i have a 1978 ford f150 v8 400ci 6.6 i am installing headers this weekend and wonder if any one knows what im in for should it be easy or a pain

 

Recently helped a friend put headers in a 77 f150 2wd wt a 460. Major nightmare, driver side bolted right on, no problems. Passenger side... Remove starter, remove bolt from motor mount jack up engine, remove transmission cooler lines, intstalled header. Starter put back in, not much clearance, might be trouble down the road. Old transmission lines were touching headers, will have to get new ones. Still hasn't been able to get motor mount secured, header is now in the way. Needless to say my 77 f150 4x4 will keep the stock manifolds. I don't want to relive that nightmare.

 

Get fenderexit headers.

 

mucho pain, put a set on my 390, drivers bolted up great, passenger side pita!!!!

 

What model?
What was painful?

 

1973 F250 camper special c6 390 2wd
first set of headers were a brand by Crager from 1975
drivers dropped in, passenger side had to hoist motor up as high as it would go with cherry picker, removed sway bar and frontr cross member so that headers would drop in, got passenger side in but front tube was hitting front cross member, would not work out.
p/u second set of headers, no I.D. markings other than 049 on collector
drivers sider fell in, passenger side had to hoist motor all the way up, was able to slide in with starter on, close fit to starter and starter cable goes in between #3 and #4 header tube.
still have to reinstall front cross member and sway bar and bend up new trans cooler lines, need to install old lines for template and rebend as needed
good luck

 

78 F150 4x4 351m auto, came with a Hedman chassis set installed, no exhaust at all, thats when the trouble started. Getting thru/under/around the xmsn cross member and transfer case was painful to still have true duels. Or just have a good exhaust shop run the rest?

Fenderwell exits are the way to go IMO.

 

Mine went on my 390 ine a 4x4 with no problems. Didn't have to lift the engine or anything.

 

I had them on my 76 no real issues on the install .. Leaked at the heads no matter how many gaskets ... They went away

 

Put hookers on my 79 F150 4x4 w/ 400. PITA but not impossible. Had to lift motor and clearance is tight but no real issues. I wrapped a lot of lines with heat tape and made a shield for starter. The exhaust will be a pain though unless you get a good exhaust shop to run it for you.

 

FTE sponsor JBG (Jeff's Bronco Graveyard) has some awesome gaskets, I have used them on my 351M with Hedman and on a 302 with shorties they are great, NO leaks.

Header Gaskets 351M,400 V8 1975-82

 

Sanderson Headers Of Oregon has made to fit for many ford trucks and engines.. And they will make headers to your specs. Mine were custom fit for my FE in my 64 they were an easy install, just bolted right in They use very thick mounting flanges, and for an extra $100 they will ceramic coat and Aluminize them.. mine were $425 but have been absolutely a joy from installation to reliability, and clean up.... the cleaning and polishing entails wiping them down with a soft rag and a bit of windex about once every 3 months or so... And the Performace has been stunning! definitely worth the extra bucks!

 

when i installed mine back in 95 i had to remove teh cross member between the radias arms. both hedders went in from below,only had to remove the starter.

 

I installed a set on my old 78 f250 and it was a it took me 18 hours to install. BUT! That was because of getting the old manifolds off. I had about an hour is just dropping the headers in. Fit great and was good quality. I used Flowtech Headers which is a Holley brand. Also to keep your headers from leaking tighting you bolts down on the headers then warm your engine up and drive it around. Then go back and tighten them again. Shouldn't leak. Always worked for me. I would go back and double check they were tight every time I change the oil though.

EDIT: My truck was also a 4x4 with a 400. So if yours is 2wd it will be easier. Just make sure that if its auto it clears the linkage.

 

I have been involved with 3 sets here are my findings:

(1) they all leaked, pro exhaust shop install or install in my shop
(2) They all helped power, fuel mileage, and sounded cool
(3) they all hit something on the truck

I like headers, but my dad won a national title in a drag car he built and he said headers can't be bought and bolted on, they have to be configured to your engine build, car, RPM range, and they shouldn't leak todo their job. His headers were fenderwell exits from a custom header shop in Detroit, he towed the car to their shop and they made the headers to fit the chassi.

set 1 : 79 f150 supercab longbed 4x4 400 C6 hedman chasis exit always leaked at the collectors, and needed gaskets on the engine about every 500 miles or everytime the truck exceeded 65 mph for more than 1 mile. I baught the truck from the guy that owned the exhaust shop and even he couldn't stop the collector leaks and he put the headers on!!

set 2: 71 f250 highboy 390 frt axle swap to D60 HP C6 and a add-a-leaf to the front with rearching the frt springs. Hedman chassis exit headers. As soon as we hit a bump in the road hard enough to flex the frt springs, it crushed one tube. They also didn't get along very well with the starter and count on a starter or 2 every summer. I thought autozones starter tester was going to wear out.

Set 3: 78 F-250 4x4 C6 460 conversion. L&L chassis exit headers. Collectors leak at gaskets, replaced gaskets 2 times in one year, living with leak. Replaced gaskets on heads 2 maybe 3 times in one year. The last replacement was 4 days ago and the bolts were so tight I had to use a 6 pt socket and wrench to remove, the bolts were trying to round off. I thought I detected a leak in the drivers side this morning already. I used percys lifetime gaskets and I guess those guys must not live very long. Their gaskets aren't very long lived. I use the cheap fiber gaskets now they are cheap and seem to last fine. They also hit the front axle at extreme situations, which that truck sees lots of.

I will look into JBG's gaskets, they sound nice.

As for fenderwell exit headers, I have seen the L&L headers hit the tires if you do any offroad driving. I have seen this. I don't recommend these if your truck is a truck. I run Super swamper boggers, farm, heat with wood, and run a trap line in the winter. When I need a truck, it usually needs to be a 4x4 and have some ground clearance.

My tire chains are grader chains that fit my boggers, I have a 12000 # warn winch as well and it gets used. My truck breaks a lot, but when i need to go up the hill or through the river, I take my truck. I recommend manifolds, I run headers because the engine I have needs to move more air than manifolds will support, It was not running real well with manifolds so the L&L was the only solution. Sorry dor the long post, but I would say you are in for a treat.