Howdy, My bro and I got the original manifolds off of out 72 Comet GT (302, PS, No Air) Should we be able to lift the motor up enough to clear the new Hedman Headers and install the PS bracket and replace the original mounts. Original motor in car with number 3 and 7 plugs appearing to be original as well. Cripes ! Thanks for helping us with this. Gary
Welcome to the board. Good to see another Comet here. Congrats on getting a very original Comet GT (right down to the spark plugs ) I haven't installed Hedmans, but most all V8 Comet header installs mean that you will have to pick the motor up about 3-4 inches at least to get the driver's header in around the steering box. Might help to lift it to get the passenger side in, too. I just loosened the motor mounts and put a thick piece of plywood between the oil pan and a floor jack. "PS bracket" ... are you referring to the brackets that hang the pump on the motor, or did you get the "drop arm" for the power steering ram? This drops the ram a bit for clearance. if you did not get one, you'll probably need to. It bolts in place to the frame to locate the ram. I think someone suggested a couple of spot welds to the frame to help keep it located. A lot of guys take the power steering systems off of 70s-era Fords ... they are a PITA, and if you are moving more than 5 mph, the steering effort is not bad. A full manual box tends to have too many spins. My combo keeps the power box, but converted to manual, and has a really good road feel ... just requires some arms to steer it while parking slow.
Hi Jeff, Thanks for the insight. Looked like that's what I needed to do. Pretty tight in there-all in the interest of performance. I just had a new ram installed or I would shed the thing. Gary
Look really hard at how to route the low pressure return line. Someone posted a diagram from a factory document, and if you can find that here with a search it may help you. Mine must have been routed wrong ... I was having to replace it every 6 months because it would wear out and leak. This was pre-Internet and I don't think I had found a manual for the car at that point either. Best of luck with it.
