Hi,
My name is Joe and I would first like to say hello and seasons greeting, to all.
After buyng a new radiator and some hoses I managed, after draining the gas tank, and oil and refilling them, to get the 1965 ford F100 352 V8 started.
It had sat up in the mountains for 7 years before sitting in my drive for almost 2 years. cleaning everything was as far as I had gotten untill a week ago when I decided to see if it would run again. the guy who had it last parked it and left it and never stared it again. I had it towed to my place and. I am going to go thru the brakes this week, so I can get it on the road. so my first question is about the exhaust. The pipes are rusted out at the "Y" that heads to the muffler. So what to do? drive some place to have someone custom weld the pipes? Or can this "Y" still be gotten from some source? Put some other configuration on? Go duel pipes? Was hoping for some input and some suggestions. I live in the S F bay area. So thank for you time and enjoy!
Joe

 

Hi Joe, Welcome to FTE

I would just drive it to the muffler shop. Me thinks I'd do a little advance looking for a shop that sold Flowmasters (they sound awesome). Tell them you need a dual exhaust from manifold to tips and get pricing first. Don't buy into you have to drive it in either, they can give you a price without seeing it.

I have a class 4 hitch under my truck, it had to be installed before the pipes for clearence.

John

 

I agree. Ask around, ask everyone you see who has duals on their vehicle who they had do it. Pipe bending is a bit of an art; some are better than others. The 65-66 with the FE isn't that hard to do, luckily. Clearance can be tight at the back where the spare wheel and hitch (if equipped) reside. Neither John or I would recommend headers to you; pipes off the stock manifolds are fine. I think the entire system cost me about $350-400.

 

Hey Joe Welcome to FTE !
And Seasons' Greetings back to ya & yours. .
Sounds as if y'all got a good thing going there. Lots of "Slick 60's" owners jumped in the same way, with a resurrection as their beginning. Many others have inherited or bought a vehicle from a friend or relative. Of course some have just bought outright.

Have you looked into upgrading your "brakes" to Front Discs, or Front Power Discs yet? There's plenty here on FTE about that Retro-Upgrade conversion. I mean after 9 years of sitting you're looking at some BIG $$$ in overhauling drum brakes. Personally I would put my money in the upgrade for too many really great reasons to list here.

As for the exhaust problem, I'd think "system" also. And I agree think dual exhaust with an "H" - "X" pipe style equalizer to eliminate any chance or reversion at idle. FWIW, OEM style "Y" - exhaust pipe from 2 into 1 "single" exhaust system can still be found and are available, but I think they are pricey and less effective than a good balanced dual system. Especially at +$2.00 a gallon. Forget headers for general driving & use. Unless you're going all out for Hi Performance you will not gain enough to make the cost worth it.

I also agree with John & David, a good exhaust shop is probably your best bet. I do not mess around with exhaust systems myself anymore because I seldom can do a better job, and I do not really save any $$$ in the end by attempting to. But as they said, "Shop it around" and get input as to the best shop you can find. I dunno about the Bay Area, but here in FL I find the value is generally with independents that have a good reputation, as opposed to big national franchise chains (IMHO).Like the guys above mentioned, if you're considering a frame mounted trailer hitch make provisions for it also.

Again, welcome to FTE,

FBp

 

Dual Exaust will wake that 352 up It did mine. You may need to upjet the Carb a couple of sizes though. The single system is real restrictive. Unless you are in a realy cold climate have them remove the flaper thing in the drivers side exaust manifold, and shop around, when i went looking I found est from about 350-550 dollars, I finally found a little shop in a town about 60miles north of here that did a dual flowmaster setup for 200 bucks and he custom bent the pipes so they came out just behind the rear wheels.

 

Joe I used to live in San Jose and my experience has taught me that the little independant guy that dosen't speak too much english and is right next to the used tire place is going to give you the best CASH price. BTW welcome aboard, Rich.

 

Exellent choice in trucks.Was exactly where you are about a month ago.My name is also Joe.Mine was sitting since 2000.Drained all of the fluids and replaced the radiator and exhaust,Went with the headers and free flow mufflers.It sounds great but if the manifolds can be salvaged keep them.My heat riser leaked pretty bad so I went with headers.It just sounds a bit....loud lots of show,not enough go.The 352 mill is tough but not nearly as fast as she sounds.Been doing lots of cleaning since I got her,gotta love those lines.The 65 is easily upgraded in the brake and power steering dept as you will soon find out.My project will be put on hold until spring but I have a driver for the winter now...If the 4 wd Suburban and my e-250 work truck fail me.Good luck to ya.
Joe

 

The flapper thingy in the left exhaust manifold is the exhaust manifold heat riser. Very important if you want your truck to run properly especially right after startup. I do the duals with cross over pipe or X pipe, stock manifolds and the heat riser.