I'm getting the 352 rebuilt on my 66 f100, and I'm down to the frame and suspension. I'm wondering about the exhaust. My goal is to have a nice daily driver, nothing to compete in shows or win any drag races. That said, is there really any benefit to going with headers instead of manifold? If so, I've seen headers range in price from mid $-100s to $-out of my league, and I'm wondering what's the best bang for the buck under $200?
thanks.
doc

 

My truck has a 352 and had headers on it when I bought it. The headers always leaked, despite replacing the gaskets multiple times. Plus, if you ever need to replace the starter, that requires removing the header on the passenger side. Personally, I thought they were more trouble than they were worth. From a performance standpoint, you would probably get a few more horsepower but if you aren't going to race it, who cares. Needless to say, I tossed my headers and bought a set of stock manifolds and couldn't be happier.

Mark

 

Good to know. Thanks, Mark.

 

I agree with Mark. In addition:

-- Headers WILL rust out - then they'll need replacing.

-- Headers will also make your floorboards and everything under the hood hotter; sometimes not a good thing.

-- Headers will also bake your starter and can cause it to die prematurely.

-- Headers are more apt to leak at the head flange than an exhaust manifold.

IMHO, with a good set of dual exhausts, a truck will sound just fine with OE manifolds.
BarnieTrk

 

OTOH, I've had manifolds on my truck since I bought it. I added dual exhaust. I've never been able to keep a good seal at the heat riser on the driver's side; it constantly blows out the gaskets. I finally removed the last gasket fragments and just did a metal to metal joint and it's no better, but no worse either. I just bought a pair of Hooker headers on Craigslist for a really good price and figure why not give them a try. Can't be much worse! I'll wrap the starter and shield it and hope for the best. The manifolds will get tossed in the corner for when I reach the stage where Mr Wilkerson can say "I told you so". LOL

 

I have a set of hooker headers on my daily driver (coated headers).Put them on about 5yrs ago the starter is 2yrs older and works great. Only problem i have with the headers is the three bolts on the collector loosen up.They get checked at every oil change.
Joe

 

I ran Dyno-Max ceramic coated on my 360 with zero problems. Never blew out any gaskets or never had any loose bolts. I ran them for 7 years and put around 40,000 miles on in that time.

I will agree installing them is a royal PITA especially on the right side since the starter is in the way.

Since you just want dual exhaust I would not mess with headers and would just run factory manifolds. If you were going to the race track them I would go with them.

Jeff

 

On my current project I had the original logs sand blasted and ceramic coated. I may replace them with headers down the road, but they look good right now. $100 and they look good. You can always have them sand blasted for $25 and paint them with header paint yourself.

 

I'm gonna stick with the manifold. I've noticed that the passenger sides are easier to come by than the driver side. Is that usually the case? Also, I've seen Dorman for about $100 to $150, and this one Ford Pickup Motorhome 65 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 RH Exhaust Manifold - The Car Part Warehouse for $50. Didn't see that Carolina Classics carries them. Where should I search? Do you think the ones for $50 are asking for problems?
(my driver's side might be salvagable with sand blasting and painting, but the pass side has a crack)

 

If you get tired of fooling with those 3 bolt flanges, cut the flanges off and put on a band clamp like this. ss exhaust band clamps

I had the same problem with my Falcon, and put the band clamps on years ago and have never had an issue since.

 

There's no dout that the stock manifolds are restrictive, but if your not building for performance, no big deal.

 

Wendell,
I'll agree they are restrictive IF you are comparing the OEM manifolds to typical 4 into 1 headers. HOWEVER, I'd also say that at typical non-racing rpm levels - less than 4500 rpms - a driver would never feel/see/notice any "performance" differences between headers vs. manifolds. Any flow restrictions the manifolds have would likely only affect horsepower & torque values f the engine was hooked up to a dynometer. In other words, such a small amount that you can only tell by using a "meter" to measure it and/or operate the egine above 4500 rpms; not typical street/cruising levels for these trucks. So I doubt any "performance" difference would be noticed by the driver. As mentioned earlier, OEM manifolds with a dual exhaust system will be just fine.

Now I'm sure there are some folks that will say they did experience a noticeable "performance" difference when they switched from manifolds to headers eventhough they operate the truck at less than 4500 rpms. The first question I'd have for them would be did they have a dual exhaust system before headers or did they ADD the dual exhaust system at the same time they added the headers..... So just to be clear, it is my humble opinion that with OEM cast manifolds, not only will a dual exhaust system be pleasing to the ears, but it will also be a noticeable power/performance improvement over a restrictive single exhaust system on a truck like doc66 is building. I think a pair of Turbo mufflers & piped to dump just behind the rear tires is the way to go with these ol' Slicks!
BarnieTrk