5POINTOH

I was wondering how hard is it to do this install myself. I was looking through the following thread on a BBK shorty install and it doesnt sound and look too bad:

http://www.mustangmonthly.com/techar...ers/index.html

I am have heard that installing headers can be a PITA for DIY's. I am not an expert weekend mechanic by any means.....though I have started to learn to do some work on my own car. From doing some research and looking over the infamous TacoBill's write-ups, I have been able to do the following mods on my car in the last year:

1. Exhaust: Flowmaster axlebacks and Pypes offroad H pipe
2. Hurst Shifter
3. FRPP lowering springs
4. Steeda UDP
5. Stack Racing front grille
6. Spoiler store GT500 rear spoiler
7. Swapped out my valve covers to have them powder coated
8. Rotorpros crossed drilled/slotted rotors

So I am wondering am I in over my head here with the shorty headers?? I would imagine this would be the most challenging job to date.

Has anyone else with modest mechanical skills like me done this install on their own? Does anyone know of any good DIY write-ups anywhere.

5POINTOH

Wow 162 views and no replies......there has got to be some of you who have installed shorties

Nuke

I can't comment on the install, but I'm curious why you want to go to the trouble. Yes, shorties (and LT's) can be a tough install and the shorties gains are minimal at best. If it's for sound, then I might get it but sound can be changed for a lot less aggravation.

5POINTOH

For me there is two reasons why I am not doing the LT's.

1. I really like the sound of the off road H pipe as opposed to the X pipe. Choices are very limited for the off road H pipe when it comes to LT's.

2. To pass aircare (emissions) in BC, you need to have cats. The only company that makes LT's that have an H with cats is JBA. In my case here, I would have to buy not only the LT's and the JBA offroad H.....I would also need to buy the JBA catted H. This would end up costing an extra $900 on top of what I paid for my current exhaust.

If it was not for aircare, I would definitely go with LT's. The general consensus and according to the research I have done is that shorties will more than likely improve the sound of current exhaust which is what I am really after and the flow has to got to improve as well compared to the OEM manifolds. Most people who have installed shorties seem to be pretty happy with them and many have reported they feel an improvement in power as well....albeit it might be minimal or perhaps even a placebo effect. And not to mention they sure look a helluva a lot better than those rusty OEM manifolds.

A very important note is most of the negative feedback on shorties is coming from people who do not actually have the shorties on their car and have merely repeated what they have heard from someone else. To me the feedback that counts the most is from people who have had first hand experience with the mod.

Do you have headers on your car? If so, what kind and how do you find them?

In my research so far, I have found the combo of JBA shorty headers, Pypes off road H and Flowmaster American Thunder seems to give the S197 the old school muscle car sound I am after (i.e. 5.0 fox body sound).

jdmcbride

I have JBA shorties and love them. Sure they don't have the gains up top like the long tubes, but as you said, I couldn't justify spending $1,000+ for maybe 4 - 6 rwhp. I did notice an increase in low-end torque after the install and they smoothed out the exhaust pulses. They do sound great with American Thunder alxe-backs (and I still have the factory catted h-pipe!).

I had my headers installed at Steeda, so I cannot comment on the installation. The one thing I know is that you should install HD motor mounts at the same time to prevent any rubbing of the steering shaft against the driver's side header.

5POINTOH

I think the gains might be a little more than +4 to 6RWHP....or at least most people say so. Regardless, I think I will be happy with my new system once I get it installed. Intuitively, I would think taking out the cats would really improve the flow......thus I went with the Pypes off road H.

Did you notice any increase in the loudness with shorties? I did my exhaust in a stepwise fashion (i.e. did axlebacks first, then added the offroad H etc.). I noticed an increase in loudness with each mod. It was more pronounced with the addition of the offroad H pipe.....though the Flowmasters did make a big improvement as well.

foolio2k4

they can be a pita to install.

Hardest parts for me were getting the headers in there. Had to lift the engine maybe 2 inches and have a friend tilt the engine to the side to get it in.

Also, dont use stock header bolts. They are too long and will piece the tubing.

Most importantly, make sure you torque it down in the proper sequence. It is easy to get header leaks from them.

5POINTOH

Been reading too many nightmare threads with these.....gonna be smart and get a shop to install them. How many hours labour? 4 sound right?

jdmcbride

Remember to do the motor mounts at the same time! It didn't increase the labor charge for me.

5POINTOH

Is it really necessary? My 05 has got only about 14K miles on it. Can the old ones be re-used?