65 Comet with 390

The Era of The Square Body Racing Comets
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loman
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Re: 65 Comet with 390

Post by loman »

Called the mid plate manufacturer tonight. They told me the mid plate is made for a mini starter and if I' want to use a stock starter that I should grind on it to make it fit. It's not that big of a deal to me, but I told them it would be nice if that info was on the product description.
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loman
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Re: 65 Comet with 390

Post by loman »

I decided to start on my jigsaw puzzle today, fabricating headers. i got the back 4 (probably hardest 4) cylinders started today. i got them coming off the heads and aiming down. i need to decide if im going to reuse collectors from Craigs list headers (not likely), buy new ones or make my own. Currently I'm leaning towards making my own.
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lavron
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Re: 65 Comet with 390

Post by lavron »

You are a better man than me :P Someday I would like to make headers but I suck too much at welding and would be afraid of them being full of holes, and looking like crap :roll:

I am waiting now to see something besides the pile 'o pipes :P

See Ya,
Mike
Mike's build thread
viewtopic.php?f=9&t=13058
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Jims65cyclone
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Re: 65 Comet with 390

Post by Jims65cyclone »

What a pit of vipers! :shock: That would strike fear in the heart of Indiana Jones! :o :shock:
Jim
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popscomet
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Re: 65 Comet with 390

Post by popscomet »

loman wrote:I decided to start on my jigsaw puzzle today, fabricating headers. i got the back 4 (probably hardest 4) cylinders started today. i got them coming off the heads and aiming down. i need to decide if im going to reuse collectors from Craigs list headers (not likely), buy new ones or make my own. Currently I'm leaning towards making my own.
:shock: :shock: good luck....OL POP made a set for a 460 pwrd 64 ford pu,,,,,,BUT I CHEATED !! mine all came up thru the hood,,,looked cool and was a lot easier on the ears inside the cab.....it was a mud drag truck !!!!! 8) :lol:
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bigdan
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Re: 65 Comet with 390

Post by bigdan »

Awesome! Looking forward to watching this unfold - definitely not for the faint of heart. Way back when, on Rev (A) of my 65 hardtop project, my goal was to run a 351C with stock front suspension. So . . . I built my own also. I used 3/8" laser cut flanges/collectors from Speedway and 2" mild steel tubes. I flanged the lower 2 pipes on each side so i could install from underneath. It was fun, and i did get them to fit, but in the end i decided to go with a 331 for a little more room. Good luck!

Dan

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Long time search complete, 65 Cyclone project in progress!

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loman
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Re: 65 Comet with 390

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This will be the 2nd set of headers I have built. I built the ones on the black car but that was easy compared to this. Black car has no inner fenders and nothing else to work around. I just ran them outside the frame rails and tucked them as high as I could.
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Rocket989
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Re: 65 Comet with 390

Post by Rocket989 »

I’m with Jim on “pit of vipers”! Interesting though...seems like headers are always one of the first “serious” perf upgrades when we’re kids (relatively speaking). LT’s are almost always a PITA to install so as the years go by it’s a love/hate thing.

To me, making a set of headers from flanges down that fit great is like giving $700+ buck headers that don’t fit worth a crap the ultimate bird!! :D :D
'cause Johno says you gotta have a sig pic! :)
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loman
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Re: 65 Comet with 390

Post by loman »

Header update. The Craig's List headers I bought and modifying for use are 1 3/4 tubes. For some silly reason I thought my Crites 351 headers were 1 1/2 but they are also 1 3/4 tubes. So, I don't have to build collectors and I can use my Crites 351 collectors. One problem solved. Now that I got collectors I can proceed. Trying to keep the headers tucked up high for clearance I decided to notch the factory bracing in order to get the collectors higher to gain a little more clearance. I made some pieces to weld in around the cutouts to add some strength back in and will hopefully get them tacked in sometime in the near future. I think the notching idea will work out nicely when all done.
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Jims65cyclone
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Re: 65 Comet with 390

Post by Jims65cyclone »

Loman....are you planning to add any heat shielding between the headers and the floor pans?
Jim
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bigdan
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Re: 65 Comet with 390

Post by bigdan »

Good idea to notch that brace for clearance!

You said you've built some headers before, so I'm sure you have a process, but here's one thing that helped me. I figured out exactly where I wanted my collectors then tacked them firmly in place. On the flanges, I mocked the engine in place, bolted the flanges on, then tacked them in with round bar, then removed the heads, but left the block, starter, steering box, etc all in place. That gave the best view for routing tubes. Just my $0.02.

Good luck - can't wait to see how they turn out!

Dan
Long time search complete, 65 Cyclone project in progress!

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loman
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Re: 65 Comet with 390

Post by loman »

Jims65cyclone wrote:Loman....are you planning to add any heat shielding between the headers and the floor pans?
Jim
Jim, no plans of any shielding. If we get to the point of running nostalgia super stock, we have to have interior including carpet. Then we might put a piece of dynamat under carpet.
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loman
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Re: 65 Comet with 390

Post by loman »

bigdan wrote:Good idea to notch that brace for clearance!

You said you've built some headers before, so I'm sure you have a process, but here's one thing that helped me. I figured out exactly where I wanted my collectors then tacked them firmly in place. On the flanges, I mocked the engine in place, bolted the flanges on, then tacked them in with round bar, then removed the heads, but left the block, starter, steering box, etc all in place. That gave the best view for routing tubes. Just my $0.02.

Good luck - can't wait to see how they turn out!

Dan
Any tips and advice are welcome. I took 2 pieces to the local exhaust shop tonight and had them stretch the ends to make an easy slip fit of the tubes. Once all fitted, I'll tack weld and remove them to finish welding them.
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caseville cyclone
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Re: 65 Comet with 390

Post by caseville cyclone »

I'm impressed! That's all I can say. Andy
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loman
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Re: 65 Comet with 390

Post by loman »

Over the weekend I was able to to get 4 of the header tubes made and tack welded. When I made my cutouts of the floorboard bracing for the collectors, I forgot about the B&M cable shifter bracket. In order to get clearance for the bracket I had to move the collector toward the outside of the car and now it doesn't line up with the cutout. So I decided to make each header a bit shorter and stop short of the brace. A friend came by and he helped me rework the #7 tube to get it more outboard. One problem I was having was welding the old headers to the new pipes. All the paint was cleaned off but it didn't like taking the weld. But I'll get it figured out. I also need to buy some pipe so I can complete the front 4 tubes. The box of curved pieces didn't have any long straight pieces in it. In the picture, the collectors are not level because a few of the bolts are not tight. All in all, I'm happy the way the back 4 turned out.
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