1952-59 Ford are headers worth the cost??

ive got a 56 victoria with a 292 030 over .this will just be a cruiser car show car no racing,Is it worth the cost to put headers on it?

 

IMHO if you have factory dual exhaust headers are not worth the cost for a basically stock engine.

 

No,I agree with Dobie 100%.The Y-block headers that are actually worth making horsepower are $500-$600 which is grossly overpriced,most of the Y-block parts today with the exception of Mummerts new stuff is crazy expensive.I can't justify why these companies like Edelbrock,Offenhauser,Mallory and others charge triple for parts based on old castings that now sell for 10 X or more what they sold for in the 60's,is there really more material in a Y-block intake than a SBF or SBC intake? I don't mind a company making a fair profit but most Y-block parts are just outrageous.No wonder many of us swap to later powerplants.Ryan posted these a while back,very interesting! http://www.jalopyjournal.com/?p=6315 ,http://www.jalopyjournal.com/?p=6403,http://www.jalopyjournal.com/?p=6432 Enjoy a trip down Memory Lane

 

No and hell no

 

Spend your money on a nicely bent set of pipes - and decent mufflers. Tests show bigger is better - but for a cruiser 2-1/4 would probably do the trick. A cross-over pipe ahead of the mufflers will change the sound a bit.

I got the cast iron headers JetHot coated and that helped cut down on the heat under the hood (and they look nice) - but $225 bucks will also buy a lot of pipe and mufflers..............

 

My 312 has the 57 type cast manifolds opened up a bit at each opening. There is a ridge cast inside the outlet, and then I enlarged each cylinders inlet to match what I took out of the heads. Easy work to get more air out. Several years ago I called Waldron Exhaust. For a small extra fee they made me 2 1/4 mandrel bent pipes from the manifolds to the bumper, including their own brand of muffler. Just like factory stuff but better. I welded on bolt tabs and used gobs of anti seize so they can be removed and worked on. The exhaust is wonderful, money well spent.

 

If I had a stock motor I would not want the h***le of header installation and leaking header gaskets. Ugh. Now if you had other mods it would be worth it but it doesn't sound like your case.