Every search I do looking for headers that may fit, I also find one that they do not. Looking for headers that will fit with little to no modification. Shorty's, mids, ore long tubes don't care as ling as they fit. What they need to fit, 1972 Maverick Un modified shock towers. Manual Trans top loader floor shift. Factory clutch linkage with a 5.0 engine side pivot. Factory manual steering. If it matters manual brakes. 302 8.2 deck based engine. now the fun part They need to fit my AFR 195 competition ported heads
how do the afr 195s differ from the 185s? that's what i have. i run hooker 6901 with tubes a little banged in on the driver side. passenger side fit like a glove.
I also run the 6901's with AFR 185's. Pass side fits easily and driver side fits with no banging on the header. I did have to lift the engine on the driver side and remove the driver side valve cover. I am using a cable clutch with my T5 and do not know if the Z bar will interfere in any way.
I have a relatively stock 302, a '70 top loader 4 speed, factory clutch linkage, bell housing and the Hooker 6901 headers. I had to raise the engine to get them in. The passenger side fit with no interference but one tube on the driver's side is dented slightly by the pitman arm. Bruce
Your choices are few. I also have AFR's and the biggest issue with these heads is the size and shape of the exhaust port. Hedman long tubes fit the best, but the ports are relatively small and will restrict the AFR ports. The Hooker 6901's have bigger ports, but the quality is so poor that I had to open them up with a die grinder to match my ports. It seems everyone who runs these headers has a different experience. Some have to hammer the #$%^ out of them and others say they fit without incident. I honestly believe the 6901's were designed to fit another Ford application until someone discovered they fit a Maverick.
Yep.. seems to be hit or miss. And I believe you're right about the afterthought for header mfgrs including these cars into their application charts. I seriously wish I had time to design and mock fit a set of typically sized headers to my car and make a jig for the design. They wouldn't be very cheap to build.. could also do stainless for about another 125 more.. but they would sure as he'll be worlds better than all these cookie cutter designs. Make more power too.
I found a slightly used set of 88408 Hedman sorties, probably have to cut the ball socket off and extend the collectors to get around every thing that's in the way. If I am unsuccessful then a set of 6901 or 6208. on another note the engine is almost ready to go. Just put in 6 quarts of Brad Penn 30wt brake in oil and a new fl-1a filter and primed the oil pump.
not sure if it helps but i got some headers from dynomax in 1997 for my 70 ford f100. sure theres lots of room under a truck hood, but they claimed they could bend and fit anything to work with anything you have. im going to get them to do my maverick when i get my 302 in. these headers were ceramic coated inside and outside. they NEVER leaked and i only had to retighten them once after the first 100 miles just to be safe. they never developed pin holes either. they did however start to look bad after 10yrs as the outside ceramic started flaking off, BUT that was my fault as i never washed them or put sealer on them. it was also a daily driver , so they really got used. they stayed shiny for a good 8 yrs. i took them off in 2015 when i pulled the engine and they still never leaked. they cost me $290 iirc.
