Davis Step Headers???
 

Has anyone been in contact with Darrin Davis at Davis Step Headers? He has a set of headers that I've been waiting for him to ship and I have not been able to contact him for quite some time. If anyone has new contact info or health update??? please let me know. Thank you, Darrell Ciaravino (734)558-3295

Re: Davis Step Headers???
 

Join the club, i sent him a set of old headers 2 yrs ago, and a $1000 deposit guy ghosted me! tried calling wont answer sent text's wont answer. long story short he has my old headers and my $1000 and i have yet to see any of it back.
Aaron
Disinger

Re: Davis Step Headers???
 

Talked to him several years ago, but didn't go with him. Just lucky I guess. I bought an old set of Jack Davis step headers for my Max Wedge from Jerry Stein (Teachers Pet). Did some repairs on them and had them coated. When I put the motor on the dyno we used some step headers with 02 sensors. When finished I decided to put my headers on to see if I lost any power. The Davis headers had the same HP numbers and actually had more torque at higher rpm than the expensive stainless steel step headers. At least for my motor they did. Never know who may have an old set made by Jack Davis around.

Re: Davis Step Headers???
 

i spoke to him about a year ago and he said he was out of the header business.

Re: Davis Step Headers???
 

You cannot beat Stahl headers by ACP. Kerry bought Jere's business, and hired his fabricator, Greg Stump to operate it. Kerry and Jere were very close, Kerry is a racer and a businessman. If you buy from them, you get Jere's knowledge and passion, same as always.


https://www.acpheaders.com/

Re: Davis Step Headers???
 

I probably bought one of his last sets ever built for mine. Didn?t agree with his pipe size at the time but he was spot on. Still have his original set he built for me. REF headers out of Kingman Az cloned them due to age issues.

Re: Davis Step Headers???
 

Jere used to wear me out on data. He asked me for every dyno file I ran, on everything. We often disagreed, but always figured out what was happening. He used to go talk to Grump, and play back our conversations to him. Funny to know "Grump thinks you're fairly sharp", funnier to have Jere say "Bill said to tell you you're a dumb *****, you know better than that!" I'd give near anything to have more time with both. Jere eventually came my way on the value of the two step header over the one step, and true merge collectors.Took a couple of months to get him to see what I was saying about A/F ratio sensors. He taught me a bunch about camshafts, wanted to teach me more, asked me to go have classes with Harvey Crane. Not getting the chance to spend more time with them reminds me to try to spend more time with my mentor, Jimmy Bridges. Those guys and WJ are all a lot alike. Hard to get to know, coarse, and blunt. I've figured out that they just didn't spend time on "frills and dressings", they got to the point, and they had zero time for people who don't listen and think. People who didn't/don't like them have simply never been fortunate enough to actually know them.

Re: Davis Step Headers???
 

I had Davis Step Headers on my Max Wedge car and Jack was very helpful and the pipes were faster than the previous set of Hookers.

Jere Stahl is a legend and rightfully so but he was not the easiest guy to talk to.

Re: Davis Step Headers???
 

I spent well over an hour on the phone one night with Jere, he refused to believe my nearly 2 ton Chevelle with a 700HP 468 ran what it did with 1 3/4” primary tube headers. Jere was schooled that night!

That said, the step headers on my Firebird were built by Greg Holman aka REF Unlimited in Arizona who did an outstanding job.

Re: Davis Step Headers???
 

By you? LMFAO


Stan

Re: Davis Step Headers???
 

As usual, mr. desk top dyno, a nobody, a computer programmer, an old man who never raced and that no one here with a clue gives him, nor his malarkey the time of day, has decided again, to reply only to comment about me.

Pathetic!

Re: Davis Step Headers???
 

Jere Stahl was on a different intellectual level than most of us. He was brilliant.

Re: Davis Step Headers???
 

Agree in full. I'd put Jenkins in there too - believe it or not he was a bit easier to talk to and his explanations were easier to grasp, though more of a "I found this works well" more than applying proven theory.

Jere did a monumental amount of research. On one of my visits, he showed me notebook after notebook of what he'd gathered. Of course he used a dyno, but his main effort was in finding out everything about truly successful engines - whether drag racing, nascar, F1, any type.

From that data he developed his own formulae for what made horsepower. He knew exactly the best way to move air through an engine and thus his prominence in camshafts and exhaust.

He always insisted on things being exactly right and lost quite a few sales because of it. I know of at least 4 or 5 top level racers who backed away when Jere started asking them questions or sent them a form to fill out. A lot of them had no idea about the specifics of their engines he asked about, nor how to find out. He was not the type to pull parts off a shelf because they'd be good enough.

Re: Davis Step Headers???
 

Please the guy bent and welded pipe there's no one brilliant doing that for a living! :rolleyes:

Somehow drag racing and more specific header building has continue without him.

Re: Davis Step Headers???
 

No, it's continued because of him.

J.R.

Re: Davis Step Headers???
 

Stahl made a living out of header work as does Mark Lelchook, Calvin Elston , Greg Holman and many others. I hope they read your comments.
Maybe you can give us a class on what the header does for the engine efficiency and affect piping size has on the head at speed. Probably not.
Your lack of class towards racers and fabricators amazes me. Who would invest in your program reading this garbage?

Oh and Happy Thanksgiving.

Re: Davis Step Headers???
 

I could educate many here on headers as I did Jere!:p

Re: Davis Step Headers???
 

so, start a company and make people headers. talk is cheap.

Re: Davis Step Headers???
 

Not going to happen. I've stated before, that I would have to take a huge pay cut to provide any services for drag racers.

That said, Greg Holman built the headers in my Firebird and if I were to build another set, I'd have him build those too.

Re: Davis Step Headers???
 

First time I talked to Jere was in the mid 70's when I built my first flow bench. He was extremely helpful.
Fast forward to 1989 and I was building a Dyno cell. I called and he remembered me. He really helped with the design of the cell. (kept me from making mistakes) I got a large envelope with hand written notes and suggestions from him. He even drew up some dyno specific headers for the most common engines I ran. I guess we just clicked. He was always helpful. The last set of headers I got from him were for one of my best friends SBC Monza...were heck to put on, but worked well. The set of headers he did for my D/Gas Vette back in the mid 70's were the best on the car. I never found any headers that went down track as quick as his set did. I have often wondered how many guys like me there were scattered around the country that he helped out.

Re: Davis Step Headers???
 

Did you ever have any further communication with Jere after schooling him on headers?

Re: Davis Step Headers???
 

Adger,
There were a few. Jere helped several really fast guys, and made them even faster. I know he helped Holroyd, Wikle, Lynch, and a host of others. Like I said, Jere, Bill, and WJ, did not, (and in the case of WJ,do not) suffer fools gladly. But if you asked good questions, listened, paid attention, and did as they suggested, you could count on getting help and going faster.


Jere probably had more dyno data, and more information on dyno cells and equipment, than anyone in the country. That's actually how I became friends with Jere. Clark and Darrell had been helping me, so had Keith. Clark told me to get a set of headers from Jere for Kevin's car. I called Jere, and the questions began. After about 20 minutes of discussing the car and engine, he asked me how much dyno testing we had, and what the data looked like. I told him I had about 20 hours, and a ton of pulls. Next question was "how good was the data?" I immediately said "well, the cell is not ideal, and I'm not a great operator, I think my data only repeats within 2%-4% at best." He immediately said "you're the first SOB I ever asked that question who didn't tell me his dyno repeated to 1%". We set about ordering the headers, and Jere began calling me weekly, asked me to buy a recorder to record our conversations as he did. We talked very often until his health got really bad, and then I hated to call and bother him. He actually asked Kevin and me to buy the header company, but we were at NitroPlate at the time and Kevin felt it would not be a good idea.

Re: Davis Step Headers???
 

I did, he called me to discuss my headers again as he was building a set for a similar combo.

Re: Davis Step Headers???
 

Bullseye. He actually confided in me once that he'd fake not really understanding something (that he knew inside and out) and ask a person to explain it to him. If they passed and didn't just spout BS (mostly before we had trolls like the one here) then the conversation would begin.

He was the single person I had the most problems keeping up with while we were talking. And I was lucky enough to be in the position to talk tech with some of the giants and historic racers of the time. He was a firehose of information, things I'd never considered, and with concepts that were very different to what I'd come to believe. While it was still dawning on me he was exactly right, he'd be on to at least another factor or two. I always wanted to lie down and take a nap afterwards as it was mentally exhausting. Yes, a slight exaggeration on that but not about the incredible way his mind worked.

Re: Davis Step Headers???
 

They all needed shirts that said "Does Not Suffer Fools Gladly". My mentor Jimmy Bridges is like that, too. Men on a mission, they loved to teach, but had zero time for those who thought they knew more than they did, and refused to learn. One Monday after PRI, Jere called me, and asked "how in the Hell do you put up with _____", he had met a former associate of mine at the NitroPlate booth when he was looking for Kevin Cradduck and me.

Re: Davis Step Headers???
 

It's unbelievable to me that a non performance class racer can school Jere Stahl and believe he did. This takes the cake. Delusional?

Re: Davis Step Headers???
 

Another pathetic old man, living in the past that no longer races and thinks his heros from back in the day are the end all that be all. WRONG!

I'm sure there a few old men today that are no longer competitive, running decades old headers built by Jere Meanwhile the majority of stock/super stock racers are running headers built by others and running quicker and faster than ever before including the 2024 Stock Eliminator National Champion!

Drag racing has move on long ago from Jere. Again, the guy cut, bent and welded tubing.

WJ too WAS the man in Pro stock until others came along that knew more then he was an also ran.

Re: Davis Step Headers???
 

ROFLMFAO.


WJ was outspent about 5:1, and decided to quit rather than go bankrupt. WJ invented all the DRCE stuff everyone uses to this day.

Re: Davis Step Headers???
 

Tell me something I don't know! Bottomline is WJ could not longer compete, the class passed him by, FACT!

Re: Davis Step Headers???
 

Why the repeated references to Stock/Superstock. You are NOT and never have been a Stock/Superstock racer and your .90 Firebird is NOT a superstocker.
You are a clown who no real class racer takes serious?Go Away

Re: Davis Step Headers???
 

El Douche is back again, aka imakehp aka Dave Kemblowski from DRR a pathetic old man that ain't ever done shyt on the track and no longer races, he had a reputation of being a hack with 1 reviewer referring to him as a "churlish slob" when he owned The Balance Shop in Cali and his only reason for posting on Class Racer is to bait me, having joined this forum on 1-14-24 with 20 of his current 23 posts commenting about me/my replies while he attempts to hide behind a computer screen, scared to own his comments. He's a self proclaimed billy badass that never got respect in the racing community and clearly was bullied in school with that last name.

Re: Davis Step Headers???
 

talk is cheap just like all of your other comments.

Re: Davis Step Headers???
 

that's all you got?

Another nobody who ain't done shyt on the track and who's only reason for replying to this thread is to comment about my replies.

Pathetic!

Re: Davis Step Headers???
 

1320,

Why the repeated references to Stock/Superstock. You are NOT and never have been a Stock/Superstock racer and your .90 Firebird is NOT a superstocker.
You are a clown who no real class racer takes serious

Re: Davis Step Headers???
 

El Douche is back again, aka imakehp aka Dave Kemblowski from DRR a pathetic old man that ain't ever done shyt on the track and no longer races, he had a reputation of being a hack with 1 reviewer referring to him as a "churlish slob" when he owned The Balance Shop in Cali and his only reason for posting on Class Racer is to bait me, having joined this forum on 1-14-24 with 21 of his current 24 posts commenting about me/my replies while he attempts to hide behind a computer screen, scared to own his comments. He's a self proclaimed billy badass that never got respect in the racing community and clearly was bullied in school with that last name.

Re: Davis Step Headers???
 

Good luck with that ! I tried to have a set built a few years ago after almost a year no headers just promises and missed deadlines and he had my money . I had to threaten legal action and contacted the local law enforcement in his city and that FINALY got my money back . I have heard some never did

Re: Davis Step Headers???
 

I also was deceived by Darren. I have taken it to civil court. I have contacted his local Police Department and will continue to work to resolve this issue. If you have paid for headers and never received them report it to your local Police Department and ask for the report to be forward to his local Police Department to initiate an investigation.



Best wishes,

Tony D'Angelo