Here it is I must own the singular most difficult vehicle to get anything for. My latest hassle is really quite simple, you would think. Headers for the beast I call Bob.

Bob is a 1986 F-350 4WD Crew-cab. Nothing special there right. Well Bob has a monobeam front axle and 4" axle blocks, he is stout and has his head up. Bob traded in his 351W for a 460 of unknown origins, Bob didn't know me then.

So I finally find two manufatures for headers for Bob considering the 460 and Crew Cab and Year, or so I thought, now I come to find out that the frame is different for monobeam or dual front axle vehicles!? Startinfg to understand why the guy before me notched Bob's frame. If the 460 was a factory option for Bob why can't I find at least stock exhaust manifolds for Bob.

I have to fix the frame and the exhaust and hey I say let's make it look professional. Any ideas I have searched the web for a solid week tried every search engine and key word. Thorley and LandL almost made it work. Any header manufacturer's out there, any other Bob owners with headers or stock manifolds?

H..E..L..P P..L..E..A..S..E

 

Lol ... maybe they didn't come with either. Open ports?

 

Was working on Bob today and noticed the following about the current exhust configuration. It touches the Bell-housing and starter, no wonder he hates going back to work after being shut down. This is even after they took a great big notch out of the frame to mount this exhuast system. Oh and the pipe has to be about three different sizes front to back and although they brought the two sides within a 1/2 inch of touching they didn't cross pipe them and they are two different sizes.

Can't wait to get it all corrected. Bob is gonna feel so much better.

Laughing hard for fear of crying loudly!

Hey thought I would mention that I gotta change the rear main seal. Have to drop the exhaust to pull the Tranny. The exhaust is welded from front to back not a clamp or flange anywhere. Heavy duty pipe too, about like the drive shaft. Yee...Ha!!

 

Poor Bob! You better get him in to see a doctor real soon.
He sounds like he may be temporarily asthmatic at the moment.
I would ask the Doc to replace all his breathing tubes so he can flow better.

 

Hey thought I would mention that I gotta change the rear main seal. Have to drop the exhaust to pull the Tranny. The exhaust is welded from front to back not a clamp or flange anywhere. Heavy duty pipe too, about like the drive shaft. Yee...Ha!! [/B][/QUOTE]

Sounds like you've got your work cut out for ya, some people don't think when they start butchering!

Never did a rear main on a 460 before but all you should have to do is drop the oil pan to access the rear main. If for some reason you do need more access IMHO its a lot easier, quicker, and safter to pull the engine than wrestling the tranny and t-case.

 

If it makes you feel any better someone actually used a driveshaft for my exhaust system. I have since removed it, but still can't figure out what they were thinking.

 

Maybe they think bigger is always better or just love an excuse to play with torches.

Not sure if I am too ignorant to admit I bought a lemon, or attached to Bob because he is old and semi unique. He will be a great project but I really need a honest working truck not a garage ornament.

I've had offers to buy Bob all of them insulting, Bob has issues but he also is from the arid West (little rust) and honestly Heavy Duty, just nicked up and hobbled together. Pulled a loaded gooseneck trailer from Idaho to PA loaded pulled all the hills in 3rd easily and went down the highway 80 mile an hour no sweat even got decent mileage.

Go figure

 

Well I feel sorry for Bob but we cant let him sit there forever. I think their is hope for him. Here is an option though it may be a royal pain in your **** but I know it can be done. I think in summit or jegs they offer the "build your own headers' kits. if nothing else works, I would recommend getting this kit and having a legitimate pipe doctor custom build some headers for Bob, and that is only if you don't feel confident in doing it yourself. I do realize that this could be a tad spendy, but just imagine the look on Bob's face when you slap on his new headers. Priceless. Now lets get that big fella back on the road and remember, a happier Bob is a happier Biscuit.

P.S. What is Bob using now?

 

Stahl offers a collection of bends and collectors for do it your self design as well, I'll look into Jegs and Summit. Be more of an option if I was in my hometown were I knew all the shops and the guy who builds the exhaust systems for the racers and hotrodders. Tried getting there but Bob stranded me one cold day halfway between here and there.

Been wondering if maybe Bob has the wrong motor cradle? I know when they swapped the 351 out for the 460 they didn't change the mounts but I had that corrected but it didn't totally correct the problem with how the motor sets in there it is angled up in the front.

Another idea I've heard is to lift the body to get some clearance arount the frame rails any thoughts on that?

Stil not convinced I want to cut out the fender wells, unless it was a small hole for the pipe and not a huge area.

Thing with the Thorley Tri-Ys is they are designed to match up to the stock Y-Pipe, which I don't have, but that is what I am looking for more of a stock look with improved performance and to get it out of that frame notch.

I will go with fender well dump headers if I have to but still need to find away to get a connector pipe hooked between them. I like balance.

Currently Bob has stock manifolds from the 460s original application which could have been anything I imagine it was a HD F-250 with coil springs in the front end.

Quickly looking like I will be taking him to the pipe doctor to install a quick fit muffler to quiet him down maybe put in a y pipe or something to balance him and try to pass inspection for NH one more time. If they don't notice the frame notch.

Gonna someday put a ZF Tranny in and hate to have to change an expensive exhaust system when everything seats right.

Back to the mounts and cradle for the engine any ideas?

Biscuit & Bob thankyou

 

I FEEL FOR YOU BRO

 

Yep I'm a broken man I bought the good old hacksaw. I'm setting out to give Bob a nice cheap muffler after measurements and hopfully I'll get lucky perhaps a dual inlet/single outlet. If not then two singles.

Then I am gonna get this whole engine mounting crap corrected and then headers, even if I have to go to a race shop and have them fabricated.

P.S. I almost broke down and hit Bob with a hammer today. Had to remeber it wasn't his fault. Why you ask? Changing the shocks, and currently I have 3 finished, and am up to 3 different bolt sizes and 3 different nut sizes. Really fun part is sometimes the head is SAE and the nut is metric sometimes they are the same or vice versa. That really wasn't it, the real reason is being addressed in the electrical department, Bob is pissed off and refuses to start or play tunes for me.

Hoping you are all really enjoying the humour. If not I can just grumble and/or keep it straight forward.

 

From what I understand, an abused animal takes a long time to trust it new and kinder owners. Soemtimes it takes years of love and patience to gain their trust fully. Sure, there will be times when they get weird on you, but you just have to persist in showing them the love and respect they deserve and they will come around.

Treat Bob as such and you will be very happy together I am sure.

 

You know I never mentioned the really funny thing about the shocks.

I just moved from Idaho to New Hampshire but dropped my horses and horse trailer at my folks home in PA till we all get settled. Well all my tools are in the nose cone of that stock trailer except my basic travel pack. So everytime I end up with another size nut or bolt I gotta head to the store and it isn't like they are run of the mill 11/16 or 17 mill. They gotta be things like 18 or 19 or 22 mill or 7/8 or 13/16 or stuff like that things I have and never thought I'd need a pair of other than having both the socket and box end.

The really funny thing is I gotta get two of each cause usually the bolt in the tighest spot as matching ends. Pretty comical. Changed one of the front shock mounts without getting the proper tools just used what I had and lots of knuckle grip, took half a day to do the mount and shock, so I drank a beer and said yep tomorrow sounds good.

Moral of the story I'm gonna have 4 22m wrenches and never use them again and not but one of the most common 1/2 wrenches. Yee-Ha!!

 

Ask Bob (I assume Bob is a boy- but then I had an Aunt named Bob- well actually Bobby). Anyway, ask Bob if he would like nice shiny,big header tubes sticking up thru the hood like those big muscle-bound pickup-puller truck-dudes. It would eliminate trying to get around poor Bob's hacked up skeleton and I don't think it would impair Bob's vision at all. Tell Bob that all those cute little Ranger-ettes will really wanna check out what's under Bob's hood then.

Randy

 

Not sure that is Bob's style, though I gave thought to semi truck muffler stacks behind the cab since we mostly pull a stock trailer anyway. Thinking more and more about fender dumps and running them behind the Diamond Pate full length running boards and exiting in front of the rear wheels. Use a air scoop in the front corner behind the front wheel to pull extra air around the pipe for cooling. Still looking at angles but I think I might be able to get a connector pipe between the two sides. Put all of this is going to have to wait.

Just solved Bob's hesitancy to start, got his new shocks on, and am now into the rear brakes. Looks like I am going to need to spend some time there first. Found some ugly stuff like 1/4 of the backing plate ground off, missing self adjuster cable, bad axle seal, etc.