Hey, got a question, I'm replacing my leaky head/intake manifold gaskets and while I have everything pulled off I was thinking about replacing the intake manifold with an aftermarket one. I was just wondering if anyone could reccomend a good manifold that wont break my wallet. Also, what are some good headers to get? My exhaust manifolds are cracked so I just thought I'd replace them with headers. Thanks for the input and I have a 1975 F100 2wd with a 2 barrel 390.

 

Any input?

 

it's a ford. theres nothing cheap about it except when you compare it to a mopar. get a dual plane. i have a performer rpm on mine, but it ran like 325$ or whatever the list is in summit. brouse ebay from time to time. as far as headers, i dont know about a 2wd, but ill bet you break at least a few bolts trying to get the manifolds off. might want to think about a cam too while your in that far.

 

Oh yea, I snapped 4 of those f**** bolts. It is a 2wd, it seems that the most common headers around here are hooker or heddman? By the way, since it was brought up, I'm sorry but I dont know much when it comes to picking out a cam, what would be a good streetable cam on a stock 390?

 

I got an Edelbrock performer for my 1st 390 along with a 600cfm Edelbrock carb. I haven't bothered with my current 390 that has a decent running 2v Motorcraft carb. I don't race and rarely get my RPMs over 3K. The iron manifold is very heavy. I'd suggest bolting a lift plate to the carb port and using an engine crane to lift it off the block. Its hard to get a flawless seal across the wide front and rear block walls. Don't be surprised if you end up with a bit of oil leaking particularly on the rear seal of the intake manifold (to block). You'll save a bunch of weight going to the aluminum. I also replaced my cam in that first 390 as I had flattened lobes. I believe it was a Comp cams. I don't really remember the numbers as this was ten years ago. 272 sounds familiar. At the time, it was a commonly used FE cam. Most stock FE's don't have adjustable rockers and require measuring each and every pushrod length OR Crane Cams makes an adjustable rocker replacement/beefy pushrod set. I ended up needing Ford Motorsport 428 valve covers to clear the aftermarket rockers and still be baffled. I made the changes on my 1st 390 because I didn't have a good 2V carb and I had flattened cam lobes from stuck valves/collapsed lifters. In normal low rpm driving, I don't notice a difference. If and when I rebuild my 1st 390 block, I'll probably reuse my 4V stuff, not worth it on my current runner.

 

Stick with something that will be streetable like a Edelbrock Performer, or Performer RPM intake. The The other Edelbrock's operate best at a higher RPM. If you are planning on doing a cam swap, you might want to go with a system. You might want to consider calling Edelbrock's tech line, tell them what you are looking for and ask for a recommendaton.

 

I put the edelbrock performer rpm on mine, i gained 2 mpg going from a 2bbl setup to my 4 bbl set up. Plus the weight loss was really nice when setting that manifold back on the block.

 

dont get the performer. It "performs" almost exactly the same as the 4v factory anchor. Cheapest best way to go: edel rpm, and your choice of cam, you could use the matching rpm cam, or any variety of others that suit your needs. I used hooker long tubes, they were cheap and they fit no problem. Mines a highboy though so others will know more about what fits on the 2wd.

And on the rockers.. fe's came with both adj. and non-adj. rockers. You can find the factory adj. for around 150 and they fit just fine, no new covers needed.