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NixVegaGT
Nicolas Wiederhold
Minneapolis, MN
(659 posts)

Registered:
10/16/2007 05:30AM

Main British Car:
'73 Vega GT 4.9L Rover/Buick Stroker

authors avatar
Mustang Headers
Posted by: NixVegaGT
Date: February 23, 2008 11:39AM

I thought that would get some attention! LOL! Peep this pic of headers for a mustang:

http://www.poweredbyford.com/store/images/Products/BBK/15160.jpg

http://i14.ebayimg.com/04/i/000/bd/b1/1bc8_1.JPG

How close is the exhaust port location for the Buick/Rover head to the small Ford exhaust ports? I had a dream the other day that I used Mustang headers for my Vega project and they bolted right on. Obviously this wouldn't work but they might be close. Thanks for the input guys.


Richl705
Richard Lilly
Fairfax, Virginia
(42 posts)

Registered:
12/03/2007 10:48PM

Main British Car:
1958 MGA Buick 215 V8

authors avatar
Re: Mustang Headers
Posted by: Richl705
Date: October 19, 2008 10:22PM

Nick,
Did you ever figure out if these Mustang headers would work on a 215? Richard


NixVegaGT
Nicolas Wiederhold
Minneapolis, MN
(659 posts)

Registered:
10/16/2007 05:30AM

Main British Car:
'73 Vega GT 4.9L Rover/Buick Stroker

authors avatar
Re: Mustang Headers
Posted by: NixVegaGT
Date: October 20, 2008 01:41PM

Thanks for asking man. I ended up fabricating my own headers. I guess it's something I've got to leave to somebody else. Might be worth working through though.

I built my own because it was a pretty tight fit and I'm glad I built a custom set. Might work on a different application than a Vega.


bplus
Tracy Moore
Jacksonville, Fl
(40 posts)

Registered:
11/24/2008 06:36PM

Main British Car:
71' MGB GT 350 Chevrolet

Re: Mustang Headers
Posted by: bplus
Date: March 24, 2009 10:27PM

If we can agree that the buick/rover/olds heads
all have the same exhaust port shape and spacing
then the answer could be no. Just tried a mustang
header on a rover and olds head and it wasn't
even close to right.


NixVegaGT
Nicolas Wiederhold
Minneapolis, MN
(659 posts)

Registered:
10/16/2007 05:30AM

Main British Car:
'73 Vega GT 4.9L Rover/Buick Stroker

authors avatar
Re: Mustang Headers
Posted by: NixVegaGT
Date: March 26, 2009 05:09PM

LOL! Thanks for lookin'. I ended up fabricating my own. It took a super long time and I'm not totally done with them but it has been really fun building them. I'll post pix of them shortly.


NixVegaGT
Nicolas Wiederhold
Minneapolis, MN
(659 posts)

Registered:
10/16/2007 05:30AM

Main British Car:
'73 Vega GT 4.9L Rover/Buick Stroker

authors avatar
Re: Mustang Headers
Posted by: NixVegaGT
Date: March 30, 2009 08:51AM

OK So I finally finished the fabrication on the headers. It took a lot of work and a long time to execute but really fun.
IMG_0231.jpg
IMG_0233.jpg


Moderator
Curtis Jacobson
Portland Oregon
(4576 posts)

Registered:
10/12/2007 02:16AM

Main British Car:
71 MGBGT, Buick 215

authors avatar
Re: Mustang Headers
Posted by: Moderator
Date: March 30, 2009 05:00PM

Hey, that's really impressive!!!

Tell us more about them:
What diameter and primary length did you use?
Where did you get the bends?
Anything you'd do different next time?



rficalora
Rob Ficalora
Willis, TX
(2764 posts)

Registered:
10/24/2007 02:46PM

Main British Car:
'76 MGB w/CB front, Sebring rear, early metal dash Ford 302

authors avatar
Re: Mustang Headers
Posted by: rficalora
Date: March 30, 2009 10:06PM

Nice work Nic! There's a lot of measuring, cutting & welding there & they look nice to boot!


NixVegaGT
Nicolas Wiederhold
Minneapolis, MN
(659 posts)

Registered:
10/16/2007 05:30AM

Main British Car:
'73 Vega GT 4.9L Rover/Buick Stroker

authors avatar
Re: Mustang Headers
Posted by: NixVegaGT
Date: March 31, 2009 10:34AM

I got a bunch of random bends from Stahl headers: [www.stahlheaders.com] They were about $160. Really great company to work with. I started out by asking for the wrong size. When they came and I realized they were way off I called them and they only charged me a restock fee of $15. They covered the shipping and everything! WOW!

Then I bought some old Kenne Bell flanges from Dimitri. Thanks Bro. I dropped in the empty engine and trans case and bolted the header flanges on the heads with some washers between the flange and exhaust ports. Then I formed the tubes into the square ports to match the heads and pushed them through until I could see them sticking out the gap I'd left with the washers. After that it was just cutting and tacking in the pieces one at a time. It was a fun puzzle to figure out. Especially how to run them so the lengths were as equal as possible. In the end, the front ports are about 1" longer. The one rear port on the right header, I needed to route over the adjacent port and down, is about 2" longer. (That was really frustrating) SO at worst it's within 2" and mostly within ≈1" difference. That was hard. There is one that looks way shorter and that is the last port on the left side but it is right on at 33" long. Optical illusion I guess.

I started out with the idea they would be relatively long 35" primaries. Then I changed the cam for something a bit more aggressive and so I shortened them up buy a couple inches to ≈32-33" long. The primaries are 16 ga. 1 5/8" and empty into 2.5" collectors. The collectors are about 16" long. Those will have a reducer flange to 2.25" for the exhaust pipe.

The flanges seemed pretty thick to me but most people that have seen them say they are too thin. My exhaust guy suggested I weld a thick bead around the ports and square the flanges up this way leaving some of the weld proud for better sealing. This morning I welded a thick bead around the ports and ground them somewhat flat. I'll report how it turns out.

They are all MIG welded and ground flat. I took my time and left as much material while smoothing the welds as best I could. Hopefully it will not crack after heat cycling and ceramic coating. I figured I'd use them on the engine dyno while breaking in the cam (20 min) and after tuning.


BlownMGB-V8
Jim Blackwood
9406 Gunpowder Rd., Florence, KY 41042
(6468 posts)

Registered:
10/23/2007 12:59PM

Main British Car:
1971 MGB Blown,Injected,Intercooled Buick 340/AA80E/JagIRS

authors avatar
Re: Mustang Headers
Posted by: BlownMGB-V8
Date: March 31, 2009 11:14PM

Headers look real good Nick. One suggestion is to braze the back side of the flanges. This helps prevent cracking. Having tubes within 2" puts you closer than 90% or more of the commercially available headers on the market so I wouldn't feel too frustrated about that. Getting any closer can be extremely difficult and time consuming.

Jim


NixVegaGT
Nicolas Wiederhold
Minneapolis, MN
(659 posts)

Registered:
10/16/2007 05:30AM

Main British Car:
'73 Vega GT 4.9L Rover/Buick Stroker

authors avatar
Re: Mustang Headers
Posted by: NixVegaGT
Date: April 01, 2009 07:46PM

I've heard that as well. Is that because it spreads out the temps across the flanges or something?


BlownMGB-V8
Jim Blackwood
9406 Gunpowder Rd., Florence, KY 41042
(6468 posts)

Registered:
10/23/2007 12:59PM

Main British Car:
1971 MGB Blown,Injected,Intercooled Buick 340/AA80E/JagIRS

authors avatar
Re: Mustang Headers
Posted by: BlownMGB-V8
Date: April 02, 2009 08:44AM

Apparently the brass is a little more forgiving at higher temps and allows just a wee bit of flex while the inner weld bead gives a solid attachment and a leak free seal. I've not done any testing myself, but Ed told me that was the best way to do it. (Headers by Ed)

Jim


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