longtubes for a 390 on a 65

[muskrat2000]

who here has headers on there slick and how hard were they to install. wanting to install them on my 65 with a 390/c6 combo

[bruceandersson]

Go with ceramic coated to cut some of the heat and think about the smaller gear reduction starter to avoid problems with the heat. I installed a set on a 360 years ago. The problem with all FEs is that the top exhaust bolts are open to the weather and tend to be hard to get out. Be prepared for a few of these to break off.

[ICEMAN6166]

The problem with all FEs is that the top exhaust bolts are open to the weather and tend to be hard to get out. Be prepared for a few of these to break off.

there are 2 things to be done to prevent this issue

#1- make sure the top bolts do not stick out the back end. they should only be long enough to fill all the threads in the head.
#2- and its as important as #1- use plenty of anti-seize on the top bolts

if you do this you greatly reduce the likelihood of breaking bolts

[Truckrat]

Yes sir Brian. I bet we have a lot of folks here who have had
a ''Go Round'' with exhaust bolts breaking off on FEs. I know I have.
Hate it when that happens. Anti-seize is your best friend on those.
Got a 390 I will no doubt have issues with when I finally get around
to working on it. Any good suggestions on getting those old bolts
out during a teardown? TR

[Toyz]

I have had very little problems with the top ones on the old FE's. A good penetrant and a judicious amount of heat has served me well on these. The lower ones can require a bit more effort; it's not as easy to heat them where needed. Repeat cycles of penetrant and running the engine to operating temperature when possible makes them less a challenge.
Starting out with a good quality six point socket such as Snap-on's Flank Drive is well worth the additional cost, also, IMO. If the engine is out of the vehicle, a hand-held spring-hammer impact driver is sometimes easier on the old cap screws than simply a hard-hitting powered impact. If you happen to break one, a quality left-handed cobalt bit will usually make short work of removal when space is available.
Paul

[BrianMadigan]

I have long tube headers, but the whole exhaust was replaced when they were put in. The flanges were not so good after the collectors, so I'm re-doing from the headers back with welded flanges, stainless flex pipes and copper gaskets. If you're switching from the cast-iron manifolds to long tubes, you'll want new pipes and a cross pipe before the mufflers probably.

[muskrat2000]

sorry it for taking so long to reply thanks for the advice and the bolts are a problem my manifolds are warped and cracked. so when I removed them 2 of the bolts on the passengers side broke so I will have them drilled and fixed when I go back with the headers. holley has set of there flowtech headers for 158.00 dollars so that's the ones I am going with. the reviews looked good