Ultimate Headers 321 Stainless Steel Headers Now Available at Summit Racing

It’s not often something truly original comes along in header design, so it’s big news when we find something as cool as Ultimate Headers’ 321 Stainless Steel Headers. The company’s header rethink resulted in a design that provides the airflow of large primary tubes in a compact, space-saving design. Here’s how they did it.

Big Tubes in Tight Places
Ultimate Headers have stainless steel, investment cast elbows with a tighter radius than ordinary bent tubing. That allows the use of large 1 7/8 inch diameter primary tubes in a very compact design that hugs closer to the engine block and keeps the headers away from things like steering shafts and accessory mounting points. That makes Ultimate Headers perfect for engine swaps in vehicles with limited engine bay space.

The Ultimate Header Flange
Ultimate’s stainless steel header flanges were designed using Finite Element Analysis (FEA)—the same technique used to design parts for NASCAR and Formula One racing. The result: flanges that are lightweight but still provide enough clamping force to eliminate leakage. The ribbed reinforcements don’t just look good—they add strength and reduce warpage due to heat. That’s a big issue with thinner, weaker header flanges.

321 Stainless Steel Tubing
Ultimate makes its header tubes with 321 nickel/chromium/titanium stainless steel alloy. This titanium improves fatigue strength and reduces thermal cracking caused by high heat. Using 321 stainless steel also means you can use lighter thinner-wall tubing without compromising durability.

Other Ultimate Headers features include:
• ARP 12-point, 300 grade stainless steel bolts and washers
• Cometic MLS header gaskets
• TIG-welded on jig fixtures
• Choice of mill, satin, polished, silver ceramic, and black ceramic coat finishes

Ultimate Headers are available in full length, mid length, and blockhugger styles depending on the application. Summit carries headers to swap GM LS series engines in the following vehicles:
• 1923-40 street rod
• 1949-54 Chevy truck
• 1955-57 Chevy
• 1962-67 Chevy II/Nova
• 1964-72 GM A-body
• 1967-81 Camaro/Firebird
• 1963-82 Corvette
• 1967-72 Chevy/GMC C-series truck

We also have Ultimate Headers to slip a Ford Coyote 5.0L in 1964.5-70 Mustangs and Ultimate blockhugger headers to fit a Gen 1 small block Chevy into just about anything. Ultimate header flanges and low-profile exhaust clamps are also available.

SEE ULTIMATE HEADERS AT SUMMIT RACING