Hey everyone
Im looking for headers for my Ranchero with a 302, but all i find is 302W. Now i thought only 351 was a windsor model, but supposively every brand of headers only has it for the 302W. Is this a misprint, or if not, is it the same? And if its not, what else will fit these? I saw one that fits 260-351W, so that might. So if someone can expalin that to me that would help a lot Thanks!!
Danny

 

Unless you have a cleveland headed 302, your 302 is considered a Windsor engine.

 

I know this is an old post but just curious if you found the headers you were looking for. I just got a 79 Ranchero with the 302 and would like to know how you came out...

Oz

 

Hey Oz,
Well my reliable source Dan the Ranchero man (if you nkow him) has helped me on this one. I knew that the 72-79 ranchero engine bays are the same, so the 70-73 headers for the ranchero/torino and some others would work. The thing is, it is illegal for above 73 to have headers because it would cause the cat converters not to warm up as fast from being too far back from the engine. But if youre not worried about that, then you can go with any set that ends with 73. I went with the Hooker comp. headers that are actually from 69-77 (from summitracing.com part# is HOK-6901), but the ranchero fits under that year, and they are great. Hope this helps!
Danny

 

This is great, thanks a lot.. Which mufflers did you end up getting..I saw a lot of talk about Dynomax vs. Flowmasters etc,... in the Exhaust forum here and still not sure..Though I must admit the sounds you hear at the magnaflow site are pretty neat... Thanks for the reply...
Oz

 

Hey Oz,
I went with the Hooker Aero Chamber mufflers - dual with h pipe, no catalytic converters. They sound great. Not too loud, but still loud. Great muscle sound, especially with headers. They don't get annoying on the highway like flowmasters do either. Also, they flow WAY better. This is the best chambered muffler ive seen. It flows a little less than an open pipe, it creates a little less horsepower than an open pipe but it creates a lot more torque than open pipes, and thats what we need. If you go to the holley site, then hooker exhaust, you can see the graphs at the bottom of the page for comparison, and you can download a clip at the top. I love it personally, but if you're not into the performace or if you want louder, id go with flowmaster because they are loud while they have great performance, just not as good as hooker's. I hear Borla has a good sound. Ravin by midas is also a good sound. Make sure you pick the muffler that you think fits the sound youre looking for, not what others want. My muffler is rare here, so its my unique sound (other than the fact im 1 of 10 rancheros ive seen) haha. Good luck on picking your mufflers, and i hope this helps.
Danny

 

make that 1 out of 11 now
I'm also a part time Harley guy you see., so what I like is a low pitch rumble rather than loud noise.... but you're right you gotta hear this stuff to make up your mind., I experimented with 4 different exhausts on my bike before I had the rumble I wanted......BTW does your dash have gauges or three big circles one with the speedo and two blanks with some lights in them?

 

Hey,
Actually, I have 4 big circles. The speedo, the clock, and two blank crosses with lights. I think one is a compass or something, its missing some stuff. I wish i had the tach option. Ill probably buy one and have to set it up custom. Good Luck with eveything.
Danny

 

SUMMIT has home brand 351w headers on page 61 for79.50,
same page Dynomax 302w for99.95
and a butt load of clevland headers.
Did I miss the threads topic. I think so