust stud to the bottom of the comp oil pan and I think this header is going to be fine. I plan on pulling the engine out after my next race and then I'll know for sure.

Thanks for all the input I received from the guys on this forum.

[Stoffregen Motorsports]

On 9/5/2018 at 11:47 AM, racerdave98 said:

I agree, that's the reason I was trying to find out if this header will work on my L18. I raced MG Midgets for years and we couldn't buy the correct headers, so we would cut out about an inch of the down tubes. Can't do that with this header though. 

Anything can be done. It's just a matter of how far back you make the cut.

 

Let us know how it works out.

[racerdave98]

On 9/7/2018 at 10:36 AM, Stoffregen Motorsports said:

Anything can be done. It's just a matter of how far back you make the cut.

 

Let us know how it works out.

Looks like the header is for the L16 L18 engine. I measured from the exhaust stud to the bottom of the pan then compared that to the header and it looks like it will fit great. Thanks for your help.