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(More customer reviews)I purchased the Flowtech 12102FLT headers for a 65 Ford mustang 289. The motor is not original and has Jr. Ford Cylinder heads with 14mm spark plugs. The headers were the third set (all different brands) that I tried on this car. After two unsuccessful header brands, I was able to get the Flowtechs to work but several modifications were required.
The attachment hardware was appropriate and the bolts were the same length on all the headers. The originals that came on the car were stamped 6111 with no other discernable notations. The 6111 model had been dented in numerous places apparently in an attempt to get them to work in the car and the motor had to be lifted to get them off. However, the primary reason they were replaced is because I could not get the plugs out as the flanges that bolt to the heads covered too much of the spark plugs. Only with the headers unbolted could the plugs be removed. Along with significant dents they were also rusty and had a one inch rip/hole in one of the primaries.
After removing the original 6111's, the first set tried was the Hedman 88660. These fit perfectly on the heads and were the easiest of all to slide up into the motor. However, the passenger side touched the bell-housing and one tube (#6) on the driver side rested on top of the pivot for the equalizer Z-Bar (so it could not be reinstalled). Thus, there was no possible way to use these with significantly bending/denting the tubes. I also found there was not quite enough room to tighten the spark plugs in #5 and #6 with a socket. They were returned.
Then the Flowtechs were purchased. Since I have not made a clear decision on how I want to proceed with motor I just wanted something inexpensive that would work reasonably well. At $115 I think the Flowtechs are probably the lowest costs option available which is why I initially avoided these and tried the Hedmens.
I was pleased to find the Flowtechs had good clearance within the engine bay and bolted easily to the heads. But they still presented several problems. Like the 6111 they had too much flange over the spark plug holes. Not a big deal but about 1/8 inch or so had to be cut out of the flanges to allow enough clearance for the spark plugs and a socket. Then all the plugs fit well except #5 and #6. Here the clearance with the tubes was much worse than the Hedmans and in #5 I could not even get the plug to screw in as the end of the plug hitting the top of the header. My solution was to make an approximately 1/4 inch or so concave dent to allow clearance for the plug and wire. Since the tubes are 1.5 inches and I made a mandrel dent, it didn't appear to create any significant blockage. I would have rather not have had to dent them but it was the only workable solution I could see. There's no easy way to bend the tube itself and the #5 tube is pulled almost directly to the collector so there is no usable additional length that could be unraveled from it.
Finally, while the Z-Bar fit with plenty of room on the pivots, the bottom of the lower arm hit the #5 tube out even before the top of the Z-Bar could be bolted to the upper clutch release rod. Without a different Z-Bar the solution is simply to cut one of the arms (I chose the lower arm) and moved/rewelded it so the arm will be about 1" inch closer to the clutch fork from the factory position. I did mine about 2" inches so I could position the top of the Z-bar further into the release rod without hitting the header tube. The further into the release rod (closer to the firewall) the z-bar is attached the more the lower arm on the Z-Bar goes toward the front of the car (and into a header tube). This change had no effect on the clutch operation and the clutch mechanism works as good as it ever did. In fact I think the angles appear to be better than OEM this way. Once all this was done, the headers worked perfectly and had no discernible leaks. These headers were definitely a pain to install and required a lot of work but for $115 dollars and free shipping I can't complain too much and I'm happy I finally have something that works well.
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Flowtech 12102FLT Black Standard Headers
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