Do all headers require a power steering drop bracket?

Stang_1973 · Oct 13, 2005

I am going to get a set of headers for my '73. I have seen Hooker, Flowtech and Hedman. Flowtech and Hooker require a power steering bracket for clearance as listed on Jegs and Year one. However Hedmans Hedders on jegs does not say anything about a bracket when you click on the details. So will they just fit as is or will I have clearance issues? Any one used these headers before?

bnickel · Oct 13, 2005

i don't see why you would need a bracket with any of them on a 73 since the power steering is integral to the gearbox and not an add-on unit like the 65-70 cars had

mudbilly · Oct 14, 2005

i've got hedman ceramic shorties on mine, goning into 2 1/2 collectors..........i couldn't really find a long tube that was guareenteed to fit.....plus i was afraid of ground clearance issues, i've got my nose dropped an inch...

Gud T.B. Blown · Oct 14, 2005

i have a '73 mach with a 351C and i put on hooker super comp long tubes and no bracket was required. the headers are a pain to put in but there are no clearance problems under the hood. they fit, just barely, but they fit. my front end also has the 1" drop and so far i haven't scraped on anything.

10secgoal · Oct 14, 2005

I had a set of Heddman on my 67. The car was setup for P/S, but know pump. But that shouldn't matter as far as I can think. It still had the slave and what not. They were nice as far as ground clearance. Some of the better ones I have had/seen. But no bracket for me.

66StangFastback · Oct 14, 2005

I have some hedman long tubes. The drivers side was a bitch to get in and had clearance problems with the power steering booster underneath, but we moved it just enough to solve that problem. Putting the power steering pump on tomorrow. Looks like there won't be any problems with clearance.

x73mach1x · Oct 15, 2005

push rod how do you like your hooker super comps?? im still trying to figure out what to get for my 73 mach this spring when my engine is done???

ForceFed70 · Oct 15, 2005

I have headman longtubes on my '70.

They are a real pain to install. You have to pull the engine to get them in... And even then, when you put the engine back in you can't have the headers bolted to the engine or the exhaust... you sorta have to place them in the right spot as you drop in the engine.

A real PITA... I'll never do longtubes again..it's not worth the few HP over shorty's or Tri-y's.

Anyways... there is no powersteering clearance problems...BUT they are close enough to the ram that I have to replace my dust boot on the ram every few years. The heat kills the rubber...

Gud T.B. Blown · Oct 15, 2005

x73mach1x said:
push rod how do you like your hooker super comps?? im still trying to figure out what to get for my 73 mach this spring when my engine is done???

i'm real happy with them, they look and sound great and the quality is first rate. installation was pretty straightforward. the passenger side went in fairly easily, the drivers side was a bit more challenging. hooker tells you the car needs to be 3' above the ground for installation but you don't need to. on the passenger side 1' is plenty and on the drivers side if you can't get it 3' in the air you will have to remover your pitman arm.
like i said earlier i've lowered my car 1" in the front and i've had no scraping problems at all.

jbuening · Oct 15, 2005

10secgoal said:
I had a set of Heddman on my 67. The car was setup for P/S, but know pump. But that shouldn't matter as far as I can think. It still had the slave and what not. They were nice as far as ground clearance. Some of the better ones I have had/seen. But no bracket for me.

I bet your steering components wore out real quick without the power steering pump hooked up. The control valve and steering ram need fluid running through them for lubrication and without that leads to shortened life of the components and a sloppy steering wheel.

The 71-73 has integral power steering (think thats what it's called). Anyways, you don't have the steering ram or the control valve to get in the way. The hoses go straight from the pump to the steering box. I there was a way to convert the 69/70 steering systems to this type. The only thing that i would think may get in the way is the pitman arm or the drag link.

C0V3R · Oct 15, 2005

IMO Avoid anything with a drop bracket OR prepare for your frame rails to be torn in a few months by the additional leverage applied by the bracket

66StangFastback · Oct 15, 2005

70_Nitrous_Eater said:
I have headman longtubes on my '70.

They are a real pain to install. You have to pull the engine to get them in... And even then, when you put the engine back in you can't have the headers bolted to the engine or the exhaust... you sorta have to place them in the right spot as you drop in the engine.

A real PITA... I'll never do longtubes again..it's not worth the few HP over shorty's or Tri-y's.

Anyways... there is no powersteering clearance problems...BUT they are close enough to the ram that I have to replace my dust boot on the ram every few years. The heat kills the rubber...

Exactly like mine on the 66. We didnt have to pull the engine, but we did use a 2x4 to..."maneuver" them into place. They were touching the dust boot and we figure it would melt the rubber in no time so we drilled new holes and moved the mounting bracket about 1/2" further up on the frame, and no problems with steering even with move. IF we ever replace the longtubes, I'll go with shorties because they ARE an amazing pain in the ass to get to fit. I'll just cut em out when they need to be replaced. We havent lowered the car back down to see clearance, but they are the lowest hanging part when you look underneath. Only good thing is they dont need a drop bracket on mine.

10secgoal · Oct 16, 2005

jbuening said:
I bet your steering components wore out real quick without the power steering pump hooked up. The control valve and steering ram need fluid running through them for lubrication and without that leads to shortened life of the components and a sloppy steering wheel.

Didn't care. Didn't want the power steering to begine with. I removed it before it wore out.

Stang_1973 · Oct 20, 2005

Well we didnt need the bracket after all. On the jegs website it doesnt specify which cars dont need the bracket. It just says that some do need it. Once you actually get the headers it tells you on the instructions which cars dont need the bracket.

Oh yea i went ahead and got Dynomax standard series headers. They dont hang all that low and since I thought the job was tougher I went ahead and got our mechanic to do the install. He said it was relatively easy. We even went ahead and got all new tubing from the header back. Sounds better now. it sounds alot clearer and more distinct.

I havent gotten a chance to drive it yet so i am not sure how much of an improvement they make as far as the seat of the pants meter goes.

Do all headers require a power steering drop bracket?

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