68 with a 351W... will Headers fit???

Need some advise if possible. Last fall I purchased a 68 Fairlane that was already somewhat fixed up. The motor is a 351W and it has aluminum heads, however I'm unsure of the brand. I was hoping to install Headers this spring but I noticed that a bar attached to the clutch comes extremely close to the exhaust manifold currently installed. I should note that the car is currently a manual column 3 speed and I have a T10 from a 64 Galaxy that I plan to put in to relocate the shifter from the column to the floor. This will clear some space, however it looks like the clutch rod will still be in the way.

If anyone has any advise as to wheter or not Headers will fit I would really appreciate it. I have a pair of Hooker Headers that the guy at Summit said would fit... but after looking at them out of the box and looking in the engine bay I have my doubts.

Any advise would be appreciated... I am new to the Ford world and could really use a hand. Everyone I know is a Chevy guy and you know how that goes

I have a 68 Torino that I put a 351w & aode/w trany in it. Hedman headers fit, a little tight around the trany. Hedmens web sight says they fit standerd tranys only with a floor shift. The only problem I see is you have alm. heads a fair amont of these alm. heads have raised ex. ports & can through things off a little. good luck

One other factor to consider. Make sure you can access the spark plugs once the header is installed on the head especially the drivers side. Some of the aftermarket heads have repositioned sparkplugs.

first welcome to the ford club.

richard swart is correct, even if the ports are raised 1/8", areas that would not normally make contact, may make contact.

i went through the same thing, 68 torino 351w toploader 4spd, started with hedmans 88300s, they worked fine but the world jrs were a little different than stock and one tube on the drivers side bumped the firewall. tried both of the hooker brands, comps and super comps, and some other knock off brands. even the super comps had issues with steering linkage. i was told that this could be corrected by cranking on the tie rod ends. felt like that was going to cause differing turning circles. eventually went back to the hedmans. i have heard other high end brands fit better. you might do a forum search. i purchased the different headers from summit, them shipped them back. had to pay return shipping fees though. but i got to trial fit. however it kept the car apart for several weeks.

another thing to look out for with the taller 351w block, it tends to pull the headers up closer to the floor board and cross member. i think i took pics, i'll see if i can find them.

couldn't find any worthy pics. but i do remember a few issues with 88300s. i had to dimple one tube one the drivers side to clear the firewall, dipple another to clear the z-bar. and the muffler shop complained about the lack of room on the pass collector/crossmember, they had to flatten the muffler pipe to get it to fit. it was pretty much crap. eventually fabbed up a 3/8" x 3" custom crossmember with a metalsmith and a dude that knew what he was doing! also fabbed 1/2 of z-bar (the clutchend) with rod ends for additional clearance around the bellhousing and headers.

Thanks for your guys input. I'm gonna attemp to install everything tomorrow. Hopefully I don't run into too many obstacles. I'll follow up to let you know how it goes. thanks again.

Talk to Stan @ FPA. Not cheap, but they fit, don't hang low, they work and the workmanship is second to none.

Part way down this page is what your looking for:

Ford Powertrain Applications

Kevin

Thanks for your guys input. Was able to successfully install Hooker comp headers today. Ran into the majority of the issues noted in this thread though Had to fabricate a custom cross member and had issues with the Z-bar as well. Only issue left is the clearance for the zbar. Will probably be changing to a hydraulic clutch to avoid using the zbar all together. Also got the T10 installed and a hurst super comp shifter on the floor. Looking forward to completing everything this week.

Thanks again for the help.