Header gaskets

65fastbackresto

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Apr 13, 2007

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#1

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• #1

Buddy of mine told me to spend the extra money and get copper header gaskets and also copper for the collectors. Said they cost alot more, but they dont leak, anybody know about this one?

 

D

D.Hearne

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#2

• Jun 2, 2007

• #2

He's right but you can also consider alimunum gaskets too. I use "Percy's" these are aluminum sandwich type, they work great. Autozone stocks em. You can buy em online too.

 

65fastbackresto

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Mr Hearne

I`ve seen alot of your posts and you seem to be VERY knowledgeable about alot of this stuff, you wouldn`t happen to have a header recomendation for me would you?

The Patriot tri Y`s look pretty good for the money, long tubes of course, what ya think?

 

D

D.Hearne

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#4

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I've used all three types, shorty's, Tri-Y's and long tubes. The only ones I'll never use again are Hookers. Had these in a big block Stang, never again. Have Tri-y's on the 5.0 in my 89 Ranger. Great headers. Got Hedman long tubes on the 77 Comet. I was leary about using this type again, but they went in like butter from under the car with the engine raised. So far so good. Use what you can afford and are comfortable with. If you want ground clearance and less clutter, go with shortys or tri-y's. Another choice is the 289 Hi-po manifolds, these are available new for about $300 (maybe a bit less) they'll last forever, or at least longer than your car will.

 

65fastbackresto

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#5

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I was looking at the hi po manifolds

In a mag yesterday, would my performace suffer with these a little over a real header ya think?

 

D

D.Hearne

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#6

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65fastbackresto said:

In a mag yesterday, would my performace suffer with these a little over a real header ya think?

Click to expand...

If you had a really hot build, yea it would some, but with an engine with stock unported heads, no. With ported heads, you can always port them to match or have them extrude honed to improve them. They're better than the log manifolds and only slightly less effective (as is) than shortys. If I wanted better than stock but didn't want headers, they're tough to beat.

 

65fastbackresto

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The motor is pretty hot

Builder said around 350hp.

 

rbohm

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Jun 2, 2007

#8

• Jun 2, 2007

• #8

D makes alot of good points. i will dispute him about hooker headers though, but i recognize that our cars are not dimensionally accurate. you can take two mustangs, same year, identically equipped and one set of headers. the headers will fit one car perfectly, and have clearance nightmares on the other, so keep that in mind when fitting headers. for 350hp i would use at least the hipo 289 manifolds, though i prefer a tri-y header for the street.

 

D

D.Hearne

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#9

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rbohm said:

D makes alot of good points. i will dispute him about hooker headers though, but i recognize that our cars are not dimensionally accurate. you can take two mustangs, same year, identically equipped and one set of headers. the headers will fit one car perfectly, and have clearance nightmares on the other, so keep that in mind when fitting headers. .

Click to expand...

So true. I had so many problems with those Hookers on the 390 and later the 427 that, that's biased me away from the brand. Fitment issues are an even larger part of the equation in V8 Ranger swaps. The Shelby Tri-Y's fit the Gen I & II Rangers better than the Stangs they were made for. But place the engine in differently and you'll have problems. The motor mounts have a lot to do with how a header fits. Bottom line is: choose what you want but don't expect them to fit perfectly, no matter the brand or type.

 

F

fastback brian

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#10

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• #10

Ive had three different sets of hookers in my 65, comps, an old set of super comps and a newer set of super comps, they all fit exactly the same. My fisrt set of headers were from ford motorsport and my newest set are from accufab, machined for no gaskets...I still dont know how they are gonna fit in the car yet.

 

65fastbackresto

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#11

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I may try the Hi PO manifolds

think they`ll bolt to a Edelbrock RPM head?

 

D

D.Hearne

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#12

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• #12

65fastbackresto said:

think they`ll bolt to a Edelbrock RPM head?

Click to expand...

Yea, they'll bolt up, but you'd likely need to port em out some to match the head ports. That's not a big deal, take me less than an hour with a die grinder and a good bit.

 

coolblue65

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#13

• Jun 2, 2007

• #13

I am very happy with the fit of my hooker comp long tube headers, I don't have power steering, but I do have mechanical clutch linkage.

I considered getting new headers with my new build, but I since I was so happy with the fit, I ended up sending out the old ones to get jet-hot coated, so I didn't have to deal with something else fitting differently.

As stated some of these cars are so different experiences will very widely.

 

Max Power

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#14

• Jun 3, 2007

• #14

I wouldn't put manifolds on an aftermarket aluminum head. Those heads will outflow the manifolds.

 

D

D.Hearne

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#15

• Jun 3, 2007

• #15

Max Power said:

I wouldn't put manifolds on an aftermarket aluminum head. Those heads will outflow the manifolds.

Click to expand...

You'd be surprised as to the difference. I've seen one dyno test of a 502 big Chevy that started with iron manifolds (which are similar to the Ford Hi-po's) and then they stepped up to shortys then long tubes. The Iron manifolds held their own against the others. There was little if any difference between them and the shortys. And with a 502 breathing thu them as opposed to a 396 or 427 they were meant for, that says a lot.

 

T

tylerrocks

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Jun 3, 2007

#16

• Jun 3, 2007

• #16

65Fastback, why are you leaning towards Hipos? If what D. says about the price is true, you can get a set of tri-y's for about half the cost. It's not gonna make a big diffrence in performance, but it might make some. More importantly, it'll make LESS of a diffrence to your wallet. Unless you want manifolds.

 

65fastbackresto

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Jun 4, 2007

#17

• Jun 4, 2007

• #17

I`m looking for something simple to install

And that I aint goonna have to work on much. The money is secondary to that in this case. I used to ride around with a buddy when we were kids. He had 65 Mustang with 302 with longtube headers. these things blew ALL the time. It was constant working on those things. That is the situation I`m trying to avoid.

After I get a little better at turning a wrench I could always upgrade to headers after I`m more comfortable. At this point alot of this stuff scares me, which I like, but still scares me.