On my 1962 F250 4x4 with a 292 Y block I want to run dual exhaust. I know I can keep the passenger side manifold and just block off the old crossover port but which year and model of driver side manifold will give the best clearance what with the steering box on that side?.....Bob
I agree with wanderlust, ram horns are the way to go. I've got factory rear exit manifolds on my Fairlane but its a pretty tight fit!
Not sure on what might work best on a truck, but know that I have the same ones that @1stGrumpy shows in his pic and they seem to be bad about breaking at the front bolt holes. I have two broken ones on my car that I need to get swapped out with another set I have.
I ran rear exit Headers made for a 1957 Fairlane. I believe they were s set of Red's. They fit perfectly in my 1963 F250. My '63 250 was a 2wd with the T98 4 speed. 4x4 may be different, especially down the line around the transfer case. As far as firewall, steering gear and pedals...the positioning was perfect on my 2wd.
Here’s a link to Ted Eaton’s dyno exhaust test. Bigger more modified engine, but it gives relative values. It will let you see what your money buys you with the rams horns as opposed to other stock manifolds. Yblocks were supposedly built without exhaust gaskets, relying on the finished surfaces to seal. Using gaskets and over tightening results in the ears broken off. I’ve always run headers, so I can’t say that’s true. But it’s widely believed. There’s a number of truck guys at yblocksforever and the Ford barn. If you don’t get a part number here they’d be worth a try. http://forums.y-blocksforever.com/Topic55379.aspx
Interesting. I will be curious to see if mine have gaskets when I go to change them. The 312 I pulled the others off of didn’t have gaskets if I remember right.
When everything is new, the machined surfaces are perfectly flat, or near enough. Fast forward 50 or 60 years, with a gazillion heat cycles that may no longer be the case. The gasket may not necessarily be the problem with this cracked or broken ears business. It's probably common for peeps to reef the manifold bolts down way, way too tight at the initial installation in the hope of eliminating exhaust leaks. The problem is the max torque on these bolts isn't really all that high to begin with. What has worked for me is to go back in after a few heat cycles and check the torque, and repeat till they stabilize. Kind of sneak up on it, without ever exceeding the max torque spec. This is more work, though not as much work as removing and replacing broken manifolds.
Not sure mine have ever been off or messed with since it left the factory. My car only had 83k miles on it when I got it 11 years ago and it hadn’t been messed with much at all. Anyway, I definitely understand. Seems like a pretty thin area on the manifold casting as well which likely didn’t help with durability through that many heat cycles. I actually doubt that Ford figured many folks would still be driving the car 60 years later with just over 100k miles.
The only thing I could never repair with weld was a cracked Y-block exhaust manifold (I taught welding) that had been transformed chemically and thermally to the point that a weld puddle would not form. And yes, they will warp and shrink with thermo-cycling.
Those Ram manifolds would be best, but back in 1964 I couldn’t find any. So I put a passenger side 312 exhaust manifold on the drivers side . That made the exhaust exit toward the front and down. Just made a sweeping loop towards the back! Looked kinda funny, but worked real good! Bones
Should you decide to go with the rams horn, they are being reproduced or you can find them in f 500 and up trucks, the center bolt can be a miserable pos to get out.
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