I was able to us 5.0 mustang headers on mine. It has a Volvo box in the same location as the original steering box.....so I assume it would work for ya.
A lot of times a right side manifold mounted on the left side with the head pipe coming down the front of the engine will solve steering clearance problems.
Have you tried them? I would think they'd dump right over that wide front crossmember. I'm pretty sure you need a rear dump. I do know the stock 302 manifolds that dump below the 3rd exhaust port dumps right into the steering box.
I used the same & I think with a bit of tweaking, you might even get the 5.0 H-pipe to fit (haven't tried, but initial "hold it up & look" fitting looked promising - this was a few years ago...) Factory 5.0 headers are nearly give-aways as everyone steps up to aftermarket shorty headers...
Nice one. Ford Racing & Performance has 5.0 tube headers that "might" work. Sanderson also has them, as well as JBL, who specializes in Ford headers.
BBK makes a nice set of rear dump shortys that might work for ya'. MAC makes some good ones too (they make em' for Ford Racing & Performance) Also Edelbrock and Headers by Doug (started by Doug Thorley after he sold the rights to his name off) make decent ones. One word of advice though. Regardless of who you go with, stay away from cheap headers when clearance and precise fit are issues. The big names have alot of r&d into these and it shows when you go to fit them up in tight places and need it to fit exactly where it is suposed to with very tight tolerences.
I decided to go with the BBK shorty Mustang headers. They bolted to the 302 perfectly, however there were some issues... My Ford's got a late 60's GM steering column and a Volvo steering box. I had to modify the mount for the steering box because the u-joints made contact with the header. Grind off the spacers, shim as needed to make everything work. Easy. Next. The stepped upper control arm on the passenger side hits the header when the susp. is compressed. Take a flat sledge and "gently" adjust the shape of the tube until there's clearance. Painful to watch, but easy. Next. The headers have male ball-flange collectors. I figure it's gotta be easy to find a reducer/collector with a female matching flange from which the rest of my system could be fabricated. Nope!! Option 1: Hmm... buy a matching h-pipe and cut off what I need. Way too expensive. Option 2: Find h-pipe from 5.0 in a junkyard, cut off what I need. No, because I understand the GT's had 2.25" diameter systems, I'm building one with 2.5" Option 3: Call BBK because I can see in their catalog pictures that they're welding the exact part I want onto the H-Pipes they sell. "We're not allowed to sell those." They have no clue where to find them as separate pieces. They did, however, give me a part number and their manufacturer, who is sending them to me for FREE!!! Just have to wait on ground shipping. Option 4 would have been cutting the ball-flange off and welding on a "traditional" flat 3-bolt header flange. Now back to the rest of my "how am I going to make this shit work" list. /Mike
These are S&S Block Huggers I got off of some Mustang guy on E-bay. The drivers side has a half tube notch cut in the pipe right above the collector for steering clearance. I know nothing else about them.
I used the BBK headers and they cleared the steering perfectly __________________ if its old its kool and if its kool its old whoops, theduke was logged in on my computer, but I used the BBK headers with no problems
I was about to ask him how they looked on his solex motorbike. You have a 1950 Ford with a late 60's GM steering column, a 302, a Volvo steering box, 2.5" exhaust and stepped a-arms too, and had no problems? Damn! What did I do wrong?!
Ask TP this question.............he did the same thing in his old 51 Ford. I have pictures of it, but not of the exhaust. Sorry! His seemed to work fine and IF i remember right they were'nt anything fancy OR expensive.
Could you post some pictures of his 51? He told me how he lowered it and I wanted to see pics of it.. thanks, PC
It was LOW, I'm 5'2 and I kept watching out for my head when I got in or out. I only smacked myself a couple of times.
Brandy, That looks like where I'm trying to get my 50 to sit. Hijacking my own post... but do you know if he ran 15's or 14's for wheels? I have 14's which get it a little lower, but then noticed the "scrub line" I think I may need 15's for a small margin of safety...
I had a 302 in mine with a stock steering box. I used '85 -'87 mustang five liter GT stock headers, wraps right around the steering box.
Yeah they were 15's.......but for safety's sake I've forwarded this thread to TP. He'd know far better then I would.
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