[Coco]

Hey guys I just rebuilt my carb and now i need to add some horsepower and so going with headers. Just one problem I HAVE NO CLUE about anything. So if you guys can guide me and tell me what i need to look for that would help a bunch thanks !

[RF Mustang]

Hmmmmm.....Okay .................... Need to answer a few questions;

-Is your car MT or AT ?
-Manual steering or power steering
-How much do you want or can afford to spend ?
-Are you prepared to rework your exhaust ?

There are a lot fo cheap headers out there as well as expensive ones. Not to mention a few different styles. I however feel if you are going to keep your car you should at least buy ones with some good coating and with no less than 5/16" thick flanges.

Tri-Y's ???, shorty's ????, full length ????

If your car is stock or equipped with a little bigger cam, you would most likely be better served to put some HIPO exhaust manifolds on it or a set of exhaust manifolds off of a 351W. They will cost you about the same or a little less and will help it breath a little better not to mention sound and function just as good as headers.

[shagadoodle]

One thing you need to know is that what fits well on one car might not fit so well on yours. now when looking for headers i'd go on Summitracing.com they are a good site with good prices and they carry all the major brands. Their are 3 different kinds of headers

Manifolds (not really headers but i think ill put it in here cause some people like them)

Tri-Ys

Long tube or full length

Tri Ys and full lenghts are by far the better performance option. Full legnths are generally the best of the 2 but both do great for any performance stuff you decide to put on in the future. However while these might allow your engine to "Breathe" they have downsides. the one i ran into was ground clearance. Every speed bump i'd go over i'd scrape against the ground. Some have this problem some don't. I had this problem because well they sit about 2.5 inches below the rest of the car and also because i had weak old springs on my car. the second problem people run into is engine bay clearance. Often the long tubes won't work with rack and pinion setups (custom) and some other power steering setups. its good to try to get a header that you've seen work on a setup similar to yours but as said before it might not work.

Lastly i have to say that if you put headers on you probobly should put the rest of the exhaust at the same time. having long tubes with a 3 inch collecter going into 1.5 inch or 2 inch pipes sorta defeats the purpose of allowing the engine to breathe with the long tubes. You don't have to get new exhaust but it would help. On summit racing you can find everything from long tube headers that are said to fit the classic mustangs and complete exhaust systems that will bolt up to those headers. Some may require changes but generally i'd say your pretty safe on summit racing products and products they sell if you do your research.

Good luck with the project. Btw my future setup is going to consist of summit racing headerback exhaust 2.5 inch pipes with muffler ($150) either connecting to my current long tubes or some newer ones ($150 hooker headers on summit)

[brianswyatt]

I agree with the above two posts and they give you the basics on what to look for to educate yourself on the move to a new exhaust. You asked for opinions, so here is my personal one: go with the hipo exhaust! Inexpensive compared to your other options and is the best choice for fit and frustration. They will give you a decent up tick in flow and unless you have changed the cam and heads you will not need the benefit of long tube headers or even tube shorties. You will not have to rehang factory brackets or worry about shock tower clearance. For all changes you will have to rework the exhaust pipes at the engine side because none will exit where the stock ones did. If you run the exhaust to duals out the back do not forget to move the brake hose or you will boil the brake fluid and melt the hose (makes for a bad day). Also, if you do go with the hipo's DO NOT OVER TIGHTEN! Cracking a new $275 exhaust manifold right out of the box also sucks out loud. Have fun and good luck. VVVVVVRRRRRROOOOOOOMMMMMMMM!

[Coco]

Ok thanks for all your posts there really helping me get the right ideas ! and i think i will go with a hipo but doing more research