I like the tone of long tube headers. + They will give a noticeable pick up in power over the single pipe you have now. They ARE harder to install butt-eye feel it is worth the extra skinned-knuckles. The newer ones have a ball/socket fitting on the collector to exhaust pipe that is less prone to leaks. I feel no Mustang is really souped up/modified UNLESS it has a nice set of LONG TUBE headers.
Unless you think like an "old man".....then go for the mani's.

6sally6

With a stocker, I would recomment the iron hi-pos.  They fit around everything else in the engine compartment.  They were designed around the stock dual exhaust system.  Engine noise is not increased, they don't leak, they do not rust out,you get more power where you need it down low, and you get a nice exhaust sound.  And I like the look.  It is different from most others.  It does everything you need in a stocker.

Long tubes are a waste of time for you.  they only work properly at high rpm - there is no gain at low rpm.  fitment can be a challenge - you will need room around the steering & shift mechanism.  You would have to insulate your starter from exhaust heat.  Most of them are very close to the ground - mine were only about 3" from the ground till I moved them up.  Even then they dragged a lot - that is a common complaint around here.  It is common for them to leak around the head and have access issues with the spark plugs.

Shelby tri-y's would be a good alternative, too.  Tubular.  Much the same positives as the hi-po's.

Also, get an H-pipe in the tail pipe.  It makes a better sound and increases low end torque.  An X-pipe would work too, different sound and torque increases are a little higher up the rpm band.

I have had every possible configuration you can think of over the years.  For a driver, the HIPOs are the way to go.  If you do use headers, tehre are some good shorty and midlength ones out there.  Be sure to get ceramic coating .

If you have power steering, that is definitely a rason to NOT install long tube headers.  There is not a good way to relocate the steering ram for clearance without stressing the frame rail.

HEaders will help at higher RPM,but you drive at low rpm most of the time.  It all just depends on what you want.  Headers do have a different sound, and they do cause alot of issues in future maintenance if you wind up with some that make it hard to access maintenance items.

Either way, be sure to have a crossover tube (Hpipe) installed to help with sound, power and stabilize the exhaust system to keep it from swaying around, which tries to pivot everything about the exhaust port gaskets.

MustangSteve wrote:

I have had every possible configuration you can think of over the years.  For a driver, the HIPOs are the way to go.  If you do use headers, tehre are some good shorty and midlength ones out there.  Be sure to get ceramic coating .

If you have power steering, that is definitely a rason to NOT install long tube headers.  There is not a good way to relocate the steering ram for clearance without stressing the frame rail.

 
I was considering these. What do you think? Says no relocation of steering required and good ground clearance. Anybody run these?
http://shop.macperformance.com/MAC-Ford-Mustang-260-289-302-64-70-Ceramac-Long-Tube-Headers-TF6470.htm

DBROWN-  What year is your car?  I have a new pair of those exact headers that I got for my '66 with a 289. I don't think they will fit a 65-66 beacuse they have 1 5/8" tubes at the flange which makes them wide. Without trying to mount them, I bolted them to a 5.0 on an engine stand and measured across from side to side. I calculated only 1/8" clearance to the shock towers. Turns out I couldn't use them anyway because of the rack and pinion I used.
I will probably try to sell them to someone with a 67-70, which have more clearance to the towers, or a 65-70 without shock towers.

Jimmy O- You will be much happier with an h-pipe, as has been widely recommended.

whlnut wrote:

DBROWN-  What year is your car?  I have a new pair of those exact headers that I got for my '66 with a 289. I don't think they will fit a 65-66 beacuse they have 1 5/8" tubes at the flange which makes them wide. Without trying to mount them, I bolted them to a 5.0 on an engine stand and measured across from side to side. I calculated only 1/8" clearance to the shock towers. Turns out I couldn't use them anyway because of the rack and pinion I used.
I will probably try to sell them to someone with a 67-70, which have more clearance to the towers, or a 65-70 without shock towers.

Jimmy O- You will be much happier with an h-pipe, as has been widely recommended.

 
 I have a 1966. PM me  if you are going to sell them. That said, have you tried fitting them to your car? Measuring and mocking, alot of things can go wrong/get off . Not saying your not competant measuring, but you may end up with more room when bolted in your car. I just hate to see YOU not be able to use them.
I have also read some good reviews on the headman elite's on an early mustang Fastbackbhoy.

Bullet Bob wrote:

Hey Sal....this Old Man likes his HI-Po mannys.  He also  likes mufflers.

BB

"HUH!!"
 

I was thinking about Hi-Po manifolds for the short term stock '89 302 roller I'm putting into the '66 with Borgeson, MS cable clutch & T5 so I wouldn't have to worry about fitment problems since I'm trying to get the motor & tranny swapped out in the next 3 weeks and don't have much time for fiddling, but then found some good info on Hedman ceramic coated 88406 shortys and fitment with a nearly identical setup so ordered a set of these from Summit.

Got 'em two days later and was suprised at how compact they are, I think they're going to fit just fine and would think they'd flow a little better than the Hi-Po mannys. Build quality looks good (made in the USA) and they've got ball sockets at the collector for a trouble free seal there. I already have duals & and an H-pipe so will only need to replace a short section of the downtubes from the stock logs currently on the 289 C-code.

Ultimately when I've saved up the $$ for a Dart based stroker I would like to run FPA long-tubes. They aren't cheap but I had an exhaustive (heh) conversation w/Stan over there and I'm pretty convinced they're probably about the best long tubes you can get for an old Stang.

But for all that I do really like the Hi-Po manifolds and cast iron 'headers' in general. Had a set of these on my old '59 F-100 w/390:

http://www.racingjunk.com/Other/181797971/Rare-Set-of-1965-Ford-427-Cast-Iron-Headers..html

Shoulda/coulda/woulda liked to've known better and to have taken 'em off before I sold it many years ago. Got 'em at a swap meet for a couple hundred back around 1980. Shucks.