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- 70-81 F-Body, 2nd Gen Firebird/Trans Am
70-81 F-Body, 2nd Gen Firebird/Trans Am
Pontiac V8 70-81 F-Body, 2nd Gen Firebird/Trans Am
Room to Work — 70-81 F-Body, 2nd Gen Firebird/Trans Am for Pontiac V8s
The 1970-81 Firebird and Trans Am is the easiest Pontiac chassis to get a full-length header into, which is why it gets the widest tube selection. The second-gen subframe leaves room for primaries from 1 3/4" all the way to 2", so here the limit is your engine and your heads, not the car.
Butler stocks Doug's Headers four-tube full-length sets for 326-455 second-gen cars in D-port and round port, in black painted, metallic ceramic and all-stainless, plus Hooker Headers Super Competition long tube sets.
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More About 70-81 F-Body, 2nd Gen Firebird/Trans Am
1. The one clearance rule on this car
The second-gen car is forgiving compared to a 67-69, but it is not unconditional.
| Detroit Speed hydroformed subframe | Doug's states plainly that the 1 3/4" D-port set will not work with a Detroit Speed hydroformed subframe. If your car has been through a modern front-end conversion, confirm the subframe before you order any full-length header. |
| Year split inside the 2" sets | the 1 3/4" and 1 7/8" sets are listed for the full 70-81 run, but the 2" round port header is listed for 400-455 engines in 70-74 cars only. Late second-gen cars are not in that fitment. |
| Starter and steering | as with any long tube on a Pontiac, plan on pulling the starter and working from underneath. These are 4-tube full length headers, not shorties. |
2. Tie the primary tube to the engine
This is where most people overbuy. A bigger primary only pays if the engine can fill it.
| 1 3/4" D-port, 3" collector | the default for a 326-455 running factory-shape D-port heads on the street. Keeps exhaust velocity up at the rpm a street Pontiac actually uses. |
| 1 7/8" round port, 3 1/2" collector | Doug's lists its 70-81 round port sets specifically for Edelbrock heads. This is the pairing for an aluminum-head street or street/strip 400-455. |
| 2" round port, 400-455 | the big-cube, big-cam, high-rpm option, and only for 70-74 cars. A 2" primary on a mild 350 or 400 costs you low-end response. |
3. Coating: raw, ceramic or stainless
All three finishes share the same core construction, so this is a cost and longevity decision rather than a power decision.
| Black painted or raw | Doug's standard headers arrive raw, pre-polished, ready for your own paint or coating. Black painted versions are paint and offer no thermal benefit. |
| Metallic ceramic | polished to a high luster and rated by Doug's for corrosion and heat resistance up to 1400 degrees. A second-gen car with the factory shaker and a tight engine bay benefits from keeping that heat in the tube. |
| All stainless | the buy-once answer for a driven car, in both the 1 3/4" D-port and 1 7/8" round port patterns. |
4. What is in every set
| Doug's construction | 3/8" thick machined flanges that resist warping, CNC mandrel-bent tubes, heavy 16 gauge tubing, and precision-formed long transition collectors. |
| Hooker Super Competition | long tube design with 5/16" machined flanges, tuned-length primaries, lighter 18 gauge mandrel-bent tubing, and all mounting hardware included. |
| What you still need | header gaskets, bolts and an exhaust to bolt to. A crossmember-back system built for 70-74 or 75-81 F-body picks up behind the collector. |
Call the shop with your head casting and your cam if you are torn between 1 3/4" and 1 7/8". We have put a lot of these on second-gen cars and the right answer usually comes down to head flow and where the engine makes its power.
Not sure what your Pontiac needs?
Call our tech team at 866-762-7527. Tell us your engine, heads, car, and power goal, and we will put the parts together as one combination that works.