I probably put the cart before the expensive horse but here goes--have heard mixed results about differing headers on a 57 with FE. ran across post on 57 forum that hookers for 63/64 would work fine--having hard time getting back on the forum so thought I would throw it out here. The coated hookers I bought look really good but my initial feeling is AINT NO WAY THEY ARE GOING ON!!--i have a 61 that they can grace but thats another story--anyone put some 63 hookers on a 57?? if so what did you have to tweak?? I get differing opinions on FPA about ready to find a custom builder to get this done. everyone chime in cause I only have 6 hammers and dont think any are big enough!!thanks--have a great christmas and a 2009 that curves upward!

make some tweeks for the upper control arms and steering box. I do think the 57 has a little more room. Good Luck....RW

The 57-59 frame is at least a couple of inches narrower than a 63 Galaxie, so I really doubt those headers would fit. FPA, Crites, and Hedman all list headers for a FE in a 57-59 Ford car, although I havn`t tried any of those choices myself yet. There are a couple of guys who raced 57`s with 428`s in the Seattle area, and they told me that they used Hooker 6113 headers that were origionally designed for a 66-69 Fairlane/Torino/Comet. Supposedly one side fits without any modifying required ( I THINK it was the drivers side), and the other side only required re routing 1 tube. I think that these headers also dumped right in front of the wide trans crossmember, so some work on the crossmember was also needed.

428 powered Fairmont drag car, Best ET:10.03@132.11MPH, best 60 ft: 1.29
59 Meteor 2 dr. sedan 332, Ford O Matic
74 F350 ramp truck 390 4speed

i have a friend that is building a 57 ford with a 390.he bought a new set of headman headers for it. they are on the car, he said they fit very good.i looked at them on the car about a week ago. they were a tri y type design,looked very good. would reccomend them. as we live in north georgia they came from the headman shop in cumming. my buddy lives in cumming,so they were local......gopher

tell me more about the headmans--I live pretty close to cumming--can I see the car and get the shops name that can get the heasders---404-409-3094 or email jjrtolliver@bellsouth.net thanks

I have a 1958 Ford with an FE. Headers for a 1960 - 64 will not fit. I tried a few sets, including Sanderson which are suppose to be a tight fit. Like Rory said, 57-59 Fords have a narrower frame. I have a set of FPA's on my car and would recommend them. Had to trim the upper control arm on the passenger side and put a few washers underneath the motor mount on passenger side. But, in my opinion, that is pretty light in terms of header fitment (i.e. no hammer denting involved).

i use hooker 6113 fairlane headers on my 57 fairlane, they fit good EXCEPT i had to do a little clearance work on the lower driver side control arm. the pass side fit with minor grinding on the motor mount, i feel they fit better on my 57 than the fairlane they were made for. on my 58 i run an old set of hedman headers that were for a 69 mustang but are no longer available.

You will have to grid the passenger side control arm even if you are using
CJ exhaust manifolds.

Rob

Also why the "hot setup" during the time were "fenderwell exit" headers. I ran a 57 Ford fairlane for a long time. The best setup was factory exhaust manifolds, for a street car, anything else was (standard Ford refrain) Too expensive, impossible to find or took too long to order, build or fabricate.

I never learned how to weld, so eventually I had to get custom made headers... Jardine used to make headers for Fords didn't they?

n/m

Many a Friday spent, spraying on a new coat of high Temp White paint on headers, getting ready for the Weekend Crawl 'n drags.

They did give a car a certain look of purpose, serious menace...

still 'do' high performance headers. That recent Joe Sherman Hot Rod mag article (think it was 428 Cobra Jet) on an stroker FE buildup mentioned same.

http://www.hotrod.com/techarticles/engine/hrdp_0811_ford_428_cobra_jet_engine/photo_24.html

Hey, I'd call them....maybe they still have that '57 FE jig around!

http://www.pinnaclepowerexhaust.com/index.php/about

is what I use in my 428 equiped 1957 for fairlane. No major mods except a few well placed dents near the steeing box and lower control arm.

Also a good aid in warming the oil next to the filter (lol).

1957 Fairlane Club Sedan
428 - TKO600 - Currie 9+
3.70 Detroit true track