[My427stang]

A quick search will get you some pics of my car with 6114 Hookers, but I do the FPA cars the same way

You can do it out of the car, but if the engine is out its FAR easier to put the headers on first.

Here are some pics with the Hookers, I have done a pile of these and the FPA works the same. (Fairlanes too)

The first 4 were done within 1 hr, including loading up the cherry picker and putting tools away, 1 MAN, NO HELP, and didnt go under the car except to put the tranny crossmember in

The headers were bolted on on the floor, and with FPAs, you can do most with an air powered 3/8 air ratchet

If not, you have to do like you are doing, swear and moan and figure a way to get the bolts tight. I'll pull a motor now if I can to change the headers on an FE Musatng, Cougar, or Fairlane

 

[My427stang]

I have done a few FPA headers for customer cars. I use every bolt I can, and on the FPAs I cant use every bolt like I can on the Hookers. Each one I have done with the headers bolted on prior.

I jack up the back of the car, and drop the idler arm for the steering from the fram rail and the steering drops on the floor

For bolts, what I make sure is I have a minimum of "one complimentary pair" for each tube

In other words, every port gets at least one top and bottom pair, or one left and right bolt pair, then a 3rd or 4th per port is considered gravy if I can get them

I usually get about 2/3 of the bolts in an FPA but its been a few years since my last set so I cant remember WHICH ones

There are some you just cant get a bolt in though, I remember one is almost solid to the flange but I have never not been able to come up with 2 good ones for each cylinder

 

[My427stang]

Normally I do it whole, when I built this 489 I tried Crane roller rockers, after I realized I couldnt get them to properly center on the valve tip I gave up

What you see is me dropping the motor in while I was waiting for my Ersons to arrive.

I wouldnt put a set of Crane Roller Rockers on an FE if they were free. What a pain, Crane ended up sending out an engine builder addendum to their series with some BS excuse, but the bottom line now is they modify them if (when) you complain

I think they are Mopar rockers adapted to the FE and they cause both pushrod clearance problems and dont center well on the valve tip, and believe me, I tried to make them work

 

[My427stang]

Thanks, I am very familiar with them, I actually was going to machine mine, and of course the shorter pushrods, but the Ersons were a bolt on, so I went with them.

The real problem for me was at .600 lift, they Cranes are so much longer overall on each side, that they pushed the pushrod very very close to the intake manifold and at full lift it was hard to locate the stands to put the roller in the correct position and still have it track properly across the tip

I got to know the Crane engineers very well in Feb 2006 LOL, along with 2 other FE Forum guys, the tech guys were actually very accomodating and bought the set back from me.

I agree, after machine work they will work, and Crane will machine the bases for you now in advance if you ask them too, but man the Ersons were plug and play with standard pushrods, and they have full needle bearing pivots which the Cranes dont.

Crane advertised, full bolt on replacement, they dont advertise that anymore LOL and like I said the Ersons and most every other brand are direct replacement

Not to say yours arent just fine now, but they arent bolt on like some of the other brands, and even though they are reasonably priced, the machine work and addons make them cost about the same as the Ersons

I can send some pics if you like, as we worked through it we documented them dimensionally compared to Doves, Ersons and Harland Sharp. The Crane is a very different animal.

What you said was done is spot on what needs to be done to use them though, so I am sure your machinist did the right thing