1986 exhaust manifold
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I used my last set to hold a shop door open for [years] before finally tossing them.
Why, if you have to remove the OEM manifold, would you put another one back on? Is it just to stay compatible with the rest of your exhaust?
Oh, and you should put a [Want] ad in the [Classifieds] section. Somebody might have some lying around still:
Why, if you have to remove the OEM manifold, would you put another one back on? Is it just to stay compatible with the rest of your exhaust?
Oh, and you should put a [Want] ad in the [Classifieds] section. Somebody might have some lying around still:
Had this car for about 20 years. Bone stock except for a cheapie pair of headers I threw on years ago. They're now rusted and look like hell. I'm not after performance, and would like the engine bay to look as it did from the factory. I assumed that all 5.0's used the same factory exhaust manifolds. But in looking around, it seems there may be a unique part number for convertibles. Not sure, but I think I remember something about different motor mounts for the drop tops.
Yes. I believe the engine sits lower, can't remember by how much, this could cause interference with the steering shaft on the driver side.
I did swap in a set of aftermarket headers on my 92 vert with no issues.
86 had the tubular exhaust manifolds?
I did swap in a set of aftermarket headers on my 92 vert with no issues.
86 had the tubular exhaust manifolds?
85GTStangGuy
Advanced Member
So the only engine mount you can buy now is the very type. I can tell you that is makes zero difference with how the exhaust bolts up on a non-very car. I would just put some nice unequal length shorties on it and call it a day but I get wanting to be all original on an unmolested car.
Pretty hard to tell what is going to be valuable in the future....
When the gas shortages happened in the mid 70's we figured there would never be a V8 car produced for much longer... Those muscle cars that now sell for hundreds of thousands ( Or that Hemi convertible Cuda worth 3.5 Million) were considered worthless junk.....
Old exhaust manifolds, stock carbs, stock distributors, and those horrible old Air pumps that " robbed" horsepower, seem to be quite valuable now...
I cannot advise what might become valuable in the future, but I cringe nowadays when I consider throwing away a part from a car...
As far as I know, there is no major difference in 86-93 headers. Any variation in engine mount angle is accounted for in the ball-and-socket type connections.
There might be some minor revisions, such as exhaust stud clearance, or surface finish and such, but for the most part all 86-93 headers are lumped together in the same group.
After 1991, all of the V8 Mustangs used the convertible mounts. The old ones were discontinued. I swapped from the old style to the vert mount and it made zero difference in how the exhaust mounted up.
There might be some minor revisions, such as exhaust stud clearance, or surface finish and such, but for the most part all 86-93 headers are lumped together in the same group.
After 1991, all of the V8 Mustangs used the convertible mounts. The old ones were discontinued. I swapped from the old style to the vert mount and it made zero difference in how the exhaust mounted up.
85GTStangGuy
Advanced Member
That's correct.
There were basically 3 versions of Ford's "headers" used on FoxBody Mustangs:
- the '85 set, which had the stove pipe shrouds and the funky heat riser valve in the driver's side collector. It was also the only set with a 2-1/2" outlet.
- the '86 set, which which eliminated the shrouds and riser valve. They also changed to a 2-1/4" outlet at that point.
- the '87-'93 set, which incorporated "minor tube reshaping to simplify their interchangeability with the 5-liter-powered Lincoln Mark VII".
Source - The Official Ford Mustang 5.0 Technical Reference & Performance Handbook
I have a set of oe headers but honestly I'd go with a set of coated headers,
PM me if you're interested.
PM me if you're interested.
85GTStangGuy
Advanced Member
Not necessarily.... his current set of aftermarket headers are, most likely, made from cold rolled steel, which can certainly turn into a rust magnet (no pun intended). Since they were "cheapies" (his word), I'd assume they were not hi-tech (ceramic or better) coated.... probably just had a coat of high temp paint, which doesn't last.
A factory Ford set, being made of stainless steel, has a much higher chance of being in better shape. They would probably clean up pretty good with a Evapo-Rust bath too.
Honestly, i don't think i've ever seen a set of stock headers that looked good. My guess is you can clean them, but it will happen all over again anyway. Not sure i'd pay to have factory headers coated either. Personally i'd buy a set of 304 stainless headers to replace them, but that's me.
Blast them, high temp paint and call it a day. Eventually they will look like the backside of your ass but you’ll have some time.
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