How much interest is there on here for me writing an Article about which Shorty’s one should go with on our cars? I have recently been made aware of the difficulty of installing such a thing as I have purchased 6 sets of of shorty’s mainly targeted to fit early mustangs but including the Doug Thorley dedicated header for our cars. My goal was simply to increase the amount of ground clearance I had due to my long tubes. There is at least one article already here for the Doug Thorley model which Craig Selvey’s does a good job at showing fitment with slightly modified heads. On this same post though Mavstang 71 and EFI mav reply they have some issues including the exhaust shop saying it’s a no go on the drivers side and not being able to install them. When searched for shorty’s, there is a decent amount of people that recommend hedman 88400 but it sounds like they are perpetuating a rumor almost. I have a lot of time invested into finding out how to solve the maverick shorty debacle and will put some effort into making an article if enough people are thinking about going with shorty’s on their Mav or Comet and want to know what they are getting themselves into.
The 88400's were made for the early 60's Comets, Falcons and Fairlanes, a such they should be a close match for Mavs and Comets. They also fit in V8 Ranger swaps.
I have also used the Heman 88400 headers. Some slight modifications (in regards to how the collectors point to the firewall) are recommended...but not absolutley required to get them on there. I think an tech article would be great, but there are also some many variables to consider as well. If we are talking stictly GROUND CLEARANCE....all shorty's have that.
True True, there are alot of variables for all of us like types of steering, clutch operating systems, column shift ect. I have a T5 down there with a hydraulic slave and factory manual steering, so I have more room than others. Maybe my article wouldn’t be very useful if my set up is fairly rare and would not apply very often. I have stock heads though which made me think from reading your article, Craig, that I could buy the dedicated to our cars Doug Thorley header and expect it to bolt on and fit like a glove everywhere including make it trivial to get 2.5 inch exhaust on both sides. This wasn’t the case. The reality was that it fits no better in my opinion than the hedman 88400 series. This shocked me pretty good because the hedman variety is $170 and the DT is $460 and they both require the same collector modifications to get 2.5 inch pipe unmolested, bent in a civilized way, onto those headers which includes clearing the pitman arm at full left turn on the drivers side. They both generally fit the motor and shocktowers like a glove and can both be installed without jacking the motor. Granted the DT header is coated and made from thicker material everywhere, so it will indeed stay in this world longer than a cheaper alternative and look better doing so. But, as far as fit form and function, these two headers are identical. I can’t cut up a brand new set of ceramic headers that are made specifically to fit my car. That, no one should have to do.
Doug Thorley shorties went in my '72 with NO need to cut the headers for anything. The collector on the driver's side does interfer with the pitman arm at full left turn but I think it just needs a dimple. Don't see any need to touch the headers.
The only shorties I've seen that are 1 5/8" are the DT ones All the other shorties are 1.5"...which is only acceptable on a 100% stock engine......and marginal at that. That is a big difference in them. But then again if you want all out power you wouldn't be going with shorties in the first place...
I've got news for you.................... there's very little (if any) difference in flow between a 1.5 and 1.625 primary pipe. I ran my 331 with generic Shelby Tri-Y's in my 89 Ranger before swapping this motor into my Comet with Hedman 4 into 1's. There's no change in the powerband that I can tell. You'd have to dyno both to see if there's any difference.
Same here, I've tried a few different sets over the years in a few Mavericks. these are my favorites by far.
You are right on the bigger tubes so identical wasn't the right thing to say. What I did notice though when measuring the DT collector, the ball reducer squeezes down to 2.09 inches. This means that if any 302 out there benefits from 1 5/8 tubes, it would be penalized at the same time by getting quenched down to roughly 2 inches with all 3 other cylinders that close to the engine and then expanding into whatever 2 ¼ or 2 ½ inch pipe you have going down. The 88400 measures 2.40 at the same place.
So far that is 3 people that would get some use of a tech article of this nature. Why I think it should be written, is that nothing you can buy fits as well on my car as I want it to, out of the box including the DT. There is some debate on this I can see, as some of us say there are no issues, and some of us are told by the local exhaust shop the driver side cannot be made with 2.5 inch pipe. I spoke with Jamie at Doug Thorley and he informed me that the shock towers sag and can induce some of this variation. What I haven’t read, is someone overwhelmed with joy from the experience of installing shorty’s on their mav. I would have not done a shorty header conversion right now if I would have known more about it. Anybody else considering shorty's at this time? After 14 years of my bones jarring going over speed bumps I was ready for change. There are some unexpected issues that can be brought to everyone’s attention before you make a decision. For example, the 2.5” reducers that come with the Hedman 88400 have an inside diameter of 1.85”…. who would have known the 2.5 inch reducers that go on 2.5 inch exhaust are not included. Some of us would just use what comes in the kit even though our better judgement tells us not to, but we don't have the patients to wait for the ones we want.
To me...shorty headers are better than factory exhaust manifolds...but not as good as long tube headers. It all depends on what one wants and what one's goals are. If one is wanting ground clearance: shortys If one is wanting performance: long tube With either choice, there are some compromises.
