I installed my headers today and thought I would let ya know how it went. It took 3 hours. It went much easier then I thought it would go. They were very close to the terminal on the starter so I had to hit them with a hammer a little bit to get them away from it, I didnt want them to touch somehow and short out. The drivers side comes very close to the front driveline, I hope there is enough room for my exhaust guy to get a pipe on there and bend it. The drivers side header (1 piece) went on very simple. The passenger side (2 piece) was the tricky one. I had to drive it home from my dads shop with open headers, man, IT SOUNDS COOL ! I couldnt really tell if there was a increase in power because it was all flat on the way home and I was trying to watch out for cops. I get the pipes put on tuesday.

 

Umm.. when I went to rebuild my grandaddys 74 ford 390 highboy it had fenderwell headers on it.. the only reason i didn't put them on is because the driverside was rotted out pretty bad... you will never find them for a 360... just look for a pair for a 390 i found some for my 428 in my other highboy...

 

I put a pair of Hooker headers on my 75 highboy and it was a royal PITA. I had to unbolt the motor mount, jack the engine, and notch the passenger side motor mount (frame side). That being said, I get a lot of compliments on the sound with just headers, cherry bombs and enough pipe to kick it out in front of the rear wheels. I added a 4v carb and Edelbrock intake while I was at it and I noticed a big difference in performance. Oh, this is with a 360 and Np435 4sp.

 

Ah necro posting.....lol

You guys should check the date on these threads when your searching through them. With that said, I wonder what Hooker headers you used. The ones I've used from Hooker (6905HKR) went on as easy as it can get.

 

Sleepy445FE, I also have the Hooker competition Headers (6905HKR) and they sound amazing. I have how ever had to replace my starter 3 times due to to much heat. I finally put the aluminum foil looking heat shield on around the starter and so far so good. Maybe I will put a more substantial heavy gauge heat shield on, but until this starter burns up I am waiting.

 

Sleepy445Fe, I guess the heat shield. I currently have on is the Thermo-Tec 14150
I was very skeptical at first, but it seems to be doing the job!!!!!!

 

Yeah they sure are close to the starter. You definitely need some kind of thermal barrier. Mine are wrapped and so far so good. I haven't had a problem burning up starters. If I do burn it up or whenever it goes out I'll switch to a mini-starter. I need new headers anyway with the engine upgrade these are a bottleneck. I'll be trying some 2" primary fenderwell exits that I may decide to build myself if I can't find any. Either way they are getting sent off to get nickel coated. Should last a LOT longer.

 

I went with Stan's headers on my 1970 F250 4x4 with the mysterious 3rd crossmember. They fit perfectly. I also opted for the ceramic coating. As for the hard to install passenger side, easiest way I found was to put a jack with a block under the engine and unbolt the engine mount from the frame and engine, then slide the header in.

Stan's are expensive, but well worth it and you get what you pay for.

 

Mad Dog headers Part #9227

 

these are what i have on my 73, unbolting the engine mounts and lifting the engine made it alot easier, the only thing that i don't like is the one pipe that is almost touching the starter.

Excuse how dirty it is...

 

Yup, headers tend to crowd the starter. If I didn't have a manual transmission so I could roll it down a hill to start it I probably would have gone with shorties.

FWIW, Stan's headers come with 16 bolt exhaust pattern flanges to match both head styles, and will work great with the Eddy's I plan to install. Exhaust leaks gone forever!

 

i just installed the flowtechs on my 2wd 390 , what a p.i.t.a.
collectors were right at the trans cross member and lined right up with the gear selector on the c6 trans , i had to cut the trans slector in half then reweld together , also had to make a bend and dent in drivers side exhuast to clear linkage for column shifter.

 

I have Stand on my 73 and they do not affect my starter. Had for about 13 years now. HPC coated them. Still look good.

 

[QUOTE=Sleepy445FE;10707390]Yeah they sure are close to the starter. You definitely need some kind of thermal barrier. Mine are wrapped and so far so good. I haven't had a problem burning up starters. If I do burn it up or whenever it goes out I'll switch to a mini-starter.

Beware of the mini starter! I purchased one from Rob... recomended by a FTE member. They claim their starters are superior for various reasons. Look them up on the web. This starter cost's way more $$ than one from Summit, etc. It did NOT hold up to heat or cranking over a stock starter. By that I mean, truck's with a aluminum intake and Eldy carb. Those who have this setup know what I mean. After the engine get's hot, it may take 5-10 second's for the engine to start. It lasted about 40 starts of the engine in about 10 months. It would not turn over. It was wired as per their instructions with a 1000 CCA battery with welding cable for battery cable.

My understanding is Mini's are used for high compression engines that start within a revolution or two. I have a mildly built 390 with Headman headers\ eldy intake and carb. A stock starter has been on for over a year now with no issues.

The Mini was wrapped. My engine is tuned. My truck hasnt been out of the city in 7 years. The only advantage was the Mini starter could be clocked and removed with the header bolts loosened, but still installed. I had to lift the engine and pull the headers to get the stock starter installed.

I'll put my money where my mouth is. I paid big buck's for this Rob...mini starter! I refuse to pay their 1/2 price of a new one for them to rebuild this POS starter that is like brand new. For about the rebuild price, you can buy a new one from Summit\Jeg's. PM me, you pay shipping, you can have it. Just report back
here your expierience with it after a short while. If it works for you, I hope crow tastes like chicken, cause I'll eat it.

PS I pulled the starter after 9 months when it first quit working, AWAY from home. I cleaned the darkened commutator, the brushes were like new. It lasted 3 more start's, this time it failed with the wife and kid's at the mall. GRRR This Mini starter is easy to take apart, but I didnt buy it to remove every other week for repairs on a daily driver, so to speak. Sorry for the rant, but for the money I wasted on this starter, I could have bought...

 

Well then, I'm not sure I want it now. lol Pretty much why I would want one is to be able to change it without taking the header off but it don't sound like it's worth a dang. Thanks for the heads up at least.