'57 Ford headers

[berr13]

I'm looking for ideas for headers for the Revell '57 Ford.  I want to build a period street racer, so the fender well headers from the gasser are not what I'm after.  Anyone have any ideas, clues or tips regarding inside the frame headers for the '57 Ford?  Thanks

[Mark]

The AMT '57 Ford has a set of headers.  Not the greatest (tooled in the early Seventies, most kit headers looked a little spindly back then) but they should fit.

[Plowboy]

Try a set from a SBC. The port spacing is a little different on the center ports. The Y block has a bit of space between them vs. the Chevy siamesed ports. But, that's a simple fix.

The AMT '66 Nova has a set that may work with the Ford engine and frame.

Edited December 19, 2020 by Plowboy

[Force]

Yes, a SBC set should work with some slight modifications to the center pipes as the port spacing is close.
There is a pair in the AMT 56 Victoria kit they call Hedman Headers, they are shortys and not the regular style tube headers.

Edited December 19, 2020 by Force

[berr13]

I thought of SBC headers, too, but I'm having no luck with that idea.  The ones I like the best--Revell '69 Camaro Z-28, Revell '69 Nova 350, and AMT '66 Nova--won't work.  The '57 Ford front end dictates something that sweeps back before down.  The Revell Ford suspension and a motor mount crossbar won't allow for headers to drop down then back.  I've also tried some other variations in my parts box, but, same story.  I even pulled out some of the old Johan Maverick pro stock headers.   I'd like to find that someone has produced some resin headers for this kit, and I just haven't heard of them yet.  Oh well...

Any other thoughts?

 

[Rodent]

In real life there wasn't much room for non-fenderwell headers in the 57-64 Ford.

[Mark]

I have seen resin headers, but they are copies of the Revell kit fenderwell pieces.  The most readily available "street use" headers in the Sixties were probably the Hedman units as in the AMT '56 Ford kit.

[Force]

4 hours ago, Rodent said:

In real life there wasn't much room for non-fenderwell headers in the 57-64 Ford.

I have a FE 390 in my 63 Galaxie and there is lots of room in the engine bay, but the steering and suspension parts are in the way and the headers have to go back some before they go down and snake around between the steering and bell housing.
I bought Sanderson shortys for my car and they fit well as the primary tubes and collectors ends before and above the steering and suspension, they are tube headers and kind of copys the factory cast iron headers Ford had on the high performance 352-390-406 engines before the long 427 cast iron headers.

Edited December 20, 2020 by Force

[Deuces ll]

I wonder what problems I'm gonna have when I try to stuff an FE engine from the AMT '60 Starliner into the Revell '57 Ford Gasser kit...????....????

[Mark]

The Revell '57 frame should be roughly the same shape as the '60, correct?  These modern kits with correct detail like steering boxes and linkage do complicate things though.  Ford did put the FE in the '58 Ford which is the same as the '57 in those areas, things might be on the tight side but something should fit. 

[tbill]

I can tell you that space was a premium on my 1:1 55 fairlane , the headers themselves fit fine, they are shorties,  but the exhaust pipe itself on the drivers side had barely enough room to fit between all the stuff on that side.

 

[Painted Black]

I would just make a set from solder....

[Deuces ll]

1 hour ago, Mark said:

The Revell '57 frame should be roughly the same shape as the '60, correct?  These modern kits with correct detail like steering boxes and linkage do complicate things though.  Ford did put the FE in the '58 Ford which is the same as the '57 in those areas, things might be on the tight side but something should fit. 

Hope I can make the FE cast iron headers fit without issues....

[Force]

7 hours ago, Mark said:

The Revell '57 frame should be roughly the same shape as the '60, correct?  These modern kits with correct detail like steering boxes and linkage do complicate things though.  Ford did put the FE in the '58 Ford which is the same as the '57 in those areas, things might be on the tight side but something should fit. 

 

6 hours ago, Deuces ll said:

Hope I can make the FE cast iron headers fit without issues....

Yes the 58 Ford's and the 58 Edsel's except for the Citation and Corsair are based on the same chassis as the 57 Ford...the smaller Edsel's had no other option 1958 than the E400 wich was a 361 FE and the 58 Fords you could get a FE on the option list.
So a FE would fit in the engine bay and as the later Galaxie chassis is a development of the 57-8-9 chassis with longer wheelbase the cast iron headers would most likely fit.

[Deuces ll]

Cool! I'll give it a whirl.... ??

[Rodent]

Is the OP using a Y-Block or an FE? For an FE, I would suggest the cast iron headers from all of the AMT kits. For a Y-Block, I don't know what to suggest other than the '56 headers.

[berr13]

3 hours ago, Rodent said:

Is the OP using a Y-Block or an FE? For an FE, I would suggest the cast iron headers from all of the AMT kits. For a Y-Block, I don't know what to suggest other than the '56 headers.

I'm using the Y-block that comes with the kit.  I'd like to replicate a mid 60s street racer that a kid on a budget might put together...312 with a 3 speed.

[Force]

Ok,  the Hedman Headers from the 1956 kit would work just fine for that.

[berr13]

Thanks everyone!  Appreciate the good ideas...