y block ticking

The 57 exhaust manifolds should fit very well in a 55 and 56. They even fit in a 54 if you change the Z bar to a 55 or 56.. It can be a problem with an automatic 54 as the neutral safety switch is in the way, but I have seen it relocated on the column.


Don't use a Tbird left manifold on a sedan. The Tbird left manifold is different. Right side the same as sedan.



I have the 57 exhaust manifolds on my 312 powered 54.
 
...
i think i know wr there is a 56 manifold
good to know 57 may be different
The '57+ versions have a larger diameter (slightly exaggerated in the 1st photo) but the same bolt patterns.

I checked the link for the exh. manifolds. 1960's are listed as C2AZ both L&R. How could that be as C2 is 1962. Couldn't have part numbers 2 yrs ahead of production
There was a B9AE series of exh manifolds. Those '59 parts & numbers may have used until '62 ?

There are some other inconsistencies, typos and missing info in the charts on that site.

... Don't use a Tbird left manifold on a sedan. The Tbird left manifold is different. Right side the same as sedan. ...
Photo 3, example

.
 

Attachments

  • 57 & 55-56 exhaust size difference.jpg
    57 & 55-56 exhaust size difference.jpg
    45.3 KB · Views: 10
  • B9AE bottom.jpg
    B9AE bottom.jpg
    66.9 KB · Views: 13
  • T-Bird vs Car exhaust, driver side.jpg
    T-Bird vs Car exhaust, driver side.jpg
    86.2 KB · Views: 12
Last edited:
dmsfrr; relative to the last photo showing the t-bird and full-sized car manifolds, there was another one offered for the '54 239 y-block that is smaller than the full-sized car manifold you show. That one was used mainly for the '56 and later 292 engines. The small '54 manifolds were also used for at least the earlier '55 Models with 272 Y-blocks.
So, there were at least 3 versions of the manifolds and all had the same bolt pattern. I believe you could also use t-bird manifolds on a full-sized car if you re-worked the exhaust header downstream, or outright replaced it with a new one that mated with the t-bird flange. Not sure about possible problems with steering gear box or starter neutral switch but there's probably ways around that too if you really wanted the bigger manifolds for increased performance.
 
Back
Top