I have a 76 F150 390 with aluminum intake and a holley 600
I am toying with the idea of adding headers. My wife thinks I am crazy putting money in this old truck. But once I work through engine, paint and body work and an interior I will have accomplished something. Should I add headers what type and how much$.
I need a drop in application

Any comments are welcome

 

It is a worthwhile upgrade. Probably the biggest bang for the buck. For cheapies I would recommend flowtechs. They are about $99 at autozone and they didn't leak on my iron heads or my aluminum ones.

 

Wiznewski

Hi, you will probably get many opinions on this subject so I guess I will be first. Of all the reading I have done on FE powered cars and trucks everyone seems to be in agreement that the cast iron logs that were used as exhaust manifolds are TERRIBLE! They don't flow worth a crap.

That being said now on to replacing those logs. I have Hedman hedders on my truck. They are just a run of the mill full length header. If money were no object I would go with a ceramic covered shorty type header.

If you chose the popular full length style be prepared for a pain in your butt putting them on. First be VERY careful getting the old manifold bolts out. They are nortorious for snapping off. Soak them in penetrating oil for a few days first. Don't be surprised also if you have to loosen up the motor mounts and jack the engine up to each side to get the headers installed.

Finally, getting the header to seal to the head can be a pain. Use quality gaskets. I also used hi-temp copper RTV with mine.

A final comment concerning the starter motor. Headers cook them alive from excess heat. This is not so much a problem with the more expensive shorty's though. Just the full length style. To make matters worse you have to loosen the header up all the way to get the starter motor out to replace it.

Is all this trouble worth it? I decided "Yup" and have them on my truck.

Take care,

 

I have hedman's on my truck. I think the easiest way to install them would be (and this is not the way I did it the first time), to remove the inner fenders, remove the starter, and lower them in. Installing from the bottom up is a royal pain in the... Yeah, I think you know what I mean. When putting the starter back, do it before you bolt the headers to the head, and slip the starter down from above, back by the firewall. It should slip right in there, with a little persuasion. Trust me, its about 1,000,000 times easier than trying to hold everything up and wedge it in from underneath.

You MIGHT, and I stress MIGHT, be able to install them from above without removing the inner fenders.

I like the hedman's on mine. They seem to be holding up well, but have developed the familiar surface rust. I would suggest ceramic coated full length headers. Shorties dont give as much gain as full length, usually only half as much.

Jegs - Hedman coated hedders

Good luck!

 

I have a set of long-tube Blackjack alumacoat headers, and while they are rotting now (it's only been 15 years), they did stand up to quite a lot of stuff.

Anyway, I can get the starter in and out with no troubles. They were a pain to get in from the bottom, but what headers aren't?

I originally had them on a stock 360 and wow what a difference. I can't even imagine using the old logs...

'74 Highboy 390

 

I am running the stock logs on both my 352 and my 360 .
BOth engines run great but I know for a fact that the passenger side bank runs a lot hotter then the drivers side - this leads me to belive that this side is very very restictive.
I chose to run the stockers on my truck 4x4 ( 360) due to the abilty for me to put on the exhaust system in my yard and not have to bring the truck to a shop to have the exhaust fabbed up .
The second reason was that I could bolt on the new 2 piece y pipe and tighten everything down and not mess with leaks and the hassel of changing starters . The third reason is I wanted the truck quiet - I dont need it loud .
The truck is a daily driver with a stock rebuilt 360 and a holley 500 cfm 2 bbl and I find that the truck has enough power for my needs ( beats the heck out of my 1989 4x4 with the FI 300).
If I were looking for a little more power then I would without a doubt dump the stock exhaust in favor for the headers .
My 352 in my galaxie has basically the same exhaust manifolds as my truck except that it has a 4bbl carb ( stock 250 hp, 4bbl 352) and duel exhaust. Again that passengers side exhaust runs really hot .
headers are a cheep "go part" and might be for you or they might not .

 

yep, what they all said............plus, most these trucks need new exaust manifolds or gaskets anyway, so, while they can be a pain i think their woth it depending on what your doin with the truck. if you do plan on keepin it as you said then go for it...........besides, after putting headers on one of these you feel more of a bond between you and the truck, physical as well as mental and i aint kiddin............lol
i bought dynomax headers, and there were fit problems but that may or may not be the headers.........but it may be worth the extra 30 bucks to try headman, or try the flow techs........just be prepared to be patioent and crafty............and do it when you can take your time, don't start on it at 9 at nite and have to drive it by 6 am the next morning.........
in addition to the above mentioned problems headers can have, if you have a c-6 tranny there can be linkage problems.
theres nothing that cant be fixed or done with putting these on just be patient and take your time..........bond with the truck and invent some new swear words............then again you may get lucky and they'll drop right in!!!!!!!!!!!

 

No!

 

I've had Dynomax ceramic-coated long tubes on my '73 2wd 4spd 390 for almost a year now and I'm very pleased with them. They were $225 in Jegs and have a lifetime warranty which includes rust. They fit good and have thick flanges and I don't have leaking problems. I did have to jack up the motor and install them from the bottom. I would recommend installing a starter wrap or heat sheild, and make sure the next starter you buy has a lifetime warranty...

Marty