Hi, I am new to the board. My son just got a 1954 Ford 2dr for a project and we plan to do an engine swap. Motors available in my parts are 302, 351W, 351C and 460. Our preference would be either the 351C or the 302. We trial fitted both of them and both will fit fairly easily with stock exhaust manifolds. However, this will be a street strip car and I need to fit tubular headers. I tried some fox body shorties and some long tubes from an 80s pickup but both have clearance problems with the steering box. I did a search and found several guys that have made the swap, but they all appear to be with stock manifolds. Does anyone know what tubular headers might work with this swap? Thanks, James
Could you use the Fox Mustang shorties and modify one or two of the tubes to clear the steering gear? I had to do this when I put a 302 in a '57 Ford -- used the Ford Motorsport shorties and modified the driver's side. Malcolm
Malcolm, My shorties are the equal length headers so they have the tubes rolled around each other. The regular shorties might work. Thanks, James
Yeah, the regular shorties may work better for you - those equal length ones certainly take up more room!
On the 351C, Sanderson blockhuggers seem to be the favorite choice...these are the ones I believe you would need: http://www.sandersonheaders.com/guide_ford_351C_49up.php
i have a 54 with a 302. i used sanderson headers and they worked very well. have a ton of miles on the car and no issues have come up.......john
Thanks for the responses, I was out of town for a day and just got back. HOTRODJ54 did you use the blockhuggers on your 302? I would prefer long tubes for performance, but I will probably need to go with shorties or blockhuggers due to the space limitations. Thanks, James
Huntfamily53, I just noticed that your 53 is a truck. Our 54 is a 2dr sedan, so the 351C header fitment may not work. James
I used fox body shorties on my 302 54 Merc. and had to slightly dimple one tube to clear the steering box, they didn't actually touch the box but I gave em a little extra room.
Another good choice is the 289 "K" Code Hi-Po manifolds they are lighter than regular manifolds and flow well I have pics with them in a '54 the clearance is excellent pm me for pics,here is an attachment showing what they look like.I visited the Sanderson website out of curiosity and put 1954 Ford in search,4 headers came up none for a Windsor.In this pic Hi-Po's are on the bottom.
The last thing the 5.0 went into was, I think a Merc. Mountaineer from about 93/94. Headers for those are weird (lots of up and over around the drivers side) and might work for you - Ford Racing used to sell them. Also check pics/ideas here: http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=233376
Tri Y headers were, at one time, a popular option for SBF engines in early Mustangs. they weren’t as sexy as equal length headers, but really didn’t give up much horsepower, and were both easier to install and made servicing simpler. Just a thought.
This is just my opinion. Unless the car is a full on max effort build that will see far, far, FAR more strip use than street use, long tube headers will not add enough power to be worth the hassle. You might gain 10-15 hp up top but you will also likely give up torque down low. I have a mildly hot non-HAMB Mustang. I have long tubes. After my experiences with them, I will never run long tubes again. A good 1-5/8" primary to 2-1/2" collector shorty header feeding a full 2-1/2" exhaust will support over 400 crank horsepower and it'll take a serious 302 to make that much. It can be done. It isn't even hard or particularly expensive (but not junk yard cheap either). Regardless, good shorties are gobs better than any factory manifold and deliver 98% of what long tubes can without interference, fitment and clearance issues on the real streets.
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