Header vs. Manifold

I've had a few people tell me that the early 90's Ranger exhaust manifold flows almost as good as a header. Has anyone here run the Ranger manifold on their 2.3L?

Disclaimer: I'm no four-cylinder expert.

I can tell you that the Ranger manifold does look somewhat like what was called a "cast iron header" in the '60s and early '70s. There would probably be more gains with a full-length header. If you were already thinking of a shorty header anyway, that might be an option, but if you are deciding between that and a full-length header, the full length may be the way to go.

Hope this helps.

Later,
Mike.

The mid 90's 2.3 Rangers had a shorty tube header that looks pretty good. The years are around 1994 and newer although I don't know exactly which range of years. They often come up on e-bay, so you could check that out to see what they look like (try an ebay search with "1994 Ranger 2.3 exhaust manifold"). Maybe that would work for you. The ones I've seen have bungs welded in for EGR pipes and sometimes for O2 sensors. I picked one up at a discount wrecking yard for $20.

The cast iron exhaust manifolds on pre-1994 Rangers look very similar to the cast iron version originally on my 2.3 Mustang. Just looking at them one would think they flow pretty good, but I'm no expert.

Is this for the wagon I see on this post? Looks good!

Yep, it's for the wagon. I wanted to drop in a built 351W, but the funds aren't there right now. So, I thought I'd just play with the 4 cyl. It's got just over 115000 miles on it.
I'm going to put in a new cam, 4-bbl intake, Holley 390, header and 2-1/4 exhaust. It won't be real fast, but at least it'll get out of its own way.