So after an exhaust leak i decided to buy the summit racing copper gaskets for my GT390 heads.
After blood and tears I managed to put 3 bolts out of 8… the rest of the bolts just wont get started in the threads… does anyone have advices for this procedure ?
I cannot remove the master cylinder nor can i remove the engine lol
Do not tighten the bolts that are started. Leave them loose so the manifold can still move slightly. Best to not use any gasket at all. That may require filing the manifold with a flat file to ensure an even mating surface. No gasket, no future leaks.
Not sure about not putting gasket, the engine has been rebuilt 19 years ago and I doubt it’s still flat. One day i’ll get the heads machined.
The master cylinder needs to come out. It’s a lot easier if you remove the carburetor and the radiator and fan shroud so the engine can be lifted some with a hoist. There is not much room.
i was hoping I wouldn’t have to do that lol there’s a weird thing where the master cylinder is literally touching the shock tower and to get it out i’ll have to cut the studs from the booster (that i’ll replace anyway)
If you have to do that then you have to. The FE was not designed to fit in between the shock towers but Ford did it anyways. You have to do it if you are going to change manifold gaskets. Ford did the wise thing and did not use any.
I did it ! My arm hurts and I spent the whole day with my box end wrench tighting them all… but yay me
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Awesome! Glad it worked out 
Baruden, did you end up having to pull the master cylinder out of the way to get the gaskets on?
nah i crawled my hand underneath the master cylinder scratching my arm with the rusty studs of death on the booster… There’s no way I can remove it without cutting out the studs or destroying the booster that’s bad anyway. lol
If you loosen the bolts holding the booster to the firewall you can pivot the whole booster/master assembly inboard just enough to remove the master past the shock tower. Been there, done that, wasn’t fun but worked.
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NEWS : I put everything back together and fired up the car to tune it.
Now it’s way worse than before as every cylinder is leaking exhaust from the very top of each port… with all the smoke and the noise there’s nothing i can get done as far as tuning goes…
I really can’t take it to a machine shop right now (takes about 6 month to get an appointment) so what could I do ?
I’ve heard of high temp RTV that could work for exhaust manifolds but i’m not sure…
Probably need manifolds surfaced flat
I would remove the gaskets and progressively tighten up the bolts.
When you tighten the manifold to head bolts start from the center out. Torque them in steps. Did / have you loosened the manifold to exhaust pipe joints? That can hold the manifold at an unnatural angle.
I did all of that. My theory is that the gasket is junk to begin with as it leaks at the same spot on every port… I might try removing it and put hight temp RTV on the manifold instead
I had trouble with mine leaking on the passenger side. I finley just put a good quality gasket on that one side, so far it hasen’t leaked. Not the one I installed but similur.
https://www.rockauto.com/en/moreinfo.php?pk=125608&cc=1197536&pt=5400&jsn=450
isn’t that a heatshield ?
It’s a gasket that reflects the heat away from the block. Kind of duel purpose, if installed the correct way.
Hmm wrong bolt pattern for the 390GT.