Opinions needed on headers
 

Im new to ford gas engines, but I know from building chevy's that it doesnt really matter a whole lot. The two are excellent name brands, not the most expensive, but by no means low end. Unless your going ceramic coated, 500$ and up for a set...I think there all about the same

being a mechanic all my life all i can say is from my end i don't like headers, they get the other components too hot, the cheap ones crack real soon. the expensive ones crack a little later. they all have gasket problems.
but I love the sound of them.

my opinion on headers is.... they leak at the exaust manifold gaskets, at the collector gaskets, they are hard on starters because of the extra heat they cause, I have them on my truck and whhen i replace the engine i'm going to get rid of them. Really it depends on what year truck and what engine. they wil give a little more HP. but, not much. extra money spent on the best ones is a good thing.... i have Headman headers.

I couldn't agree more with Bart & Bill. As an retired & tired mechanic I had one truck with headers & if they were not leaking they were over heating starters etc. I think if headers are a thing that you really feel you need then go with ceramic coated headers but then your looking at 5 bills or more. Then comes the thing of what will you save vs cost. Doug Thorley, & Sanderson seem to be the headers of choice in my years at around this board. Just my two cents.
Craig

Okay, I will take that all into consideration as I am shopping... I am not too concerned about the starter and leakage as it is just a show truck that wont be driven much. I just want it to sound great. Thanks ya'll!

A show truck IMHO needs great looking headers if your going to install them. That even makes ceramic headers a good choice. I have judged at rural Nevada car shows I always look at the little details personally. Nothing sounds worse than cheap headers. Good tuned headers make a big difference.

Craig