Falcon67 and Jayb,  Thank you for the thoughtful responses. I feel I should qualify my statement. I do know that HP on an engine dyno is difficult (maybe impossible) to duplicate in the car. I simply what to maximize the HP in the car within reason. For example, I don't want to chop up my car to fit race headers or mod the hood for a state of the art fresh air scoop. My car does street and strip duty so compromise is required.

Jay, while we are on the subject of FE Mustang headers, what headers did you use on your 69 Mach1 2005 DragWeek winner with the 511ci? Also, do you have any comments on the Hooker Supercomp 1-3/4 headers on 600+ HP FE's? I'd be grateful for your input.

-John

My REF are step headers that start as 1-7/8 and step up to 2-1/8. The flanges are 1/2 thick. The Idler arm was not a problem, but the Pitman arm was until I changed it to an original Ford style and not a reproduction style. There is a difference. I also changed to the manual steering link with my Borgeson box.

Thanks for the responses!

bill_396, My towers were tilted. I bought at Global West brace to make sure they stayed put, but I still had trouble. The BBM heads with the thick header flanges just won't fit my car, even with 5/16 hex head bolts and no washers. I worked on it for months and just need to cut my losses. I was so frustrated at one point I was ready sell the whole mess and buy a Windsor. I have since thought better.


My427stang, I agree with all your comments. The 6114 work well but might be a little undersized for my setup. The REF are 2-1/8 but 2" should be just fine. 1-3/4 will be a touch small at the top end. The attractive thing about the 6114's is that they could "potentially" be installed on the engine before lowering everything into the car. I could even cut off the existing collectors and add some slip-on merge collectors that should help power slightly. Removing the collectors should also make it easier to drop the engine & headers into the engine bay. I may be dreaming but it might be worth a try. I just hate installing headers on an FE Mustang. HATE!

mbrunson427, REF headers are awesome and make power, but be ready for this choice words on a reinforced shock tower car.

Hi all, I haven't posted for a while. I had some family matters to attend to, but I can now re-focus on my FE project. Long story-short, I had a stout 427 stroker built for my 69 CJ Mustang that should make the 625hp dyno mark. The headers I bought were from REF, but they just won't fit in my car due to the thick flanges and my factory reinforced shock towers. I have spent a HUGE amount of time trying to get the REF headers to fit but I have come to the conclusion I would need to make significant modifications to my car which I am not willing to do. They are awesome for an NHRA stock eliminator 67-70 Mustang with regular shock towers. At this point I am done with the REF headers. I wasted the money, but now need to move on.

Now that you have the context, here is my real question. I am looking seriously at the Hooker Super Comps with the 1-3/4 primaries and thinner flanges. I may cut off the collectors and add quality merge collectors. I have scoured the dyno posts on this forum and others as well as Jay's book. I cannot find one example where the 1-3/4 Super Comp's made 600hp or more. I realize the old-school design with 1-3/4 pipes are limiting. Unfortunately I have a unique situation.

Have Hooker 1-3/4 Super Comp's ever made 600hp or more?

-John

Just heard from Blair. Tear down went as expected. He is the official winner. So proud of him.

Does anyone believe the Trick Flow TW will flow any differently then a Ford, BBM, Blue Thunder TW? FWIW, I can't find it on the Trick Flow website yet.

Hi All, I have a 488ci Side Oiler with BBM heads, hydraulic roller cam, and a Ford MR 2x4 intake in my 69 Mustang. It runs great and is used for street and occasional strip duty. A couple years ago it made 568hp @ 5600rpm on a Super Flow dyno. I have always thought I could have eeked out more power if I spent more time on the dyno. When I installed the engine in the car I found a few improvements, but that's a different story. One of the things I wondered was how the engine would have performed with a Tunnel Wedge intake. Jay Brown's book, Intake Comparo provided some valuable info here. Out of curiosity, I graphed a few engines and came to the conclusion I am probably better off with the dual plane MR 2x4 given that I am on the street 80% and strip 20%. Notice the 2x4 wins below 5000rpm and the Tunnel Wedge wins everything above 5000rpm. My engine would only have 600-800 rpm more before power is done so a Tunnel Wedge doesn't make sense for me. The Tunnel Wedge makes it's power on top while losing at the lowend, especially with smaller cubes. I thought this was worth sharing since this is a topic I hear discussed often. I like the look of the Tunnel Wedge and the peak power "potential", but power-under-curve is more fun to drive. Thank you Jay for the info and to Blair for not letting me make a bad decision.