Full Length Headers

rednotch said:

Lol gotta keep the lights on in the forums


I need to trash pick in your neighborhood They are Mac 1 5/8", I've installed probably 50 or more of those over the years.

Hell I just sold 2 new sets of s550 long tubes I got in a parts deal i picked up and had ppl blowing up my phone to buy them, ppl want long tubes still, there generally not that cheap even used.

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It's easy to install 50 set of brand new ones a single time.
But installing them twice is much more difficult, lol.
They can warp so bad i would never consider flangeless headers ever again.
I wasn't joking about the crow bar, it's been like 20 years and i can still remember the trauma of trying to put those things back on.

I'm not really in touch with the S550 market or how necessary long tubes are for newer cars, but i just don't see their value on old 302 pushrod engines.

I'm also a big fan of stainless, even if it's costly.

Putting a cat back on a Coyote motor car is pointless unless you just want the noise. Header back makes a little more power but really helps with boost. With the Coyote long tubes don’t seem to cause the maintenance issues like they do on a Fox Body.

AeroCoupe said:

Putting a cat back on a Coyote motor car is pointless unless you just want the noise. Header back makes a little more power but really helps with boost. With the Coyote long tubes don’t seem to cause the maintenance issues like they do on a Fox Body.

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What maintenance issues did you guys have with long tubes I get there a pita to install in a driveway. Gasket leaks? They make MLS headers gaskets for sbfs now.

for me it was heat soak with starters, starter cable melting (reroute or heat tape etc), eating clutch cables (routing helped but would have to wrap with some kind of heat tape etc), if you had to change motor mounts, and just getting them in and out of the car. Fighting the steering linkage and dip stick tube was another pain in the rear.

I have 1-7/8” to 3-1/2” custom long tubes on my T-Bird and they are not as bad but with a 351W based motor you are pretty much going to run long tubes.

I just prefer the shorties for for a non-race oriented build 8.2 deck motor.

AeroCoupe said:

for me it was heat soak with starters, starter cable melting (reroute or heat tape etc), eating clutch cables (routing helped but would have to wrap with some kind of heat tape etc), if you had to change motor mounts, and just getting them in and out of the car. Fighting the steering linkage and dip stick tube was another pain in the rear.

I have 1-7/8” to 3-1/2” custom long tubes on my T-Bird and they are not as bad but with a 351W based motor you are pretty much going to run long tubes.

I just prefer the shorties for for a non-race oriented build 8.2 deck motor.

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That's why I preferred mac, while they can bit a pita to install I never had clutch cable, starter or any of those or what I would call maintenance issues, even with a stock rag joint shaft or a cheap universal welded to the stock shaft. The dipstick does need to be ground down for tube clearance at the bolt though but that's all most all headers shorty included if it didn't have an aftermarket pan mounted one. 8.2 and 9.5 deck I all ways looked for mac first. My last more track oriented car I cut up some 1 7/8 LS swap long tubes to fit because no way was I paying and grand for headers and I couldn't find any thing larger the 1 5/8 used, couple tubes needed to be cut and spliced along with the flanges drilled but not that hard to do and those things where dirt cheap at the time.

Some bbk and those pacesetter / knock offs long tubss stick the primary right in the path of the clutch cable where it runs to the bell housing mount, need to rip some of that corregate heat shielding off newer cars from a junk yard trip and wrap the primary tube with it and metal ties then run a silicone fire sleeve over the cable and they last fine when you keep the heat off them.

I think installing a motor with them on it is fine but installing a set of long tubes vs shorties with the motor in the car on a 8.2 deck non-high rise port head is night and day with the shorties winning every time. Again, on a street driven car I will not install long tubes just because I do not want to fight them and the gain is negligible for the use. Race car is different and I feel they should have long tubes as they need all the power they can get.

Overall I think this is a preference thing and what a person is willing to deal with on their car for the intended application.

rednotch said:

Damn you guys think fox body long tube headers are hard be glad you don't work on other cars, granted I pretty much refuse to work on a car without a lift any more though. Mac headers don't really pose any maintenance clearance issues with plugs and clear clutch cables pretty decently, I'll take those any day over spaghetti equal lengths plug wire killers. Prices for long tube headers are down right stupid now after the EPA crack down so $80 obo is a bargin.

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do you happen to have a set of mac shorty or longtube 1-3/4 available for sale for aod fox ?