[sircorey]

Can someone out there give a hand with how to install the very last header bolt on a pair of unequal length MAC headers? It is the last header bolt that sits on the driver side, right in front of the Brake Booster/Master Cylinder. The exhaust port on the header itself has a tricky pinch and bend to it to where I cant seem to get a 3/8" socket on it. The socket goes on crooked.

The header mounts up to an Edelbrock Aluminum Performer 5.0 head with the helicoil inserts of course and I'm trying to be careful in not stripping the threads on the bolt hole but it seems to grab way too tightly when I put my stubby 3/8" wrench (wrench is about 4 inches long) on it. I'm sure the hole has not been stripped.

I've tried getting the bolt started while standing in front of the car and on the side and can't seem to get it started without it going into the hole crooked.

I would appreciate a hand if anyone has been through this.

Thanks much!

Corey

[wayne94mustang]

sometimes you need to file the header hole out to get the bolts to line up right

[KK95GT]

I think you're saying you can't get the last bolt started at all correct? I just put these same exact headers on my 95 two weeks ago. My bolt holes all lined up ok but it was hard to get a socket or wrench to fit on probably at least 6 of the bolts. I was able to get the bolts started by hand though and get them all in finger tight. Tighter than crap down in there! - a whole lot easier putting headers on my '66!

If you can't get the bolt to start at all, loosen all the bolts and see if you can move the header enough to get that last bolt started. If not, like the other fella said, you're probably going to have to pull the header and file the hole bigger to line up!

If it's a wrench fitting issue, I put the bolts in as tight as I could and then put the flat blade of a large screwdriver in between the bolt head and the tube and hammered on it like a wedge to bend the tube in just enough to allow a socket or open end wrench to fit. Even those small bolt heads were kinda tight but bending the tube a little made all the difference. One note though, make sure the bolts are tightened fairly tight up against the flange so the bolt is solid. You want the tube to bend inward a bit, not have the bolt bend out!

(You can do this "adjusting" in the car but it's easier to do it ahead of time outside the car if possible. Get some 3/8" nuts and tighten the bolts on the header out of the car. Then hammer on it with the flanges supported by a solid base like your bench vice. This will let you and pre-fit all the bolts before you put the headers in the car and make your sockets/wrenches fit much easier!)