[bartlettracing]

:tdn:

Stan at fpa told me that the headers could be bolted on, and the engine fit right in ..... UM NO... that cant happen.

We tryed for two hours and had the engine in every position you could think of.

took the passanger side header off and got it in, Got the motor mounts started and the passanger side header is pushing pretty hard on the shock tower. We moved the motor up ,down,left ,right and the header stays on the shock tower.

They dont fit ... $960 and they dont fit..... So now I'm in a bind. Bend the header? bend the shock tower (fully restored and painted) notch the towers (and get a repaint) .....

This is just a heads up on what you might find.... My car has never been crased ect its all straight....

 

[Reman]

There are guys over at www.fordfe.com that are well experienced at what you are doing. Unfortunately I am not one of those that can help you.

 

[alanmacdougall]

Sorry to sound harsh, but this makes no sense. Moved the motor up, down right, left and the header stays on the shock tower. Most people use adjustable motor mounts to solve close fit problems. You may want to call Stan for his advise?

 

[mustangboy]

You may want to call Stan for his advise?

+1....No way I would be modifying anything...Take some close up pics and send them to him as well as chatting on the phone.

 

[50dan]

Are you trying to install these bolted to the motor going in? I have Crites and had to install after the motor was in. I think these are similar. Install after the motor is in.

 

[bartlettracing]

The headers are on and the engine is in. The passanger side header is TIGHT/pushing hard on the shock tower. The drivers side is 1/16 away from a bolt hitting the left shock tower. I Emailed stan and he sent me his install directions. ... I will need to call him tomara. I cant see that there is a simple answer. The pipe that is hitting is made at as tight of a angle that he can do. Making clearance is the fix. picking the way for clearance is the **** part... Ill post a couple pics ...

 

[fairlaniac]

The only problem I had was some Korean made (new) motor mounts that had the stud 3/16" off the mark. A set of mounts from Corteco or Cometic (I forget the name) let the engine drop in with FPA's installed. I have about 1/16" from the nearest bolt head to the driver side shock tower but with the engine rotating to the passenger side when revving the distance increases. Tight but no problems.

 

[Fabri]

The way I put the FPA's on the 390 in my 68 Fairlane was as follows. Set the headers in place in the engine bay, drop the short block in. Set the head gaskets in place. Slide the heads on top of the of the short block. Slowly bolt the bottom rung of header bolts in (im using 8-bolt heads). Didnt tighten them, just got them started half way. Slide the head over the cylinder and start tightening away. On the bottom rung of bolts, you can only use 3/4" long bolts. 1" bolts will bottom out before tight on the bottom rung. The bolts FPA provided were 1" long if memory serves.

As far as interferences I ran into. None with respect to the car. However, the bottom corner of the block and bellhousing on the drivers side needed to be shaved just a tad. It was too close for comfort, may have worked without doing it, but didnt want to take a change of vibrating a punction into the headers. Also, I am using a Quicktime Bellhousing, may not have the problem with other bellhousings.

Issues on the passengers side. No hits or interferences. However, the starter cable should probably be rerouted to run along the block, over the top of the starter and then attach to the starter. The original cable was a few inches too short to keep it away from the headers. Same note, different issue, replace your starter now. You will not be able to remove the starter once the headers are in place without jacking the engine or removing the headers. Also, Powermasters high torque mini starter will not work with these headers. I forget the model number, but it is the one that allows you to clock the starter how you want. The one thing I did not catch, but I am going to have to address is the passengers side collector is within 3/4" of the brake line, in the area where the coupling is, as it goes down the tranny tunnel. I'm concerned about the radiant heat that the brake fluid is going to be exposed to. I've got to yank the engine back out when the car goes off for paint, so I'll address it at that time. There may not be an issue, but rather forward think, then have an ahhh sh*& moment.

I go by Murphy's Law when it comes to thinking anything will be straightforward, so thats why I installed the headers in the fashion I did. It is also the reason I test fitted the headers to the block, wanted to find as much problems ahead of time.

Now, if you have the long block in the car, you might try putting the headers on in this fashion. Start with the drivers side, its tighter due to the steering box and bellhousing. Take off your motor mounts, especially the middle piece of the 3 piece unit. May have to take the tranny mount off also. The collector is where your clearance issue is gonna happen. May have to turn the steering wheel to get the pitman arm out of the way. Once the drivers side is in, move onto the next side. Here are some pictures of the finished installation of the headers.

 

[50dan]

You should have just installed a 460. Fits waaayyyy better than the 390!

 

[babyblue390gta]

hi there,
i have a 67 fairlane 390 gta, when we rebuilt the engine 10 years ago, we tried to put on hooker comp headers, there was no way they were going t fit and i wasnt about to modify my shock towers,then not been able to change the starter without taking the header off!! r u joking!! my mechanic who is a specialist engine machinist, told me that the d
stock headers breathe fairly well, and putting on aftermarket ones in a case like this. its is not worht it!!
stiil want to install a ste of headers but the more i research and the trouble guys r having i will stay with the stock ones,

 

[bartlettracing]

I got the fpa's in .... I had to clearance the shock tower(very easy) that was the only mod I had to do. This could be my cars fault I dont know. Now that they are in Im very happy with how they look ,fit. They are tucked up very nice ! No chance of ground clearance problems. I got all the bolts in pretty easy and the starter went right in ! I didnt think there was room but it slid right up and bolted right in ! The wire to the starter was a slight pain but I got that to ... I can swap the starter without any trouble. The tranny went in very easy also. No header clearance problems ect ... I would not even think of not having them not ceramic coated .. the starter is close as well as the a brake line and the power steering ram...