Can I use B or C body manifolds fore better flow on my sleeper GTS?

[Jeremiah (jd)]

Howdy,

My no prep/grudge car is a 383 4-speed 68 Dart. It currently wears the factory exhaust manifolds on the stockish appearing 451 stroker. We are screwing together a 4.150 stroke 499" 400 block with a solid roller cam and 440 source heads. I stack a 125-200hp shot of nitrous to make things interesting. : D

With all of that said, the factory driver side manifold is starting to make me paranoid at this power level. Currently the car will make over 500whp on nitrous. I'd like to find a better flowing, less expensive to replace set of manifolds. Do I have any options here?

And to get this out of the way...no headers. I have two other manual transmission cars with stepped TTI's to tangle with. The GTS is enjoyable based on it's simplicity and ease of maintenance. I do use electric cutouts to minimize back pressure. The resto exhaust is extremely restrictive.

 

[fishmens67]

B-Body high po manifold would probably be the best. I used them years ago when I did the 67 Fastback 383 swap.

 

[fishmens67]

just came from the shop and I still have the driver's side manifold I used, the PN# is 2951865-1.

 

[Jeremiah (jd)]

That is awesome thank you so much for saving me hours at minimum.

 

[HemiSSDart]

You could always use one of these that were made by Accurate Exhaust a while ago. I have one for a 440 but they aren't cheap or have someone make one out of a C-body manifold...

 

[Jeremiah (jd)]

You could always use one of these that were made by Accurate Exhaust a while ago. I have one for a 440 but they aren't cheap or have someone make one out of a C-body manifold...

View attachment 1715860164

What was the price of that exhaust manifold? Was it sold in a set? Was the application specifically big block a body? How long ago did the make them?

 

[Oldmanmopar]

Use b-body hi-po manifolds from a 70 or 71. The 68 and 69 drivers side will have issues with the steering shaft.

 

[RustyRatRod]

Use b-body hi-po manifolds from a 70 or 71. The 68 and 69 drivers side will have issues with the steering shaft.

This ^^^^

I've also used C body driver's side and seen others do it too. Some have had to mill the manifold so the outlet clocks closer to the engine, but I did not have to do that. Since all these cars are a little different, your fitment will vary. You will also need to cut the steering column housing almost up to the firewall for the B body manifold and you will have to use floor shift for the transmission. IMO though, the B body manifold is the better one to use, even with cutting the column housing.

 

[Kendog 170]

This might help.
https://web.archive.org/web/20160804054936/http://www.bigblockdart.com/techpages/HPman.shtml

 

[rklein383]

I put a set of tri-y schumacher headers on my 440+6. I think they are a good compromise between a full length header and cast iron manifolds.

 

[fishmens67]

Use b-body hi-po manifolds from a 70 or 71. The 68 and 69 drivers side will have issues with the steering shaft.

The manifold I have is for 70-71 B or E-Body. Don't remember which car I got it from, but I bet an E-Body.
I took the 8 3/4 from the same car and put it in my 67 fastback in the late 70's.
I did the big block swap when I was 16, with the help from guy's that actually were around during the early Mopar glory.
My uncle raced a 63 Fury Max.

 

[Jeremiah (jd)]

Much appreciated gentlemen!

I will begin the hunt. I have an extra floor shift column to cut on so that is not a big deal. Thanks for that tip.

I have been really trying hard to keep myself from buying some sort of header. Something about the cast manifolds disarms the unsuspecting.

I also looked at accurate for head pipes. $650 for 2.25" head pipes? Not happening lol. That is TTI header territory right there.

 

[fishmens67]

PM me if you want, we may be able to work out a very ,very fair deal.

 

[Jim Lusk]

Use b-body hi-po manifolds from a 70 or 71. The 68 and 69 drivers side will have issues with the steering shaft.

1967 B-body HP is the one with the different clocking. '68-73 will fit. I've got a pair, probably mismatched years, but will work.

 

[HemiSSDart]

What was the price of that exhaust manifold? Was it sold in a set? Was the application specifically big block a body? How long ago did the make them?

They made very few, one size for a 383 and one for a 440. I have a 440 one and saw a 383 one for sale at Carlisle a couple years ago, but I have no idea how many were made. You can make one yourself if you know how to weld steel pipe onto cast iron...

 

[Jeremiah (jd)]

They made very few, one size for a 383 and one for a 440. I have a 440 one and saw a 383 one for sale at Carlisle a couple years ago, but I have no idea how many were made. You can make one yourself if you know how to weld steel pipe onto cast iron...

Very interesting. I never knew they existed. What year were they offered? It would be cool to find a 383 version.

As far as making one is concerned, it's not out of the question. I think it would be easier to use a b body manifold.

Reading Tom Swope's notes he mentions milling the pass manifold 5 degrees at the head flange. Wouldn't that moke the bolts/sleeve nuts crooked to the head?

 

[RustyRatRod]

Much appreciated gentlemen!

I will begin the hunt. I have an extra floor shift column to cut on so that is not a big deal. Thanks for that tip.

I have been really trying hard to keep myself from buying some sort of header. Something about the cast manifolds disarms the unsuspecting.

I also looked at accurate for head pipes. $650 for 2.25" head pipes? Not happening lol. That is TTI money right there.

And manifolds are forever. There's a lot to be said for that.

 

[Jeremiah (jd)]

I wonder if a guy could hack up a truck manifold for the long outlet and mill both the manifold and outlet to make the correct exit angle? I have been keen on experimenting with iron MIG wire for some time now.

My biggest fear is having to modfy the geometry of the z-bar. I dont like changong the geometry of that system because it causes various problems, especially power shifting it. A crooked z bar is not an acceptable solution to me. If the z bar is crooked it will bind up the linkage under the dash and things start wearing and fail. They bb a body only 7/16" clutch p/rod is getting hard to find. If this project continues to spiral out of control I might use a spare pedal assy and hiem joint the clutch linkage to take out the factory engineered slop. Both of my Chargers are done that way if it makes a world of difference IMO.

How about a few pictures for inspirational purposes

View attachment 1715860874

 

[RustyRatRod]

I wonder if a guy could hack up a truck manifold for the long outlet and mill both the manifold and outlet to make the correct exit angle? I have been keen on experimenting with iron MIG wire for some time now.

My biggest fear is having to modfy the geometry of the z-bar. I dont like changong the geometry of that system because it causes various problems, especially power shifting it. A crooked z bar is not an acceptable solution to me. If the z bar is crooked it will bind up the linkage under the dash and things start wearing and fail. They bb a body only 7/16" clutch p/rod is getting hard to find. If this project continues to spiral out of control I might use a spare pedal assy and hiem joint the clutch linkage to take out the factory engineered slop. Both of my Chargers are done that way if it makes a world of difference IMO.

How about a few pictures for inspirational purposes

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I absolutely love that car. Is it a real GTS? Please say yeah. LOL

 

[Jeremiah (jd)]

Yes sir, one of 991.

Race track tech director: "you think it will pass tech?"

Me: "it made it the whole way here!" : D

Thanks for the kind words. In a world of tapered leg pants and crying rooms this car just feels right. Burning down the road smelling 110 with the cutouts cracked and Waylon blasting is bliss for a guy like me.

The speedometer is broken too. Pegged at 120. It is amazing just how liberating driving a car like this is with no speedometer to worry about. It's a wonderful experience lol.

 

[68 HEMI GTS]

I love that car!!

 

[Jeremiah (jd)]

Howdy, I am back with some updates.

First off I had the good fortune to lock into a 12 car shootout on a private airport at the end of this month. No prep, heads up, pour your own prep. Needless to say I am excited at the opportunity to race so eraly in the year. Hopefully the weather cooperates!

I was winding down last night after a brutal brake bleeding session and decided to pull some parts out to start mocking up the 499. No pistons or rods yet though. Pistons are on the way from Mahle, still saving up for rods. Might have to pry open my wallet for a top ring upgrade which remimds me that a call into Mahle tech needs to happen. It's minor, but you have to start somewhere right?

 

[fishmens67]

Did you do any work on the heads ?
BTW those DC valve covers are worth an extra 2mph.

 

[Jeremiah (jd)]

No work on the heads yet. I need to disassemble both, cc the chambers, check the valve job, guides, change springs etc. At that I planned on sending them to PRH once I get caught up on the short block. Staying away from fully ported/CNC porting for reliability sake. I figure with nitrous and an extremely restrictive exhaust we will be conservative with ports themselves and focus on chamber, guide area and something else Mr Porter told me that I already forgot. Depending on how the deck height plays out I might soften the chamber a bit to help with detonation resistance and keep me in 110 leaded / c12 territory with 11:1 CR. I don't really know much about chamber softenin; I just read about it so any input is welcome. IMO the most interesting part about hotrodding is trying new things and measurig the results.

Fortunately we have a few intakes to choose from:

 

[Jeremiah (jd)]

These are the pistons I went with:

Mahle 929962275 Mahle PowerPak Piston and Ring Kits | Summit Racing

I was lucky enough to gst a break on the list price thanks to a kind soul offering their summit discount.

I was using Diamond pistons however the prices increased and it would have meant waiting even longer to save up for a set. As I mentioned above we are looking into running a set of these fancy top rings to helps retqin ring seal with the nitrous:

Mahle 4375GNS-15T Mahle File Fit Rings | Summit Racing

Hopefully I can move some parts to cover a set of Molnar billet h beams with ARP 2000 bolts. My budget is funded by side jobs and car/parts sales so I will have to hustle to make this happen by June. For now the juice cammed 451 will have to do.