Modify your crossmember for clearance

Originally Posted by 70XL

I would have thought that it is easier to modify the collectors, rather than the crossmember. Last fall on my car we went the route of turning the collectors to clear the trans crossmember. I had never had headers on anything before, but my friend built race cars in a previous life and he said my car was about the easiest header install he'd ever had.
To me, that looked like nice fabrication on the crossmember. It looks like a lot more work, but it turned out well, and it looking good and working well is all that matters.

That is a good observation and I think you are correct that cutting and turning the collectors would be easier if that was enough to clear and it probably would have been OK. Let me give a couple things I was thinking at the time. The other headers were closer and it was tight getting a hand in there to adjust the shifter so the added clearance was nice. This is the third set of headers on the car and if I ever did decide to sell them they would have more value uncut. Not sure about an AOD trans in the future so extra space would be good for that.

Originally Posted by stvrrr

If you look under a 91-93 Thunderbird or Cougar with the 5.0L, check out the tranny crossmember. All you have to do to make it fit, with the humps where you have them now, is to cut off about 1" on each end and redrill the mounting holes. They are virtually the same as one for a Fairlane but with the exhaust humps out further.

Now you tell me. Any one doing a swap this is good info from stvrrr. I will say part of the reason for the post was to just give some ideas on how to get started in a modification like this. Thanks for another option on cross members though.