I'm restoring my 85 F150. I want do do a full exhaust on it, if its worth it.

would i see any gains out of headers?
what about high flow cats?

Which brand headers should i get? and should i get shorties or long tubes? any links for where to get them?

Also, which brand high flow cat?

My stock setup is 2.25" piping, single in single out. Should i upgrade it all to 2.5" and run true duals back from the headers, into high flow cats, into a DI/DO magnaflow, then exit out the rear?
Or would i be fine with 2.25" piping? will headers fit up to that size?

Thanks for any help!

 

i would go with coated long tube headers, true dual exhaust just like you are thinking with 2.5" pipe, maybe 3", its kind of overkill, but I think it sounds better, thats all.

 

With true duals I wouldn't go any larger than 2.25" piping. That's pretty much the equivalent of a single 3" pipe... any more than that is overkill for a stock/mild engine.

 

1: I have a set of headers to fit that truck, IF its a 351w.

2: The problem with duel exaust on that truck is the gas tank. Unless its a duel tank truck and you got rid of the front tank.

Youll have to run both pipes down the passerger side, or run them on the outside of the frame rails. That way works but you can see the pipes and doesnt look that good.

 

Its a 302. I guess if i do go with true duals i will go with 2.25 all the way back.

Running true duals won't be a big issues. they don't run straight back (dont have dual tanks, doesn't matter anyway) they both run on the passenger side inside the frame, back to below the front of the bed in the muffler, then out of the muffler one goes straight over the axle and out, the other goes to the drivers side before teh spare then out the back.

So, looks like i'll need some headers, high flow cats, X pipe, and magnaflow DI/DO muffler.

any links or suggestions for headers?
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Thanks!

 

I have ceramic coated Dynomax long tube headers on my 302. I dont know if they will fir your year, but I am happy with them. Mine is true dual with a 2.25" piping and a magnaflow x-pipe and 4x9x14 mufflers. I used to have their hiflow cats, but I ditched them! I dont think they were robbing much power anyways though, so you might as well put them on if you want.

 

I used BBK ceramic coated, true duals, 2.25" aluminumized pipe, h-pipe (no room for the x-pipe with a 4x4) ran both pipes down the passenger side. Love it. I wish I had gone with long tube headers like beastie did, they give more performance than shorties but even with the shorties I got a little more power. Most noticeable was a big mpg increase over stock

 

beastie, got a link to where you got those headers? and a price too?

same question for you ccnseven

Thanks for the help!

 

Summit part # WLK-86054:
Ford: 1980-95 302, F150-350, and Bronco, 1 1/2 in. primary tubes, 2 1/2 in. collectors, ceramic coated, header...
$239.95

 

Thanks man! Now i just gotta decide....

I'm not sure if i want to do headers.....does it make a big difference in sound?

Reason i might not do them is because it decreases backpressure and i dont want to loose that low end power. my 85 has soooo much lag off the line it blows. 1st gear really sucks!


So, if i didn't do headers, which should i do for this stuff...

-magnaflow cats..... www.bigexhaust.com has single cats and double ones. Should i get two singles or use the one double?

-Piping? 2.5 or 2.25? I"m pretty sure i'll do 2.25 because that is what it is stock with a single, and i want to change it to dual

-X pipe? will i notice any gains from this at all?

-Muffler.....should i go with a single 18" DI/DO magnaflow? or should i go with two 14" SI/SO magnaflow's?
I knwo the shorter the muffler the louder the sound, but how does it work with DI/DO or SI/SO? i want the louder setup.

Thanks for any info! I can't wait to get that flowmaster 40 series off the truck that is actually quieter than stock

 

Got my BBK headers off ebay, brand new in the box. I talked to the man who did my exhaust about x-pipes and h-pipes and lack of either one, he swears they creat low end power by helping to balance the exhaust pulse from each side. I noticed a power increase but believe it was do mostly to haveing a true dual exhaust. I also used baby turbo mufflers, no cats and it sounds great, real deep and throaty but not loud and no cab drone. Muffler man also said to go no larger than 2.25" pipe.