Best 'bang for the buck' manifold?

[XaeroSavvy]

I'm looking to get another exhaust manifold for the '84, and what would you guys recommend for best performance for the price?

[svobrown]

Many are getting close to 300 hp out of the E6. Bobs header from tubo ford looks tough. Robs header look pretty.
I looked at the header thing but will stick with my ported E6 and spend my money on other things.
Hubbers Exhaust is the best that I have seen.

[svobrown]

Best money I ever spent. Even $12 and about an hour in the shop.
This is not the one I did but just a pic of someones elses work.

[under pressure]

Very nice! Was the stainless steel pre-bent? What is the wall thickness? Was it Tig-ed or Mig-ed? Will a custom flange be made or a cut off stock flange be used? What size I.D.? What size is the exhaust system back? Wow that's a lot of questions! I'm not sold on 3' exhaust systems, but you might be a good salesman! Stay with a E-6 exhaust header.

[svobrown]

It was pre-bent, Off ebay. sch 20 pipe. I think it was .125 I cut the turbo elbow like the pic and then bent the 90 to fit the odd shape of the elbow. 3"ID. I've done a few of them with mig, stainless rod, and reg 7018 stick welding. All have done well.
Get an elbow and put a ruler on it.
3" down single borla dump before the axle.

[bendutro]

There's hardly anything to port on an E6 though. The one I've got out in the shop looks like you would just be doing some smoothing to the inside.

[luvtolean]

I've not found a gasket that works in this area so I'd recommend the E6 as it has the best sealing without a gasket.

Is there one of those "dead soft" annealed copper gaskets available for the 2.3? Seems like a prime candidate for one.

[svobrown]

With movment the gasket slowly burns thru and after a few hundred or thosand miles the leak starts getting worst. I don't use a gasket on the head and never had a leak form there. I have had the nuts on the turbo come loose but not the head to E6.

[SVOBart]

I just layered up some of that copper spray on the flange of my E6. After a couple hundred miles I've had no leaks.

[SVOeric]

yes, those nuts on the turbo are something you should check often...

[Eyelawdoc]

I'm not sold on 3' exhaust systems, but you might be a good salesman! Stay with a E-6 exhaust header.

Rick, try a 3" system! You will like it!

[under pressure]

I've got a stock DP cut an welded to a 2 1/2" single exhaust. I'm running a Cherry Bomb straight through muffler with no cat. It's a little loud! The biggest problem I have with larger exhaust pipes is getting it under the transmission/ driveshaft area. I sometimes scrape going over speed bumps and some driveways. If you have to reduce the pipe from 3" to 2 1/2" or smaller it's impeading the exhaust flow. If you've got a 3" down pipe and then have to go to a 2 1/2 " pipe to get over the rear axle, you've effectively reduced your flow to 2 1/2". Getting a 3" pipe over the rear axle is not easy. I'd like to see some pics of were the pipe goes under the trans/driveshaft area. Before I went with the straight pipe I gutted a 85 cat. and installed a pipe. It looked like a stock cat. It flowed very well and was quite. The design of the early cat. leaves very little in the way of replacing with a high flow cat. The 85 1/2, 86 design gives you more options, but you still have the issue of the ground clearence. I'll be changing my exhaust back soon to the stock 85. I have to get thru emmisions for my tag, less noise and clean air. The E-6 is the way to go for a street car. I have a E-3 that I had welded up and might get around porting it. Yes it can be welded if you've got a good welder and the correct rod.

[svodad]

E6 manifold porting

This may be a dumb question, but I imagine porting a high mileage E6 manifold would be a lot harder do to metal imbritlement then working with a new one. Can you still get new ones (I thought MDynamics used to list them) and if so is that worth getting? Any othe sources?

I have an 86 with the E3, so that definetly can use an upgrade, and another 86 with an E6 that I would like to port.

Anyone hot jet coat thier manifold or have any coating hold up to the heat and help keep the heat in at least on the manifold? Exhaust side of the turbo?

thanks

[Wizard191]

The E6 is made from a high-nickel nodular iron and is pretty tough to start with. I doubt there'd be much difference in hardness between one htat's new and one that's been heat-cycled thousands of times.

According to the iron-nickel phase diagram in my materials book we would have to get around 1500 C (~2760 F) to start any heat treatment, and that would assume that the manifold was cast and cooled relatively quickly (non-equilibrium cooling). This is assuming that it is a peritectic mixture, which it most likely is as it was cast; however even if it wasn't we are still looking at at least ~1400 C (~2500 F) before reaching a delta state.

LOL...and I my materials class was gonna be useless

[kyle shaw]

This may be a dumb question, but I imagine porting a high mileage E6 manifold would be a lot harder do to metal imbritlement then working with a new one. Can you still get new ones (I thought MDynamics used to list them) and if so is that worth getting? Any othe sources?

I have an 86 with the E3, so that definetly can use an upgrade, and another 86 with an E6 that I would like to port.

Anyone hot jet coat thier manifold or have any coating hold up to the heat and help keep the heat in at least on the manifold? Exhaust side of the turbo?

thanks

I had mine coated on the outside and inside. So far so good.

Here is a link to the powdercoater that did mine. The picture on the front page of the E6 is the one on my car.

http://www.pristinepc.com/

Lee has also done a many hot side part's for various turbo car's in the Denver/metro area with excellent result's.