Take-7

1980 12a 5spd.
ok, so i'm getting ready to put on my road race RB header. before i do i have some questions though:
my header came with a separate "two into one" pipe that bolts to the header itself, can this replace the heat exchanger? that thing looks so enormous...

another question: when i remove the heat exchanger, does that little area behind the intake where the heat exchanger used to connect to need to be blocked off? i bought the block plate from RB just in case.

one more: can i get regular mandrel bent tubing to fit that existing piping that runs into the muffler? the OEM exhaust pipes look like an odd shape...
thanks guys, i can try to post up pics if you need it. here is a link to the header i bought, so you can see pics:
https://www.rx7club.com/showthread.p...ght=production

Take-7

Also, rb site says it fits all 79-85. But the street headers are year specific? huh?

t_g_farrell

iTrader: (1)

It has to because the heat exchanger originally bolts to the engine where
your header will now bolt up. The header you bought is called the RB SP header.
The two into one pipe is meant to let it hook up to a single pipe exhaust, quite
possibly the existing pipe that used to connect to the hear exchanger output.

Yes I think thats right if your still using the stock intake. After market intakes
cover that up usually.

Not sure if you still have stock exhaust components so its hard to say. Throw some
more pics up for us to ruminate over.

Take-7

road race header, definitely NOT the street header. look at the pics in the link, the seller assured me it was road race and came off his e production race car, furthermore, the header matches exactly the racing beat website's picture of the road race header, the "Y" pipe is an extra.

Take-7

oh and it is OEM exhaust from thermal reactor to muffler.

Take-7

are we talking about the same thing? you say the heat exchanger bolts up to the 12a right? i thought the piece connected to the 12a is called the thermal reactor (essentially a "exhaust manifold" on a piston engine) and then on down the exhaust line is the heat exchanger (essentially where the "cat" is on a piston motor) or is this entire assembly considered the "heat exchanging assembly" ??? my FAS shows them as separate components.

more questions: the header gasket i received from RB has two holes in the middle towards the top/bottom (depending how you hold it up), what do these do? here's the pic.
http://www.racingbeat.com/RX7-1975-1...ets/16305.html

t_g_farrell

iTrader: (1)

Yeah thats the same one. I was referring to the complete SP exhaust which uses
that header. Sorry for the confusion there.

t_g_farrell

iTrader: (1)

Its been 20+ years since I had one on my SA, I just consider them on big assembly.
Probably are 2 distinct parts but one can't work without the other and the air pump
of course.

That gasket is for a stock exhaust manifold where there are some extra holes
that come out of the exhaust port thru the sleeves to feed into the thermal
reactor. You can use it with a header and it will work fine because the header
flange will cover up those holes for you and the gasket will seal em up just as
well as a solid one will.

Take-7

Nice, so is the factory exhaust piping from the heat exchanger to the muffler a strange shape or is that just an illusion? It looks like it has flattened edges