Harrison's on the Road!.... but that exhaust.....

[Bulletproof250]

Horray, horray! I's a fantastic day here in the northeast, weather's beautiful, and I'm on the road with my F250 after about a month from the time I acquired her.

OK, so it's on the road and already showing me the things she'll need in the near term. several little things like brakes, Carb tune, Slave cylinder, but the real question is what am I going to do with that exhaust! My idea has a bit more enthusiasm, than sense. I'm imagining a set of headers, and some short runs of pipe to cherrybomb-ish, or glass-packs, exiting before the rear wheels but maybe at the cab corner.

So I'm curios what the Bullnose Forum crew has for recommendations on Headers, not some much on the performance realm, but more about best fit. I've had headers on a '78 F150, and man those things never seemed to fit well. I was imagining that some short-tube type might allow for some fabrication of one-piece tubes to the glass-packs Mating to the headers with the collector flange

Or if someone has done this already, I'd love to see some Pics.

 

[Gary Lewis]

Congrat's!!!!! That's such a GOOD feeling when you get it on the road, even if there are more problems needing to be fixed.

On the exhaust, my experience with headers is not good. I have L&L's, which are probably the most expensive ones you can buy, on Big Blue - and they do NOT fit. I'm not planning to run them on Big Blue nor Dad's truck.

Plus, I don't like the glass packs that are on Big Blue. The sound is not pleasant, especially when towing. So I'm going back with Magnaflows.

[Rembrant]

I went with a set of BBK shorty headers on my 302. I'm a big fan of the shorty headers personally. They fit well, look great, and you can still run duals in similar routing as the stock single exhaust. I think a couple very important notes are:

A.) Buy good header gaskets...don't use anything cheap or generic, or not proven. I was told to use Remflex 3028 header gaskets by a couple pro engine builders, and it turned out to be very good advice. They've been great so far.

B.) Use good bolts, and make sure they are long enough. Header bolts came with my BBK headers but they were too short @ 3/4". I bought a set of ARP 1" bolts and they worked great.

Short pipes with dumps behind the cab or in front of the rear axle wouldn't be my thing, but I know lots of guys do like 'em that way. I tried a short exhaust and I found the drone in the cab too much to handle, so I ended up running full duals out the rear corners behind the rear wheels with Magnaflow mufflers, and I love the sound of it. Nice rumble, but quiet when cruising.

To each his own though, some guys like 'em loud! I have an annoying case of tinnitus, so I can't deal with 'extra' noise as much as I used to;).

[Bulletproof250]

I went with a set of BBK shorty headers on my 302.

I like the look of those and it looks very open to fabricating the exhaust system. I do love the sound of Magnaflows, I might consider those. I will admit that i don't plan too do too much, if any, long-distance drives. I found a set of 351w headers for a 351 swap into.. anything? Are these what you have in your truck?

What would I use for collectors to start my build with? any directions?

[ArdWrknTrk]

I went with a set of BBK shorty headers on my 302.

I like the look of those and it looks very open to fabricating the exhaust system. I do love the sound of Magnaflows, I might consider those. I will admit that i don't plan too do too much, if any, long-distance drives. I found a set of 351w headers for a 351 swap into.. anything? Are these what you have in your truck?

What would I use for collectors to start my build with? any directions?

Notice how Rembrandt's drivers side collector flange ends ahead of the #8 exhaust port?

With 4x4 and manual you have to be careful that the head pipe doesn't need a sharp kink to clear the front drive shaft and doesn't cook the plastic slave or its line.

[Bulletproof250]

Notice how Rembrandt's drivers side collector flange ends ahead of the #8 exhaust port?

With 4x4 and manual you have to be careful that the head pipe doesn't need a sharp kink to clear the front drive shaft and doesn't cook the plastic slave or its line.

Thank again Jim,

This is exactly my concern of fitment, I had to go 3 different sets on my '78 before I got a set that would fit decently

I'm not sure of my transfer case but I know the Dana 44 Front and the T18 Trans.

Good thinking on the Plastic Line, has anyone had this problem?

Is it easy enough to make it up with a steel line?

[Gary Lewis]

Notice how Rembrandt's drivers side collector flange ends ahead of the #8 exhaust port?

With 4x4 and manual you have to be careful that the head pipe doesn't need a sharp kink to clear the front drive shaft and doesn't cook the plastic slave or its line.

Thank again Jim,

This is exactly my concern of fitment, I had to go 3 different sets on my '78 before I got a set that would fit decently

I'm not sure of my transfer case but I know the Dana 44 Front and the T18 Trans.

Good thinking on the Plastic Line, has anyone had this problem?

Is it easy enough to make it up with a steel line?

I thought most shorty headers were designed to replace stock manifolds, meaning stock exhaust systems will bolt up to them. Is that not the case?

[ArdWrknTrk]

Notice how Rembrandt's drivers side collector flange ends ahead of the #8 exhaust port?

With 4x4 and manual you have to be careful that the head pipe doesn't need a sharp kink to clear the front drive shaft and doesn't cook the plastic slave or its line.

Thank again Jim,

This is exactly my concern of fitment, I had to go 3 different sets on my '78 before I got a set that would fit decently

I'm not sure of my transfer case but I know the Dana 44 Front and the T18 Trans.

Good thinking on the Plastic Line, has anyone had this problem?

Is it easy enough to make it up with a steel line?

Alex, the way the line is held in with a flanged collar and roll pin is not going to be easy to replicate in metal.

A reflective heat shield and boot over the slave will help keep it from melting and cooking the fluid.

These came on some of the later diesel and 460's

I don't see why you couldn't put it on a Windsor.

I've posted pictures of it before and may even have a spare... "somewhere"

I'm back up to Greenwich now.

It seems you are in/close to New London? At least your machine shop is...

It is exactly 100 miles to the Fishers Island ferry dock from here but my brother lives north of Guilford.

Maybe I can figure something out, without making the 200 mile round trip for this alone.

 

[ArdWrknTrk]

I thought most shorty headers were designed to replace stock manifolds, meaning stock exhaust systems will bolt up to them. Is that not the case?

Gary, the BBK's appear to, but "shorties" just mean that they are not guaranteed to be equal length and generally end above the oil pan.

It's not like a cat back exhaust system where it is meant as direct replacement using stock hangers.

While I don't know much about how tight a 351W is in a Bullnose engine bay I do know that motor mounts, engine perches and transmission cross member are obstacles.

You can see from BB that clearance is always an issue.

[ArdWrknTrk]

I went with a set of BBK shorty headers on my 302.

I like the look of those and it looks very open to fabricating the exhaust system. I do love the sound of Magnaflows, I might consider those. I will admit that i don't plan too do too much, if any, long-distance drives. I found a set of 351w headers for a 351 swap into.. anything? Are these what you have in your truck?

What would I use for collectors to start my build with? any directions?

Gary, Alex,

Bruno/Brandon has headers on his 351.

IIRC he had a problem getting spark plugs to fit and had to find ones shorter than stock.

And was cooking starters.

Not sure if Whitey Jr is 4wd but I think he would have some valuable input on this thread.