Sorry for yet another 355 header question. So I’ve finally put a deposit down on a 1997 Manual 355 Berlinetta. I don’t have my hands on it yet. It has the original headers which have passed recent testing. I may have the opportunity to replace them with second hand Tubi headers in good condition during the prep (for additional cost of course) I don’t have a money tree, but willing to invest if sensible. Do I change now or wait until the OEM headers become a problem? (there’s also a pair of used sports cats and Capristo exhaust available which I’m also in a dilemma about. But this is more frivolous)
Congratulations! I hope you enjoy it and that it gives you many years of motoring pleasure. You should replace them as soon as you can. The original headers will fail. Its not if, but when. The Capristo is a better sounding exhaust than the Tubi.
The original cats were part of the reason the headers would go bad - so switching to test pipes or sport cats could help prevent the issue in the first place. I believe my '95 with 56k miles has the original headers as there's no record of them being replaced in the last 20 years, but it was running test pipes and then sport cats for the majority of those.
I'd personally wait until your first engine out to swap. It's so much easier to have the job done correctly. If they do fail, then that accelerates your first engine out when you clean up all the former owner's issues.
I'd buy the manifolds, cats, and Capristo now. Drive a hard bargain to have them added to the deal at a low additional cost. And stash them away until your headers have trouble or you're doing an engine-out and it's super easy to change them. Yes, headers are a failure point on these cars. There are also huge numbers of 355's driving around on stock headers with no problems. My GTB has 39k miles and is still on the stock headers. There's no reason to change them unless, you know, they need to be changed. Pretty simple.
I know you are considering Capristo but I have a Tubi from my F355 for sale - put about 4000miles on it since new … PM me if interested !
Smoke tested mine for piece of mind, purchased replacements the next year and had them installed with engine out service.
Tubi headers are a must that should be considered right away when searching for an F355, for the reasons already mentioned. Then a twin chamber muffler, like the Capristo or Tubi Evolution should be added to replace the original single chamber muffler. Then free-er flowing cats or test pipes can possibly be installed. In the case of test pipes, they should not be used with a single chamber muffler. It all makes for a significant amount but well worth it in my opinion. I knew what I was digging into when I purchased my '96 and I replaced all of this right away (and replaced at the same time the poor stock radiators with full aluminium units).
I installed my Tubi headers on my 95 engine in. Really not that big a deal. Pretty much everything that is in the way is in the way with the engine out. The biggest problem was getting to some of the nuts on the top side. Between the shape of the headers, the air injection tubes and the engine itself, there are a couple you have to use your imagine to get back on. https://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/threads/question-on-removing-installing-headers.634319/
