Replacing Risers/Elbows and Exhaust Manifolds on a Ford/OMC Cobra 5.8 Ltr

[Lou C]

I have seen it both ways, some with the right-angle fitting some with a straight one.

 

[Horigan]

Why use a 90 Deg fitting for the hoses into the exhaust? That aims it up. The thermostat housing where the hose will go is on the right or left, horizontally. Leaving that alone makes it nearly identical to the OEM layout and the original hoses fit perfectly.

I have a half closed cooling system, with the raw water heat exchanger output coming out high in the front of the engine and splitting down to each exhaust manifold. On my engine there is limited room behind the power steering pump to route the stock OE hose with a pre-form bend at the manifold end. So for me, having the 90 makes routing much easier. So for a full raw water system an elbow may not be necessary. Should have mentioned that.