Manifolds Vs. headers.
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From: Woodstock, Portland, OR
Manifolds Vs. headers.
1971 Ford F100, 351W (carb'd), T18 4 spd
Heres my perdicament. I have long tube headers on my truck right now. they are starting to get rusted out and sound bad. i had to cut the ends off because they were so rusted out that they bent and broke when i took the old exhaust off. right now i have 20'' glasspacks on the end of them.
Now, I can get a set of stock manifolds and the pipe that comes off of them and goes down below the truck for pretty cheap. I could also get another set of long tube headers, the cheapest I've seen is about 200 bucks ordered from a local auto parts store. I don't remember what brand they were.
I've read that headers mainly help for high RPM jaunts, and this is going to be a cruiser. I don't expect it to get much over 3500 RPM. What would be the advantage of having headers for me be?
Heres my perdicament. I have long tube headers on my truck right now. they are starting to get rusted out and sound bad. i had to cut the ends off because they were so rusted out that they bent and broke when i took the old exhaust off. right now i have 20'' glasspacks on the end of them.
Now, I can get a set of stock manifolds and the pipe that comes off of them and goes down below the truck for pretty cheap. I could also get another set of long tube headers, the cheapest I've seen is about 200 bucks ordered from a local auto parts store. I don't remember what brand they were.
I've read that headers mainly help for high RPM jaunts, and this is going to be a cruiser. I don't expect it to get much over 3500 RPM. What would be the advantage of having headers for me be?
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Joined: Nov 2004
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From: Salt Lake City, Utah
/you heard correctly, headers are largely for performance at high RPMs. Longtubes do tend to be better at low RPM than short headers. Triple-y headers give all around power increased, both o end and top, but they are harder to find and cost more. Headers with smaller collectors, just as JBA firecones, produce more torque than headers that have large collectors.
Hotshot
Joined: Mar 2007
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From: Pa
The stock manifolds will work fine and probably give you more low end. For your rpm range I would just put the cast manifolds back on. I take it your currently running a 4 into 1 competition style long tube. All 4 primaries dump into the collector at the same point. I have 4 into 1 headers on my 74' 302 which are too large. I think they are 1 1/2" primaries with a 3" collector. I basically had no choice it was the only header I could find. I like headers and prefer them over stock manifolds but header choice are slim. I would really like a set of Tri-Ys for my 74' as I think they are best. I have tri-ys on my 04' SD and the low and mid range power is fantastic.
FTE Legend
Joined: Jun 2006
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From: Ottawa, Ontario
The person that wrote that doesn't know what they're talking about. Longtube headers of any type promote better cylinder scavenging and that increases TQ. The BIG mistake almost everybody makes when installing headers is using too much exhaust system behind them. A stock small V8 really doesn't need anything more than a 2.5" single, more than that kills exhaust velocity and that is what kills TQ. Keep the plumbing small but with smooth bends and high flow components and the motor will make more power across the whole powerband.
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From: Pittsburgh,Pa.
I'm going to replace the exhaust on my 72 F100. It has a 289 with an Edelbrock Performer intake and a small Holley 4 bbl. carb. I want duals and did briefly consider headers but the truck doesn't get used a lot. I decided to just replace the stock manifolds ( both are victims of poor stud repairs) and have a set of small tube duals bent for it. It will do all I want minus the clearance issues and gasket leaks.
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From: Woodstock, Portland, OR
So I think I'm going to pick up a set of stock manifolds next time i go to the yard. i also want to do a true dual exhaust with 2'' pipe, but i don't know what to do after that.
I have two options right now in my garage. I can go with dual glasspacks that will exit in front of the rear wheels, or i can go with two FM 50's that exit in front of the rear wheels. What do you guys think will sound better?
And it took me a little over two years to get 200 posts. haha.
I have two options right now in my garage. I can go with dual glasspacks that will exit in front of the rear wheels, or i can go with two FM 50's that exit in front of the rear wheels. What do you guys think will sound better?
And it took me a little over two years to get 200 posts. haha.
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From: Pittsburgh,Pa.
I'm going with Cherry Bomb glasspacks myself since I'm trying to stay as " period correct " as possible with mine. I had a couple of trucks with glasspacks that exited ahead of the rear wheels. Both of them sounded good. Something I learned from them was to bend the tail pipes to come out at a 45 degree angle verses a 90 degree angle. I noticed trucks that had them bent 90 degrees tended to sound like a popcorn machine inside a tunnel or crossing a bridge with concrete sides.
I can't give an opinion on the FM 50's since I've never used them.
I can't give an opinion on the FM 50's since I've never used them.
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