I use headers on my 66 with a 390, been on the truck sense 1980, I could feel the differance right away. I have not had a heat problem at all with the truck, may help that it is a 4x4. But headers are the best way with a FE, and that is only my opinion. But beteew my son and I, we have 4 running FE engines and 2 of them have headers, I can feel the differance.

 

I have an underbed spare tire as well as a frame mounted hitch on my '66. My pipes turn down a little past the rear tires and I am happy with the way it turned out. This isn't the best picture, but it will give you an idea of what it looks like.

 

Have them coated..... unless you have a big dip tank! I used the glass packs, so I can hear myself think while idling at signals... it is a nice mellow rumble at speed, so I can still hear the radio, but it gets loud if I romp on it!

 

i heard people say not to use the temp rap on them because it will get wet and help it rust faster? is that true and what if you have them coated, with it still rust?

 

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Yes wrap will hasten rust.if the cloth wrap gets wet, it will very rapidly rust out the headers. . If you have them ceramic coated and aluminized you don't need the wrap, it is a waste of money, because the coating will do the same thing as the wrap... Wrapping the coated headers will void the coating warranty as it will discolor.. The coating is a ceramic glaze impregnated with aluminum, it looks like polished aluminum when it is done, but it won't discolor unless you get oil or such on it.and don't clean it off....... Clean up is done with windex and a clean rag.. no need to polish! It cost $100 to have them coated, which is about the cost of 2 rolls of Wrap which is how much you would need! this is truly a no brainer!

 

thanks for the help. this will help a lot. i will probable get them coated this winter so they are ready for next summer then.

 

Yeah as we said earlier do it right the first time.. and save all of the headache! Make sure they fit before having them coated...... it would be pointless to have them coated only to find out they don't fit! My first set as I stated earlier rubbed the motor mounts...

 

Opinions are like bellybuttons, everyone I've met has one!

So here is my take -- When I bought MY '65 in '80 it had headers on it. But if I had known then what I know now - I would have tracked down two good exhaust manifolds and put them on the shelf for when the headers rusted out the first time. I have replaced my headers three times over the years because they've rusted out. I have replaced the header gaskets probably 5-6 times. I have not splurged for any one of the ceramic or hot-coatings in an effort to extend their life because I didn't want to double the cost of the repair project. I would still run dual exhaust pipes, dual mufflers and tail pipes; - just not use headers.

Over the years it's been MY experience that the headers heated the floorboards to the point that my feet get too hot while I'm driving in the summer, especially in stop & go traffic. I make sure I open the side vents all the way to allow the floor and my feet to cool as much as possible. The headers also make EVERYTHING under the hood plenty hot as well! So plan to open the hood and let it cool some before doing any tinkering under there during non-winter months.

For MY driving, I rarely need to push the 390 over 3500 rpms. It's not my hot rod, it's my truck. I haul and tow stuff with it, running it 90+ % of time from off-idle to 3000 rpms. It is my understanding that most of the touted performance gain to be had from using 4-into-1 long tube header occurs when engine gets turning over 3000rpms. So I don't believe MY headers have provided me with much of their potential performance gain since MY truck use is in the rpm range below when the headers would start to show their performance gains.

gfpilot,
I suggest you consider your needs, consider your options, consider your long-term plans and consider your budget - then make a plan and follow through with it.
Good Luck and keep us posted with your progress!
BarnieTrk

 

If the first time you had coated your headers, you would not have replaced them so many times! Basic math $150 X 3= $450 OR $150 + $100= $250 Route them under the cross member no hot floor!

 

Jetcopterpilot,
I did not even know about ceramic coatings for automotive headers in 1980 - did you?
I did the best I knew & could afford back then - and that was to sand-blast them then coat them with white VHT header paint. The last pair of headers I bought for my truck I considered getting them ceramic-coated, but my pocket book made the decision for me to not go that route.

I think in my truck the heat is radiated through the lower firewall and where it meets the floorboard (at the bend), and the portion of floorboard just ahead of cross member. Yep, you're correct, I did run the header collector pipes above the transmission cross member, reason being I knew that the OEM exhaust ran above it without any heat problems and I don't like the look of the pipes running below the cross member. Yep, I probably could help the heat situation if I was to install insulation beneath the rubber floor mat, but I haven't done that - nor do I plan to.

In case you're wondering, I am familiar with the performance of ceramic-coated headers. I had the headers for my hot rod '69 Mustang coated by Jet-Hot with their ceramic 'Sterling' coating, 14+ years ago. Back then, my coated headers cost me ~$275....and my feet would get hot while idling in the staging lanes. By the way - I just priced Jeg's generic, FlowTech brand, ceramic-coated headers for a '65, 2wd, F100 with an FE engine. They'll sell ya a pair for $315.99...and then add a handling charge to boot. Note: this amount is considerably more than what you determined with your 'basic math' exercise.

I'm glad you're happy with your headers on your truck.
"To each their own."

BarnieTrk

 

Hey mate, not meaning to harp on you or anything, I just get straight to the meat of it. JetCopter pilot has a good point with the ceramics...they can really help with any heat issues. A ton of us have gone the header route, and results have been good...ultimately, it'll really make a big difference in sound and create smooth flow for the engine exhaust gases. I bought Ford Racing headers for my engine (a 302), and have no issues with heat.

Whenever I do one of these upgrade projects, I really weigh the pros and cons, and it just kept pushing me in favor of the headers...they sound and perform great.

As I said, it's my opinion, just sharin' it with you.

Best, and good luck with your project,
Jason

 

Barnie whether or not you were aware of ceramic coatings is not the point..... Ceramic coatings have been used in Marine applications since the 1920's for exhaust, before the advent of aluminum, which became popular post WWII.

As for basic Math, If you wish I could extrapolate out exact prices and figures for the cost of exhaust systems.... but the result would be the same either way, when you correct for inflation, and all other variables... I had Custom made Sanderson Headers made up for my truck and with the coatings the ran $325.... a set of Headman's through Summit that may or may not fit ran me $200 + Note: I have seen quite a few for $100-150 on Craigslist... How much would a set of Manifolds run, don't forget to calculate in the loss in HP and also efficiency which would therefore bring about a loss in MPG Extrapolated out over time and many miles would mean much higher fuel costs! I had almost a 4 MPG gain due to changing from Logs (manifolds) to headers. and a saw a drop in Engine temp which resulted in the need for a higher temp thermostat. The point is for most people the gains outweigh the cost's in the long run.. Luckily living in THE USA we all have the right to our own choosing.... It seems that Rggd964 has already made his choice, it worked for him, as it did for me, where your choice worked for you! So why belabor the point?

Good luck to you and to all in the Christmas Season!

 

gfpilot - whichever system you choose, if you take Barnie's advice and have a local exhaust/muffler shop do the job for you, you can get just what you want, including an H pipe with the cast iron logs. Like 66 f-100 I have a '66 LWB with underfloor mounted spare tire and frame mounted hitch. Also like his picture, I had the shop run my duals out the side halfway between the end of the rear wheelwell and the end of the fender. When I took my truck to the shop to have it done (on a trailer as it was a non-runner) I made sure I had my rear bumper, spare tire, and trailer hitch all installed so the exhaust guy could see what he had to work around. My headers (Hooker Super Comps) were already installed. The only place where I screwed up was not having my handbrake cables installed. Sure enough, when I went to install them they chafed on the new H pipe. Had to make a little pulley thingy to reroute one of the cables. For what it's worth (i.e., nothing) I've had the same sets of headers on my '66 Mustang for 25 years and on my '64 Falcon for 15 years with no issues. Maybe it's the dry Arizona climate. Anyway, good luck with whatever you decide to do.

 

Hey Cropduster,
I'm still looking for headers for my 351w, did you run Ford Racing'' shorty's or long tube?
Do you remember the part#, Thank's in advance!

 

One of the Y-Block engine builders did some back to back exhaust testing with some 1.625/1.75 stepped tube t-bird headers on a warm 312, nothing exotic about it, cam, aftermarket intake, mild port on the best stock head casting, stuff that is not outside of the scope of the average Joe. The test included different size pipes, mufflers, no mufflers, crossover, no crossover, different pipe lengths and the results are interesting.

The baseline test was with 2.25" pipes. The crossover setup used 2.25" pipes with a 2" crossover.

A gain was found with a crossover only when mufflers were not used.
With mufflers, it did have a higher hp, +2hp, and tq, +1ftlb, peak. Average hp remained the same but average tq was down 1 ftlb.
Without mufflers a the peaks jumped by 5hp and 3ftlb and the averages jumped by 3hp and 3ftlb.
Without a crossover and without mufflers, peaks jumped 0hp, 2ftlbs and averages jumped 1hp and 2ftlbs.

This is only one test so I would not call it conclusive but it looks like it's a wash. The difference is so small that you probably will not notice it even without mufflers, and considering that the engine is modified, it's safe to assume that a stock engine will not gain as much.

From personal experience, my butt dyno didn't notice a power difference back when I had an H-pipe fitted but I did notice that the tone was a little more mellow.

Unfortunately, manifolds were not tested. We can assume that it will follow the same trend as the headers but it would be interesting to have real data.