I have a fe 390 out of a 1964 Mercury Marauder in my 55. Does any body know if any type of stock made headers would fit this rig. I was thinking maybe some out of late 60's early 70's pick-up might work. Does anybody know. Thanks alot Scott

 

Well, I'm not sure about the amount of room you have between your left side motor mount and your stearing box, or between th eengine and frame on the F-100.

You have a couple of options. Just about anything will work on the right side it's the left one that's the problem. You can get an exhaust manifold for the left side that has a reverse outlet and loop the exhaust pipe from forward to back.

Or you might try the looking at Sanderson for some after market headers. The only headers that I know of that were made for the early 390 were cast iron. If you can find a set of those, and there is a good possibility that the left one will dump out right at the steering box, you'll pay at least $800 for a fair set.

I tried this and bought them and that was what happened (I have a 390 in my 51 F1 - which is more narrow, but how much more, I don't know). I ended up having headers made, going outside the frame to running board lake pipes. The consequence of that is they run over the frame at the same point an IFS might weld to the frame. Here is a picture of the reverse manifold set up I had on my truck when I bought it:




Here is a picture of the stock cast 390 headers, and my current set-up during build up - note the proximity of the steering tube and box. If you want headers, you will probably end up having to have them made (mine were $1700 - that included the transition pipes)

 

Thanks Julie thats kind of what I was afraid of. 30 plus years ago I had a 68 GT 390 crate motor in it and I had to custom make the headers. I only paid $670 for that crate motor, long block with factory high rise. Sure would like to have it back!

 

If I had a dollar for everything I had sold that I now regretted getting rid of, I coul dpay other people to restore my truck.

My critical measurement was between the tube type aftermarket motor mount system for the FE and the stock steering box. I had a 5"x5" square to run exhaust down through on the drivers side.

But, if you have another 2 inches front to back or side to side, then you would probably be able to use some off the shelf headers - try the Sandersons. Since engine and parts systems are more available for your F-100s especially the 56, there migh tjust be a complete system - motor mounts and headers that will work with an IFS for the 56. One of the first places I'd call is Chassis Engineering! I'm sure someone here has done all this before - it's kinda slow on th esite this weekend - let's keep this thread on the top of thel ist so it can get some more responses.

There is another thread about 390 oil pans with IFS and exhaust running as well that I just put my two cents on. You might want to keep an eye on it too.

Good luck!

 

Thanks for the help Julie. Are the headers in pic 2 the same as pic3 ? Don't forget I'm on a budget. Not to mention I've been messin' with this truck for 33 years. I wasn't fat and I had hair back then

 

Pic 2 is bare after weldup.. Pic 3 is after having them coated..

I did similar for my 55/460/volare after I made the headers.

sam

 

Hmmm.. You guys are confusing me and I posted the pictures!

The very first picture is of the stock manifold on backwards with the exhaust pipe running forward then looping back

Picture 2 with the engine on the stand, shows the stock Ford cast iron headers.

Then yes pictures 3 and 4 of the engine installed in the truck are the same headers - during build-up then with installation complete after coating - as Sam mentioned.

I'll bet you could find someone who makes a header for that installation. But you'll really have to dig. Big Block Ford stuff is tough to find. It's all "Pony Motor" and "Small Block Chevy" out there! Believe me, with that left side, the 2 extra inches is all it would take to make it work.

 

I don't know for sure a good starting point is a Torino/Mustang etc with an FE, blackjack makes uncoated headers for the applications fairly cheap, modifying them is a lot easier than building from scratch, good luck

 

There is a pretty clean set of FE headers at a local boneyard out of a F-150 for $20 I think I'll pick them and another set up and try to modify them myself. I'll use the extra set for the pipe alterations, and if it don't work I'm not out too much. It's only $30 bucks for both sets.