Fox T-Bird/Cougar Forums

3.8 to 5.0 swap is driving me nuts..i got the 5.0 in but the exhaust manifolds that were on it were hitting on the mounts, best I figure they came off a bronco or truck. anyways I got a set of old blackjack long headers that have been laying around for years and I wanted to put them on but looks pretty much impossible, so I would love to know what headers do any of you guys run or should I make my own custom headers.

The stock stang shorties fit.

Same car your swapping a t-5 into? Once you kill the colum shifter just about anything that will fit a mustang should fit. you might have to cut the tabs off of your motor mounts, depending on what mounts you went with.

Haystack is correct about cutting off the safety tabs if you want to keep the original Tbird mounts, if not and you want to upgrade by the Mustang mounts(either poly mounts or the convertible mounts as they are stronger).

When I had stock mouints, my headers never touched the mounts when the cushions were new. I use unequal length BBK shorty headers.

good info guys, thanks. I can see where the tabs could use a little hacking, may just have to go that route, or just find some stock mustang headers. I found one set in the junkyard but the driver side was cracked. the mustang headers seem to be a lot more compact than the ones I want to use. I will throw a pic in the mix here shortly

  they look rough but I promise they have never been used, been tossed around my buddy shop for several years though..

Those are NOT going to fit, the Fox body full length headers have more of a rear ward rake to them.

yep, that's what I was talking about when I say it looks pretty much impossible. back to plan A , OEM mustang headers....another :punchballs:

There all over Craigslist, you can get good used performance headers, I would not put stock headers on your car.

I got time to find something cool, I have TONS  of other things to fix before its driveable anyways. I still think my best option is some short headers, they seem much easier to work with.

Why not? First set i got for free, and my second set cost me a whole $10. I know they aren't all that performance oriented, but better then stock for dirt cheap/free. bolts up to a factory h-pipe and easily clears a shifter linkage.

I always felt in my mind as to the actual HP gain from Headers on a stock engine and weather shorty ones or long tubes were better. So other than using headers for a swap lets say what is the gains. So i did a test. Mustang 1990 with stock Ford exhaust and long tube replacements. The engine made slightly over 3  HP and 4 foot lbs of torque @ 5500 RPM'S on a chassis Mustang dyno. Not very impressive. Now i know on a race type or modified engine that does not hold true. So i tested that. I dynowed one of my 347 NA engines with the stock manifolds and then installed long tubes. Gained 21 Hp @5500 RPM"S and 19 Foot lbs of torque. A good gain in HP . Now with aftermarket SHORTIES the gain was NOTHING. Just some fruit for thought. Have a good sunday guys

If i recall, i bought some flowtech long tubes for a mustang for $120 a few years ago. They rake back a touch and the 4th primary on the drivers side is removable  to clear the steering shaft. Theyre pretty decent quality, ive had them since 07-08 somthing along those lines

Get a set of the BBK 1-5/8" unequal length shorties as they are by far the easiest to install and have great clearance for access to the starter.

Darren

Stacks, Ill give in that they probably flow better than cast iron manifolds, but for how cheap you can get used headers on the net....... Id really not bother.  Shoot, new headers aren't that much to begin with either.

oh wow, I think I opened up a debate here.. lol every one has put out some great info on this on, but in my case im running a pretty much stock 5.0 so im not to concerned over a couple HP loss or gain. I just want something functional at this point. short,long, oem,aftermarket.... I don't care. I just want my bird up and running. you guys are awesome, thanks for the input.:sawzall:

That's what I did.

I've been thinking a lot about headers. i've found a loop hole that would allow my cougar to be emissions exempt and be able to delete the cats. eventually i plan on 1 5/8" primary long tube headers with a 3" collector.

as far as the tbird goes, as long as ford is around, it will be required to pass emissions. i want the car to have a bit more power, but still look factory. not like a junkyard swapped or high hp ride to not arise any type of suspision while I'm getting the.car smog tested. i think shiny new chrome headers would flag me

that's why id prefer the stock shorties you can get for cheap or free over aftermarket ones.

long story short, your car, your cash. go crazy if you want to. we all know what we want.