Has anyone installed the Summit house brand LT headers?

[ratio411]

I am pretty sure they are made by Flowtech...
My son picked up a set for next to nothing, new in the box.
He was holding out for some better ones to come on the used market, but it didn't happen.

He has heard horror stories about poor fitment or tough install on these, but I'd like to hear from someone that has actually done it, not through the rumor mill.

Things I don't like just by looking at them, even if the install and fitment is perfect, are the o2 sensors in a single primary pipe, not the collector, and the old fashion flat flanges.

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/sum-g9030/overview/make/ford

These are the Flowtechs...
http://www.summitracing.com/parts/big-12104flt/media/images/make/ford

 

[88LX5.Oh]

Other than the O2 bung placement, these look JUST like my Flowtechs. And I love them. Went in super easy and fit in there really nice. Only thing hard about the install is, on the drivers side it's hard to route the tube around the steering column. You have to cut the flange and slide the primary tube out of the collector, install the header, then snake the primary tube back down in there. Only snag I ran into

BTW, I had my trans out when I put my headers in, that made a big difference since I didn't have to fight the bellhousing while installing these. With a trans in, any LT header on a fox is an absolute PITA to work with.

 

[ratio411]

What if I was to just pull the steering shaft, then put it back after the install?
Pretty sure we are going to move the o2 sensors into the collectors.
We are using an aftermarket wiring harness (RJM), and the wires are plenty long enough.
Might even cut off the flat 3 bolt flange and weld in ball & socket flanges.

What did you use for an H-pipe? Do aftermarket ones fit if you change the flange, or did you custom make one?

 

[Gearbanger 101]

Expect them to rust almost instantly. Otherwise, probably not a bad header. All long tubes are a PITA to install, so don' let that discourage you too much. And the O2 sensors can always be relocated to the collector.

A lot of companies still use the old 3-bolt style flange. I had a set of Kooks on my last car, which is one of the best headers you can buy and it used the same set up. Bought a set of copper flange gaskets and they never leaked...ever.

 

[ratio411]

Yeah, they are only 18 ga mild steel.
Even with a primo paint job, it's going to be hard to keep these things from surface rusting.
My other son just got a set of 14 ga stainless Summit brand shorties, and those things are awesome. So far anyway.

 

[ratio411]

This is the engine with the shorties.
It's going in the 94 GT.
Unfortunately I have to wait until we get the old engine out to have many of the parts like the oil pan and timing cover.

 

[Mintsick]

I have a set sitting in the box that I started stripping a while back, I attempted installing them when I was swapping in a rebuilt T5 and within 15 minutes I just put them back in the box and bolted the MAC shorties back up.

 

[RangerJoe]

This is the engine with the shorties.
It's going in the 94 GT.
Unfortunately I have to wait until we get the old engine out to have many of the parts like the oil pan and timing cover.

What are the specs on that motor? How come the gear drive? Just had it lying around and decided to try it? Looks good either way.

Joe

 

[ratio411]

What are the specs on that motor? How come the gear drive? Just had it lying around and decided to try it? Looks good either way.

Joe

Yeah, I had the drive on a shelf.
My son is 18, and just like me at that age, he is all about making as much noise as possible, and I jokingly offered it to him.
He asked me what it did, and I said it makes a bunch of noise, like a worn out supercharger, and he said he wanted it.

The engine is 30 over, E-cam, flat tops, Edelbrock Performer heads, 1.7 Cobra (Crane) rollers...
The old engine has the 95 Cobra intake to go on it, along with the pan, distributor, and such.

I wanted him to upgrade to long tubes, but he has a new shorty ORP and Loudmouth cat back, and he didn't want to have to buy a new ORP and redo the exhaust. It's not hard, but costs and will add to the down time of the car. The headers on the car now are less than a year old, but they are the cheaper mild steel Summit shorties. They are thinner metal, the paint totally burnt off in the first week, the ports are that funky oval shape you get with cheap headers, and they are SN95 headers with the EGR riser. His EGR is deleted in the ECM tune already, so the new headers are Fox shorties without the riser pipe.

He has a Bama chip and 4.10 gears, and we are hoping for 300 rwhp. Should make for a fun ride.

 

[ratio411]

I have a set sitting in the box that I started stripping a while back, I attempted installing them when I was swapping in a rebuilt T5 and within 15 minutes I just put them back in the box and bolted the MAC shorties back up.

That's funny.
He is taking off MAC equal shorties to put these on.
He won't have the tranny out either.
I have a feeling it's going to be a fun install...

His engine sits lower in the K-member than a stock V8 car too!
He has an I6 K-member with F150 engine mounts in order to bypass swapping in a V8 K-member with the 5.0 swap.
This makes the engine sit a bit lower in the bay, and closer to the firewall than a stock V8 car.

The steering shaft rubs the MAC shorties right now.
Not a dangerous rub, but enough that it keeps the metal shiny on the 2 parts where they touch.
I guess I'll report back on how they fit.

He broke 2 of the collector studs off the MACs, so they have to come out anyway, even if to be fixed and reinstalled.

 

[ratio411]

The good part is that the MACs are mine.
I bought them, and he sorta just 'borrowed' them from me.
I never thought I'd get them back.
So now I have a set of headers for my 87...
I recently got my Exploder intake back from him too, when he went with a Cartech intake.

Since he is doing long tubes, I get his X-pipe too, and he actually paid for that himself.

My other son didn't like the MAC Flowpath cat back I put on the 94 (not loud enough).
So I got that back when he put the (ridiculously) Loudmouth on his car.
I guess I'll end up with a complete exhaust for the 87 when it's done.

 

[88LX5.Oh]

What if I was to just pull the steering shaft, then put it back after the install?
Pretty sure we are going to move the o2 sensors into the collectors.
We are using an aftermarket wiring harness (RJM), and the wires are plenty long enough.
Might even cut off the flat 3 bolt flange and weld in ball & socket flanges.

What did you use for an H-pipe? Do aftermarket ones fit if you change the flange, or did you custom make one?

Straight pipes welded onto the header themselves. As for the steering shaft question, I didn't think of doing that lol. I have no clue how hard/easy that would be

 

[NIKwoaC]

Ball flanges get beat up over time and leak, plus they're a restriction to flow, so I'd take the flat flange any day!

 

[srtthis]

Ball flanges get beat up over time and leak, plus they're a restriction to flow, so I'd take the flat flange any day!

Yup! I plan to cut the flanges off my Mac long tubes and do flat flanges or slip joints

 

[ratio411]

Well, the Summit/Flowtech LTs are in.
Other than my little dislike of the o2s being in a primary, they are great.
They sound much better than shorties, and the plugs are much easier to get to than with the equal MACs, as well as plug wires easier to manage.

The only issue we had was related to his engine swap and I6 K-member, and does not pertain to stock v8 cars.
The I6 member sits the engine slightly lower in the car, and slightly back to the firewall.
The universal joint in the steering shaft rubbed slightly on the rear tube because of it.
A very shallow flat spot is needed in the back of that tube.
If the engine was up a hair, or forward a hair, either one, it would not have had that issue.

My son didn't want to bother with an H-pipe, so it is true dual exhaust with the race bullets turn down dumped under the car, which is not much different than they were with the X-pipe, but it sounds totally different. It sounds like an old school muscle car, not a Fox 5.0.

If it gained any power, I can't tell SOTP, but it didn't lose any I'm sure. Probably gained on the lower end of the rpms if I had to say. I don't drive the car much, but the Cartech box had the bottom end a touch softer the last time I drove it, and this time it is full of piss and vinegar even right off idle. But again, I only get to drive the car maybe once a month when we are modding or tuning.

 

[Gearbanger 101]

What kind of shorties are those posted in the picture above?

 

[srtthis]

What kind of shorties are those posted in the picture above?

Summit