Making your own headers
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Junior User
Joined: Jun 2006
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Making your own headers
due to not being able to find an exhaust for my 390 in a 94 mustang (did find one, very pricey) I was wondering if anyone ever bought a Mandrel bend kit and built their own headers? If so, what kind of problems did you have.
Laughing Gas
Joined: Nov 2000
Posts: 1,072
Likes: 3
From: tulsa
I built a set of headers for a 88 mustang with a sbc, what I did was pick up 3 sets of headers from a swap meet for 5 bucks a pair then cut them up for the variety of bends I needed. manderal bend kits are expensive, all you need is the 390 flanges and then any set of headers you can cut up. was not hard but time involved to get the cuts right and to snake the pipes around the steering shaft. had to cut a small notch out of the k member for clearence. on the passenger side, and the driver side had to be put in from the bottom of the car with it jacked into the air as far as I could. you will have even a tighter fit with the 390 being so much wider than the small block. Although that 88 mustang now has a bbc and I used some headman headers found at the swap meet and they fit good with a few notches here and there.
Posting Guru
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 2,117
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From: Evanston, WY
There are pics of the ones I made in my gallery.
It is NOT hard. I bought a bunch of J bends in different radii (?) and a pair of flanges and started mocking up. I used a chop saw and a little mig welder to tack it together. I terminated the primaries in a set of Hooker collectors. I just put a couple of tacks on each seam, and if I didn't like where it was going I would just knock it apart and start over. TAKE YOUR TIME. Your bends should flow smoothly over your seams. If you have a seam that creates an angle instead of a continuation of a curve then recut the piece. Once I finished the mockup, I just took them to a pro welder and had them tig it all together.
-Scouder
It is NOT hard. I bought a bunch of J bends in different radii (?) and a pair of flanges and started mocking up. I used a chop saw and a little mig welder to tack it together. I terminated the primaries in a set of Hooker collectors. I just put a couple of tacks on each seam, and if I didn't like where it was going I would just knock it apart and start over. TAKE YOUR TIME. Your bends should flow smoothly over your seams. If you have a seam that creates an angle instead of a continuation of a curve then recut the piece. Once I finished the mockup, I just took them to a pro welder and had them tig it all together.
-Scouder
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Junior User
Joined: Jun 2006
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Originally Posted by Scouder
There are pics of the ones I made in my gallery.
It is NOT hard. I bought a bunch of J bends in different radii (?) and a pair of flanges and started mocking up. I used a chop saw and a little mig welder to tack it together. I terminated the primaries in a set of Hooker collectors. I just put a couple of tacks on each seam, and if I didn't like where it was going I would just knock it apart and start over. TAKE YOUR TIME. Your bends should flow smoothly over your seams. If you have a seam that creates an angle instead of a continuation of a curve then recut the piece. Once I finished the mockup, I just took them to a pro welder and had them tig it all together.
-Scouder
It is NOT hard. I bought a bunch of J bends in different radii (?) and a pair of flanges and started mocking up. I used a chop saw and a little mig welder to tack it together. I terminated the primaries in a set of Hooker collectors. I just put a couple of tacks on each seam, and if I didn't like where it was going I would just knock it apart and start over. TAKE YOUR TIME. Your bends should flow smoothly over your seams. If you have a seam that creates an angle instead of a continuation of a curve then recut the piece. Once I finished the mockup, I just took them to a pro welder and had them tig it all together.
-Scouder
More Turbo
Joined: Nov 2004
Posts: 590
Likes: 1
From: in the woods of Maine!
Hey guys, I'm gonna be making a set of fender exit headers for the 416 I'm putting in my Bronco. I want to make them a 4into 2 into 1. Instead of the traditional 4 into 1. Which pairs or 2 should I hook together?, or do I have to hook companion cylinders together meaning I have to hook one from the right bank, to another on the left bank and so on?
Lead Driver
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 9,893
Likes: 12
From: Ohio
Originally Posted by jwtimme
I built a set of headers for a 88 mustang with a sbc
Although that 88 mustang now has a bbc
Although that 88 mustang now has a bbc
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Cargo Master
Joined: Sep 2004
Posts: 3,430
Likes: 2
From: NH
Originally Posted by LedheadELH
Hey guys, I'm gonna be making a set of fender exit headers for the 416 I'm putting in my Bronco. I want to make them a 4into 2 into 1. Instead of the traditional 4 into 1. Which pairs or 2 should I hook together?, or do I have to hook companion cylinders together meaning I have to hook one from the right bank, to another on the left bank and so on?
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