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Joined: May 2017
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Any thoughts on the Williams or Fenton cast exhaust manifolds or the stainless headers I am seeing around?

I like the reliability of the castings but I can't help but think the stainless tube headers are the way to go for me. Both stainless headers have bung fittings for my wide band o2 sensors and I think they would flow better. I am not looking for originality or that inline six rap. In fact I'm not fond of that sound and would like to avoid it.

So, with a cam I "think" the stainless headers are they way to go but I would love to hear some opinions.

Thanks!

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If you don't like the sound connect the pipes & use a single muffler. In my experience the Williams are a superior header. They fit with much less reworking than the Fentons. They use donuts instead of a gasket. The flanges are thicker, they seal
real good & bolt up with the intake is much better. Over all, a
much better product. The tubing headers have the same bolt up problems as the Fentons when using an aluminum intake. The bungs are for manifold heat tubes not oxygen sensors.


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The stainless headers that you see advertised are not a header in the true sense of the word but closer to a tube version (read that cheaper and easier to make) then the two castings currently on the market (Williams and Fenton). The only true header currently on the market is the Clifford header. Good tube header but pricy. Clifford use to make long tube headers for various 235 installations but the patterns were lost after Jack Clifford's death. So you have a couple of choices. You could convert the stock manifold to a dual out let or true dual manifold and retain the exhaust heat function of the stock set up. You can use the plain steel or stainless steel so-called headers that are on the market. You will need to heat the bottom of the intake with hot water to get the carb or carbs to run right. You can tinker with fentons and use the gasket hookup (also requires hot water to the bottom of the intake). The threaded ports for exhaust heat are not that efficient and don't really work all that well. Hold out for hot water. Or you could use the Williams. Given your parameters, if it were me, I would probably opt for the Williams set up, regular exhaust donut for the hookup flange, hot water to the underside of the intake, cross over tube to connect both sides of the exhaust after the exhaust manifolds and before the mufflers, dual stock style 2" mufflers and 2 inch tail pipes.

Last edited by mdonohue05; 05/30/17 06:09 PM.
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I respectfully disagree with you about the exhaust heat function of the Fentons not being efficient. My experience has been that it worked quite well and quickly. I even used it on an Edmunds intake with compression fittings on the water tube. I could start it up cold and lay my hand on the intake and have to remove it pretty fast it heated up that quickly. My only concern was that in the heat of the summer it was probably too much heat. Water heat would more likely be superior in that scenario.


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I appreciate your comments and your experience. I have run it both ways over the 40 years I have been playing with these early 235/261 motors. I have even run it with no heat - terrible idea, left me with a fat sloppy pig of of a motor that took the manifold forever to warm up and sort of run right (hey I was young then and dumb, lol) Then I went to the exhaust heat, it worked and was an improvement. Tom Langdon thereafter convinced me about 20 ears ago (maybe longer now that I think about it) to try hot water. Worked better and less heat to the manifold, sufficient to allow the fuel to atomize but not too hot to have the fuel flash off the moment it hit the manifold. The water heat is the better choice. As you noted, exhaust heat is too hot after the motor is running a while (I agree) while the hot water is temperature regulated by the cooling system. For me anyhow, hot water.

Last edited by mdonohue05; 06/01/17 05:20 PM.
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if you don't like the "raaap" of the typical six dual exhaust sound listen to this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zevD5kkHibk

this has a different set of cylinders firing into each collector than most inlines do and we hear a totally different pattern--it not the pipe size, muffler type, it is the firing pattern going into the collectors.... On the typical inline six you have 1, 2, and 3 firing into one collector thus into one exhaust pipe and the rest of them into another collector/pipe side, and they go "RAAAAP". All the inline sixes have the same cylinder numbering and firing order--The headers on this Mustang has cylinders 1, 6, and 3 fire thru one collector/pipe and it's cylinders 2, 4, and 5 fire thru the other collector/pipe and they go "Very similar to a v-8's rumble" There is your chance to avoid the "Raaaap"....nobody that I know of has that joining pattern for a Chevy six. Clifford and Scott Drake do offer them for Fords...listen again--that's really different aint it!! Weld you up a set for yourself!!!

Last edited by preacher-no choir; 07/01/17 09:03 PM.

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