When you guys have swapped a 5.0 into a 87/88 TC, what has been the popular exhaust manifolds? Do the stock Mustang manifolds work or do you need shorty headers (made for a 5.0 bird) or is there something else better?
The stock Mustang manifolds are shorty headers - 1 1/2" I think. I'm using FMS 1 5/8" shorties - they fit fine except you have to do a bit of grinding on the drivers side engine mount - not a big deal.
I was looking at the FMS headers, but there are several models (and prices). Do you know which P/N set you have? I'll be doing exhaust from scratch, so I don't care if they fit the stock system. Thanks for the info.
i have the stock mustang shorties on my 84 and i have em on my 5.0 with no issues. cleared everything. the linkage for the colum shift and the steering linkage. i can snap pix if ya need some refrence.
i used a set of unequal length headers from Mac. they were $165 and a great fit. bolted right in no drama!
1 5/8 " HTS Shorty Header
Part Number: E508692
Price: 169.50
Description: Direct Replacement Unequal Length Header
Badbird, thanks for the info. $165 sounds reasonable and I like "no drama", but I may try to go with the stock Mustang shorties first. I should be able to pick up a set of those for $25 or so.
Cougar, I may ask for some pics in the future. Thanks for the offer.
I have the BBK shorties on my Bird... Unless you want to retain the stock column shift linkage(not applicable on TC's), any header that fits a Stang will fit a Bird/Coug