170 exhaust system

[Anonymous]

hi i´m from Argentina, i have a 1965 ford falcon deluxe and i want to upgrade my old header with an individual cylinder exhaust headers, with a open exhaust. Mi question is if i must use 2,5 or 3" exhaust tubing (the engine is standard, no modifications). I want to use 3" because looks really good, what do you say?

i want to say also, that here in Argentina the Falcon is the most popular car in our history (1962-1991).

that´s all in the next days i will show you some pictures of falcons really spicy...

 

[Anonymous]

Welcome to the board! :argie:

We look forward to some pics for sure. Which head do you have on the engine now? I am guessing that your 170 came with the integral manifold head with a 1 barrel carburetor. In my opinion you should take advantage of the better cylinder heads Ford Argentina produced that they should have done here in the states. Have you though about using a Max Econo or SP (sprint edition) cylinder head? I know you want to outrun those pesky Renaults, and Peugots everywhere... can't let a french car beat a Ford! These ME (Max Econo) and SP heads have much better exhaust ports and a nice removeable aluminum intake for 2bbl carb. All the Ford TC and TC pista racers are using old SP cylinder heads with an IDA Weber and gettiing well over 300HP! A header will help your original setup, but is not interchangeable with the Max Econo head from a 188 or 221 engine so if you ever swapped heads you couldn't re-use it.

Max Econo heads and manifolds should be easy to aquire there and relatively cheap. In addition, the original exhaust manifolds from the Max Econo head are beautiful cast iron manifolds - very much like shorty headers with individual runners. The SP heads are rarer and more expensive, but are the ultimate head for these engines. Ford only made integral intake manifold heads here in the states so a few of us have imported Australian heads for better performance and 4 or 5 Argentinian heads are running around here in North America also. I ran a Max Econo head from Argentina in my '68 Mustang for a while - loved it.

For your question, 2-1/2" pipe is too big for a 170 unless you are topping 200HP. I ran 2-1/4" exhaust with my 250 engine (Ford Argentina never made that version) and Max Econo head. If you stay stock, 2" pipe would preform better. You can always add a larger tip to make it look like you have a larger exhaust....


PS - Are you in BsAs?

 

[Anonymous]

yes i am in buenos aires,

look, the best option is the sprint or max econo head, but the heads aren´t cheap, with all this devaluated peso thing, things are really expensive, but i don´t complain.

Mi exhaust is modificated to choice between open exhaust or muffler, but the tube is 1,5", is very small for my taste, i want something bigger, like 2,5 or 3", the noise is not a problem (i love the sound of 6 cil opened..).

My first modification in the engine will be port polish and higher compression, and a nice camshaft. so i want to put a 3" exhaust now, so i don´t have to think about changing the exhaust twice.

i dont understand something about australian 170 engines:

the australian model have 8.7:1 compression ratio and our 170 have 7.2:1 compression. So if i change my head compression up to 8.7, will work well or it will be dangerous for the pistons??

 

[rbohm]

8) the only time higher compression is bad for pistons is when the engine detonates(pings). that will kill pistons in short order. control detonation and you have no problems. as for the exhaust, two 2.5" or 3" pipes are way too large for the 170. twin 1 7/8" pipes are about as large as you want to go. if you want the look of a 3" exhaust system, use a 3" tip at the end of the system.

 

[Anonymous]

Yayo,

Just wanted to be sure you were aware of the options with the other heads. Sometimes it's better to save for what will really wake up a motor than keep putting money into the stock stuff with minimal results.

If the finances aren't right, keep what you have and enjoy it. Maybe save the better head for a 221 engine upgrade in the future.

If you keep the integral head, keep the exhaust pipe small (2" or less). It's not going to be much louder with a big exhaust and you will only loose power and economy.