Headers won't work??

69Rcode_Mach1

Active Member
Apr 20, 2004
1,473
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Salt Lake City, Utah
Hey guys if you read my sig i have a set of hedman elite longtube headers. They are on backorder right now, but i called hedman cause i ordered them in may and am kind of distressed with the wait. The guy said to cancel my order. He said that they will not work with aftermarket heads. And that they are made for stock heads. I plan on putting on afr 185's and i heard those have stock locations for exhaust ports and etc... Can you guys shed some light on this being the real masters on this issue. Anybody with experience that knows if a header fits on stock head than it fits on afr's or vic jr.'s (i don't know for sure which one, just going with which one i find a better deal on, i am leaning more towards the afr's though)???? Thanks in advance guys.
 
In my experience, the guys at Heddman are not the brightest bulbs on the tree. I was asking about applications as well and I could hear the guy flipping the pages and mumbling the same info that was in their catalog.

The guys at Summit were much more helpful.
 
Well if it's any consolation, the Shelby type Tri-Y's on my 89 Ranger fit better with the Canfield heads and their 1/2" raised exhaust ports than they did with the stock Ford E7TE heads they're on now. I had to get the grinder out to fit them to the E7's. So in answer to your question, yes they might and no they might not fit out of the box. I believe this rule applies to all headers, not just Hedman's. You can't tell by the brand sometimes. I had Hooker's on my old big block Stang, and they fit like crap. Leaked constantly, bottomed them out repeatedly, and I always thought Hookers were some of the best. If you want the best, then you might consider FPA's, they're pricey at $400 a set, but judging from my own set and input from other's who bought them, well worth every penny. go to www.fordpowertrain.com :nice:
 
Just for the record:

1969 Mach 1 with 351W, C4 and Trick Flow Twisted Wedge heads. I installed Hedman Elite series. They went in fairly easily. The outside tube barely touched the driver side frame rail. I had to flatten out the brand new ceramic coated tube about 1/4" to get 1/4" clearance. I wasn't too happy, but I've had worse luck fitting headers. At least I can change the starter without dropping the header on this combo. Nice looking headers.
 
Thanks guys the headers i ordered from hedman may take till like november to get so i cancelled and ordered some ceramic coated hooker comps from summit for the same price. Those will be here friday or monday. Afr said that the heads are setup like dead stock heads so no problems will be encountered. Thanks a lot guyss.