Okay, the Blackjack headers that I had will not work. For one thing, they are not deep enough, so they don't clear the transmission crossmember. Also, surprisingly, even though they're Chevy headers, they don't clear the Chevy mounts. Rather than seriously mangle these headers to work, I think I'll put my money into either a set of Speedway Tru-Ram iron ramshorn headers, or a set of Sanderson QP1000 cast steel headers. The Tru-Ram's require 3.5" of clearance from the heads to the frame rails, and that might still be very tight. But looks like it would breathe better. The primaries are 1 13/16".
The Sanderson's only require 2.25" from the heads to the frame rails, but I'm not sure how well they'll clear the motor mounts. They look like they get awfully close. Primaries on those are 1 1/2" so they won't breathe quite as well, but also don't require a gasket.
I think if they'll fit, I'll get the Tru-Ram's. You can also get them in polished stainless steel, but way too expensive for that. I'll just get iron and ceramic coat them.
If there is any chance of a clearance issue with the frame rails, then I'll get the Sanderson headers.
It's really a bummer that the long-tube headers wouldn't work, but I think they would only work if I welded up my own custom set...so maybe someday, but it's not something I really want to mess with right now.
