If you don`t care about performance, or better gas mileage, you really have no need for headers, especially if you are more concerned about replacing rusted out starters on non running vehicles every 15 years or so. However, I have been running, building, racing,and driving FE ( and other Ford V8 powered vehicles) with headers since the mid 70s, and in about 50 years of doing so, I doubt that I have ever replaced a bad starter more than 6 or 7 times, over maybe 40 different vehicles, in all that time. So you have to weigh to options, of better performance and gas mileage for 15 or 20 years, of regular use, vs the potential to having to change a starter in that same time frame, that may add an additional hour or 2. Of course, that is assuming that the exhaust manifolds can stay on, without cracking or leaking, during that time. On my old 74 F350, I switched from exhaust manifolds to headers, after having the 3rd factory cast iron exhaust manifold crack over a period of less than 3 years. Now, the fact that I used the truck for hauling heavy loads, likely contributed to the exhaust manifolds failing, but after installing the headers, I drove the truck for another 23 or 24 years, and had no more issues. I did replace the starter about 14 years afterwards, and yes, I did need to remove the passenger side header to change the starter, but that inconvenience was pretty minor, compared to the benefits of the headers.
