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

[Gary Lewis]

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.

He and I've been texting this morn, while it rains cats and dogs, so I texted him a link.

[Rembrant]

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, as a general rule of thumb, most if not all of the SBF shorty headers available for these trucks are supposed to be able to bolt up to the stock Y-Pipes. Now...when I say available for these trucks, you will notice that most of them...if not all of them, are listed as only fitting 1986-1996, or 1987-1996. Not that the heads are different...but the manifolds and downpipes are. So...they will all fit a Bullnose just fine, but they may not fit the stock Y-Pipe.

There are tons of other SBF shorty headers available...but the angles they run don't work well with the trucks. The Foxbody Mustang ones for example point almost directly at the cab...but some people do make 'em work.

 

[Bruno2]

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.

I didn't have starter issues, but the changing spark plug issues was a tough one. I used Headman shorties. Not their cheapest though. It seemed #7 &8 were very tough to get to. There is barely enough room to get the plug socket on and an end wrench has to be used to turn it just enough to get it loose and the rest has to be done with fingers.

Forget about long tubes on these trucks. This is on my Bronco. I disliked the header set up so much that I decided to go with stock exhaust manifolds on my 82 F 150.

[Gary Lewis]

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, as a general rule of thumb, most if not all of the SBF shorty headers available for these trucks are supposed to be able to bolt up to the stock Y-Pipes. Now...when I say available for these trucks, you will notice that most of them...if not all of them, are listed as only fitting 1986-1996, or 1987-1996. Not that the heads are different...but the manifolds and downpipes are. So...they will all fit a Bullnose just fine, but they may not fit the stock Y-Pipe.

There are tons of other SBF shorty headers available...but the angles they run don't work well with the trucks. The Foxbody Mustang ones for example point almost directly at the cab...but some people do make 'em work.

Cory - Thanks. I've thought about shorties for Big Blue, but finding them for an EFI'd 460 is proving difficult.

Brandon - Thanks. Makes factory manifolds look inviting.

[ArdWrknTrk]

Gary, as a general rule of thumb, most if not all of the SBF shorty headers available for these trucks are supposed to be able to bolt up to the stock Y-Pipes. Now...when I say available for these trucks, you will notice that most of them...if not all of them, are listed as only fitting 1986-1996, or 1987-1996. Not that the heads are different...but the manifolds and downpipes are. So...they will all fit a Bullnose just fine, but they may not fit the stock Y-Pipe.

So, headers listed for '87-'95 trucks will fit if you get an '87/ Y-pipe?

Like these Speed Daddy 304SS ones on eBay?

https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.com%2Fulk%2Fitm%2F382931848091

That's pretty inexpensive for stainless headers, delivered.

ETA: I wouldn't consider using regular steel headers here in CT.

Very hot light gauge tubes will disappear in a season thanks to the chlorides used in winter

[85lebaront2]

Gary, as a general rule of thumb, most if not all of the SBF shorty headers available for these trucks are supposed to be able to bolt up to the stock Y-Pipes. Now...when I say available for these trucks, you will notice that most of them...if not all of them, are listed as only fitting 1986-1996, or 1987-1996. Not that the heads are different...but the manifolds and downpipes are. So...they will all fit a Bullnose just fine, but they may not fit the stock Y-Pipe.

So, headers listed for '87-'95 trucks will fit if you get an '87/ Y-pipe?

Like these Speed Daddy 304SS ones on eBay?

https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.com%2Fulk%2Fitm%2F382931848091

That's pretty inexpensive for stainless headers, delivered.

ETA: I wouldn't consider using regular steel headers here in CT.

Very hot light gauge tubes will disappear in a season thanks to the chlorides used in winter

You all have pretty well described why I will not put headers on Darth. I had two cars with headers, one was a 1964 Falcon with a late production 260 (had 289 heads from the factory) it was a total PITA due to the cramped engine compartment, factory AC and still using a dynamo (generator).

The other was my 1966 GT350, came from the factory with the Shelby tri-wye headers, I replaced them with a set of Headman large tube (1 5/8" primary, 3" collector) that were specified for 289 HP and 351W engines 1964 1/2 - 1970. They were a tad low due to the allowance for the higher location of the heads on the 351W, but fit perfectly, I got super proficient at replacing the exhaust gaskets, even kept a stack of Mr. Gasket asbestos ones on hand. Easy to change plugs, and on the Mustang chassis, the right side would come out from the top once the collector flange was unbolted. left side the clutch linkage got in the way.

I do not want to be dealing with header gaskets on a 460 in a truck with factory AC, the right side is hard enough when changing plugs, left side, the EGR pipe would be a PITA, more so than it already is.

[Rembrant]

So, headers listed for '87-'95 trucks will fit if you get an '87/ Y-pipe?

Theoretically yes...but in reality I'm not 100% sure. I tried to do exactly that. I bought these BBK headers (87-95 or whatever they were) and I bought an 87-96 "off-road" cat-less Y-Pipe, and they did not fit well together. I'm not sure if it was the headers or the Y-Pipe, but one of them didn't like the other...or both of them were wrong, I dunno. Part of my issue I'm sure was the size of the ball flanges. The headers were sized for 2 1/2" down pipes and the off-road down pipe I bought was barely 1 7/8"...it might have even been smaller, so besides not fitting very well, the ball flanges would not seal properly. In any case...I had custom duals made up locally anyway, and they're awesome!

My point was, all of the shorty headers are listed as fitting 1987-up trucks, but they will also fit the Bullnose trucks just fine...but you may need some custom exhaust pipe work....which you would have needed with longtubes anyway.

 

[ArdWrknTrk]

So, headers listed for '87-'95 trucks will fit if you get an '87/ Y-pipe?

Theoretically yes...but in reality I'm not 100% sure. I tried to do exactly that. I bought these BBK headers (87-95 or whatever they were) and I bought an 87-96 "off-road" cat-less Y-Pipe, and they did not fit well together. I'm not sure if it was the headers or the Y-Pipe, but one of them didn't like the other...or both of them were wrong, I dunno. Part of my issue I'm sure was the size of the ball flanges. The headers were sized for 2 1/2" down pipes and the off-road down pipe I bought was barely 1 7/8"...it might have even been smaller, so besides not fitting very well, the ball flanges would not seal properly. In any case...I had custom duals made up locally anyway, and they're awesome!

My point was, all of the shorty headers are listed as fitting 1987-up trucks, but they will also fit the Bullnose trucks just fine...but you may need some custom exhaust pipe work....which you would have needed with longtubes anyway.

Thanks for that!

I understand the Lima engines much better than the Windsor's as far as what can mix & match.

Collector size is a variable that is probably right there in the eBay description.

[Gary Lewis]

You all have pretty well described why I will not put headers on Darth. I had two cars with headers, one was a 1964 Falcon with a late production 260 (had 289 heads from the factory) it was a total PITA due to the cramped engine compartment, factory AC and still using a dynamo (generator).

The other was my 1966 GT350, came from the factory with the Shelby tri-wye headers, I replaced them with a set of Headman large tube (1 5/8" primary, 3" collector) that were specified for 289 HP and 351W engines 1964 1/2 - 1970. They were a tad low due to the allowance for the higher location of the heads on the 351W, but fit perfectly, I got super proficient at replacing the exhaust gaskets, even kept a stack of Mr. Gasket asbestos ones on hand. Easy to change plugs, and on the Mustang chassis, the right side would come out from the top once the collector flange was unbolted. left side the clutch linkage got in the way.

I do not want to be dealing with header gaskets on a 460 in a truck with factory AC, the right side is hard enough when changing plugs, left side, the EGR pipe would be a PITA, more so than it already is.

For what its worth, I've not had an exhaust leak on Big Blue with the L&L headers. Not that I'm advocating headers, but these haven't leaked. Perhaps that's due to the 1/2" thick flange.

[Bulletproof250]

In any case...I had custom duals made up locally anyway, and they're awesome!

My point was, all of the shorty headers are listed as fitting 1987-up trucks, but they will also fit the Bullnose trucks just fine...but you may need some custom exhaust pipe work....which you would have needed with longtubes anyway.

Rembrant,

I'm planning on custom duals anyway, it's the accessibility that I'm trying to weed-out the worst ones, and i agree, long-tube have been a PITA for me as well. I've since bee swayed to look at Magnaflow mufflers and stock type ball collectors to start the system.