Yeah the motor was a last minute, weekend thing that needed to go in to get to work on Monday after the previous decided to blow its skirts. The manifolds were from both a car and truck, though I'm not sure which in particular, and the bolts are heavily shimmed with washers. The manifold is wrong/pipe too long and that's where the clearance issue came in. No idea what type of manifolds are on it either, guessing 351 though. This one is particularly long. They seem to be fatter than most I've seen as well. Having used early 302 heads (1969 IIRC) on the 351 motor didn't help the exhaust issue, but it did give a nice bump in performance in overall compression and larger valves/3 angle valve job and porting over those terrible 70s heads (not to mention internals anyways).

The one you are looking at seems to be close to this one, with maybe just a tad more of a downward angle at the dump, larger ports and much, much fatter.

 

The 302 heads won't make any difference, the 302 and 351w heads are the same as far as the exhaust manifolds are concerned. If you got the correct 351w truck exhaust components, it should all bolt on and be like factory.

 

The years are screwy on the manifolds I think, which is why things don't line up.

 

With that long stroke, isnt the 408 a really torquey motor anyway? Even if the shorty headers dont optimize torque, wont that engine already be as good or better than most big block engines? Clearly the shorties fit better, offer much better clearance and less possible interference. On the assumption that you use this 4x4 off road, are you going to have problems damaging a low hanging exhaust system?
For that matter, whatever extra torque you might gain by going with the full length headers, what will you lose due to radical bends in an exhaust system by routing the pipes back upwards in along the framerails and back?
Do you four wheel it on any terrain where high centering a truck might be an issue?

 

I am doing a stroker, which shorties work with a 4x4 and manual tranny?

 

Most of them, just look at the shape and see if it looks like it will fit in your engine bay.

 

The older trucks with mechanical linkage may not work. Do you have mechanical clutch linkage? The shorties are a little bit of a gamble, because they can only be bought for the newer year trucks. But if I remember correctly, a couple of guys on here have used them on the older trucks with no problems. You may have a oxygen sensor hole to plug.

On those long tubes, you have weigh in the power advantages and the physical fit disadvantages. Sometimes it's better to give up a little power so you can get the starter off easily, change the sparkplugs easily, and pull the tranny pan and service it easily.

 

I see some Mr Gasket crap on there.

 

I put Headman shorties on the Bronco. Gary loves to work on it with them on there too. He said I get free labor on tune ups for life at the Garagemahal.

 

You got it right, for life, but didn't grasp the implications thereof.

 

Where are you looking?


Wouldn't surprise me though :lol:

 

Hopefully the OP does't mind me 'jacking his thread....

My truck is 1981 that I am yanking the 302 out and putting a 351W based stroker in (should be happening in a month). The header question is a real drama right now - shorties or long tubes.

Long tubes: From my phone calling with both L&L and Pacesetter supposedly make long tubes that "drop in" to my vintage of truck. I know from all the internet researching that routing the exhaust with dual tanks, 4X4, and NP435 is a real PITA. I also know the issues with plugs, starters, etc. is real. The other issue is coating - Pacesetters are ceramic coated ($420) and the L&L headers are not ($600) and would need to be coated by Jet-hot or something similar. The L&L headers are stouter - .50" flange with 14 GA tubes vs .38" and 16 GA. So the short of it is - heavy duty long tubes for $800 or not-as-heavy duty for $420.

Short tubes - I know very little on these other than anecdotal comments that I have seen on websites. I am trying to find part numbers that are confirmed to fit.

I guess at the end of the day I will probably go with long tubes and live with the consequences. The truck won't be a daily driver so maintenance items won't happen all that often.

Decisions, decisions....

 

In my 1980 4x4 with a swapped in 351w and c6 auto tranny, I bought and ran the cheapie flowtech headers with just the black paint. I think I got some sort of coupon and got a good deal on them from the local store.

First off, with the very early trucks they didn't offer the 351w, only the 351m. So I had to tell them I had a later truck,, I made up something like a 1985. Yes, they are very thin and as soon as you start the engine the paint burns off. But I was surprised how good they did fit as far as headers go, in the engine compartment. Of course that's when I learned about the headaches underneath. And I drove that truck in the salt, and the last few years before I sold it I plowed snow with it. Those thin headers couldn't take that, and after having them on the truck for 5 years, they rusted through down where all the pipes come together(the collector area).

I had just put a newer homemade exhaust on the truck, so the best/cheapest way to get it going again was to buy more cheapies. I bought the same exact set I did before, but this time before I put them on I took lacquer thinner and a rag and wiped all the cheap black paint off. After I got them to bare metal I painted them with VHT silver paint. It's very difficult to installed them without scratching the paint, but only after a few scratches I got them on and started it up. The paint hardened up, didn't burn off, and they looked ok. My main concern was to slow down the rust. I am sure it helped them some, but I sold the truck not long afterward.

 

I have Bassani headers and Y-pipe on my truck. Spent a long (real long) time researching all the options. Short of having custom headers welded up this is the best I could come up with. They arent cheap, but Im a buy once, cry once kinda guy, so I will pay a bit more even if it adds 6 months more to finance the project.

There are a few options out there, but anything labled 80-96 F150 or Bronco will bolt right one. I opted for the ceramic coated ones intended for the Lightning. 1 5/8 primaries vs 1 1/2 for the regular F150, and no provision for the AIR system (which is fine bc Im not running it anyway). Other years / Models may vary slightly in configureation for the emmisions provisions.

There are several web sites that sell them, though most DO NOT have them in stock and instead drop ship from Bassani. I waited 7 weeks with the 1st order I placed, continually having the expected delivery date pushed out. This was not the vendors fault. Bassani makes great stuff, but their customer service is dismal. If you do go this route, call to make sure they are in stock, and have someone visually verify they are on the shelf before ordering.

LM Performance had them in stock, and the order I placed there had them at my door inside of a week.

Bassani F-150 SVT Lightning Equal Length Headers Ceramic Coated (93-95) - LatemodelRestoration.com

 

I hear the ceramic coated headers run a lot hotter than the non-coated ones.