1970 Mustang 302 Headers

Does anyone have any good recommendations on headers for my Healey Sebring with a 1970 Ford 302? I intend to have a custom dual exhaust made after choosing the headers. Thanks in advance. Steve

Welcome to the forum!  Others will surely chime in with a specific part #, but I've seen Sanderson Block-Hugger headers recommended for SBFs. Difficult to fit anything other than block huggers. Whatever you end up choosing, check that it has a pretty thick mounting flange so it doesn't warp on you over time.

Cheers!- David AHRF admin

P.S. Nice car! I like the british-racing green

Thanks David.....I’m a Brit living in the US so it just had to be BRG

Thanks for the feedback on block huggers David. Anyone else out there that has recommendations on short or long headers that work with the Ford 302 in the Healey Sebring engine bay?
My current setup is not optimal in terms of flow so I’m losing a lot of power. Thanks in advance. Steve

Second what David said. The block huggers worked in my Sebring with 351W.

You say you're losing a lot of power. Are you looking high RPM horse power, or low RPM torque ?

Thanks. The pipes on it are fabricated retaining the dual pipes out the back on the passenger side. There are side pipes that have blanking plates on so the exhaust runs all over the place. If you take the plates off most of the waste comes out the side and it sounds nice and runs like it’s breathing properly. I am going to have an exhaust fabricated that runs as straight as I can to the back of the car and do away with the side pipes.

A lot of variables there. In theory the blocked-off side-pipes shouldn't affect anything because they'll build up pressure once the engine's idled for more than 5 seconds. However they are a bit of a waste on a street-car (especially weight-wise and for extra heat in the cabin).

The reason most of the pressure comes out the sides with the plates off is because the gas takes the path of least resistance (I.e. the one with no mufflers instead of the one with).

What diameter is the narrowest point of your exhaust (from the collector back, ignoring the side-pipes)?

How are your spark plugs looking?

Does the car hesitate on wide-open throttle with the block-off plates on vs. without?

At the end of the day it's a big engine in a very tight engine bay, so on the header end you can only get away with so much, even block-huggers can be a struggle as I've found out the hard way. After the header I'd recommend either going with side-pipes containing a glass-pac muffler and some baffling, or dual 2"-2.25" exhaust out back with some magnaflows and an X-crossover.

New plugs when I got the car a couple of months ago. It runs great, but just feels less restricted when the side pipes are open. When I got the car I realized it was pulling a lot of crap from the tank through the filter that was causing it to flat spot here and there. I first changed the fuel pump and blew out the lines and added a new fuel filter. This got dirty pretty quick but the flat spot had gone. I have since swapped out the tank and it runs great, just feels more restricted with the side plates on. See my other post re fuel sender though . The pipes are a maze underneath and the bends are flatter than they should be in places. Some new headers and a less restrictive fabricated exhaust and it will for sure be better.

What tank did you use for the swap? There are two Chevette tanks, an early one and a later model one. Mine has a leak and I’m not sure what to order.

The early one which has the filler neck on the drivers side. Spectra Premium GM6C. Take a look at my other post about fuel senders though. You will have to refurbish your old sender because you can’t find new ones. The tank though fits perfectly with a little banging around!

I don't have an answer for you but I'm considering buying a 1988 Sebring with a Ford 302. Do you know if that's almost definitely the same one that you have or was more than one version of the 302 an option? I'm having trouble getting a horsepower estimate online. I've seen some listed that say 300 but then I saw other places that said that engine was as low as 190. I have to do some work if I get it so I can't get a proper feel for the power by driving it. Right now it doesn't have much after it's are for 22 years. I'm hoping that it just needs a tune-up and some work on the fuel system to bring it back up to where it's supposed to be.

I used 1985 mustang shorty headers from ebay. they're stainless & cost less than $200. i had no clearance problem & they have been installed 4 yrs.

My 302 is I believe around 220 and it’s adequate in terms of power to weight ratio. It’s not a BOSS for sure but good fun and wheel spins away without any trouble. I plan to tune it up a little with extras and parts and upgrades are a plenty.

I'm sure that 220 would be fun still but when people call it a budget Cobra it really makes me want to make that true. 300 would definitely be Cobra territory at this weight but 220 isn't quite there. What extras do you think will be needed to get it over 300 and how much should I expect to spend?

Then my advice would be to upgrade the brakes and go get a BOSS crate engine. Seriously there’s so much you can do to the 302 so I would go to the mustang sites and take your advice from there. Lots of experts out there! That’s what I plan to do......I’m doing the brakes first though...that’s a winter project and I’m driving it at the moment.

Why would I get a crate engine if I can upgrade the existing one?