Hi Everyone,
I removed the pin-holed headers on my 1971 almost immediately after taking delivery of the Bronco.
I read several reviews here, and eventually ended up with Hedman Elite headers. Those headers have a 2-1/2" collector pipe size, and come standard with ball-and-socket type connectors. A 2-1/2" ball-and-socket to 2" tube reducer is included with the headers.
The previous owner had installed dual Flowmaster mufflers/dual exhaust. The size of the muffler inlets (and the size of the exhaust tubing to each muffler) is 2-1/4".
The dilemma I have is that Hedman does not provide a 2-1/2 ball-and-socket to 2-1/4" tube reducer (or extension). I am limited to either 2" or 2-1/2" tube.
I'm sure the 2-1/4" exhaust pipe required for the mufflers could be fabricated to work with the 2" reducer that came with the headers. I'm looking for some opinions about whether that is a better option than changing out the exhaust pipes and mufflers to 2". (From what I have read on other threads there's a trade-off between gas mileage and torque. Most of the threads I have read suggest 2-1/4" exhaust pipe... I'm just not sure of the best way to get there with the limitations of the Hedman reducers and extensions.)
Has anyone else run into this problem? Any words of wisdom would be appreciated.
Thanks
Jeff
I removed the pin-holed headers on my 1971 almost immediately after taking delivery of the Bronco.
I read several reviews here, and eventually ended up with Hedman Elite headers. Those headers have a 2-1/2" collector pipe size, and come standard with ball-and-socket type connectors. A 2-1/2" ball-and-socket to 2" tube reducer is included with the headers.
The previous owner had installed dual Flowmaster mufflers/dual exhaust. The size of the muffler inlets (and the size of the exhaust tubing to each muffler) is 2-1/4".
The dilemma I have is that Hedman does not provide a 2-1/2 ball-and-socket to 2-1/4" tube reducer (or extension). I am limited to either 2" or 2-1/2" tube.
I'm sure the 2-1/4" exhaust pipe required for the mufflers could be fabricated to work with the 2" reducer that came with the headers. I'm looking for some opinions about whether that is a better option than changing out the exhaust pipes and mufflers to 2". (From what I have read on other threads there's a trade-off between gas mileage and torque. Most of the threads I have read suggest 2-1/4" exhaust pipe... I'm just not sure of the best way to get there with the limitations of the Hedman reducers and extensions.)
Has anyone else run into this problem? Any words of wisdom would be appreciated.
Thanks
Jeff