What brand of mini starter do you have? Thank you.
You have to be INSANE to have long-tube headers on a big-block A-body Mopar!
- Thread starter jimharvard
- Start date
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It isn't bad engineering when you look at it from an OEM stock point of view.
When left as designed and built, it is excellent engineering. It was designed to be light, strong and simple.
The biggest problem is that when an enthusiast wants to use headers, they find that the factory didn't leave any room for them.
Why should they? What possible advantages are there for a car manufacturer to engineer their cars so that the 2% of owners will have an easier time to modify them?
I love headers. I use them on my performance cars so this is not an argument against them.
Look at the design. Rear mounted steering gear is less susceptible to damage and allows the steering column to be shorter. It also moves weight toward the center instead of further forward. Torsion bar suspension allows for lighter control arms and for the weight to be lower and more toward the center.
Kern Dog,
What I was getting at was the engineers were ALOT off their wagon for sure: Mod Tops, Wild colors, Bigblocks in cars not made for big blocks, Multiple carbs, plaid interiors, Gator grain... the list goes on and on what they did that was so out of the ordinary from the traditional thinking from that time period. It's awesome! Even the characters used to promote and sell these cars- Road Runner, Demons, Barracuda. The marketing team and designers had to be smoking something to look at stuff and go, "Yea that will work."
All good man, all good.
AJ/FormS
68 Formua-S fastback clone 367/A833/GVod/3.55s
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I have a little 367HO under my hood, mostly because the 400 I wanted to put in there, with headers of course, wouldda been too much trouble for me to install. I saw other examples and the large amount of money guys wanted in 1999 to make headers for me , I could not afford. TTI came out with SBM headers about that time so the 360 was a natural. To get BB-type, low-rpm torque, I just boosted the cylinder pressure to 185psi, and never looked back.
My SBM TTIs do not capture the starters, not even the factory ones. It's a lil tricky getting a stocker up there while in the driveway, before my arm strength gives out ,with my fat belly jammed under there. But it does go in.
I don't envy you at all,lol.
My SBM TTIs do not capture the starters, not even the factory ones. It's a lil tricky getting a stocker up there while in the driveway, before my arm strength gives out ,with my fat belly jammed under there. But it does go in.
I don't envy you at all,lol.
Dfr360cuda
Diagnosis... Plum Crazy.
On my 74... I switched from generic headers, you know, the ones with 3 tubes that run under the steering linkage. Bought Dougs. I hung the headers with bungee cords while I wiggled the starter into place. The motor mount was unbolted and the engine jacked up. Clutch linkage undone too. It was no fun, I'm no spring chicken. This was on a 360 too. I bought 2 mini starters for when mine crap out. I think the 74 has more room too.
If you need a pitman arm puller, come by Finleyville. Just make sure you drive one of your Cudas.
If you need a pitman arm puller, come by Finleyville. Just make sure you drive one of your Cudas.
Okay, I get that.
I saw their efforts as a means to grab as much attention as they could to increase market share.
The engineering was sound though.
They never put a 389 cubic inch engine in a car with 4 wheel 9 inch drum brakes! ( Pontiac)
thesiren74
Well-Known Member
Shumacher headers plenty of room and starter removal is a breeze.
Yeah.......For those lucky people that have them. The guy looks to have done a "Keyser Soze" and POOF ! Disappeared.
Jim, the started from like an 07 5.7 Hemi will fit and is even smaller than the regular mini starter.
DrCharles
Well-Known Member
the starter i purchased from summit was a Proform mopar licensed high-torque starter part # 440-415 it was priced at $169.99 and had 5 stars from 8 different purchasers. it has a Mopar label on it which i thought looked cool. also, i liked how the wiring terminals were arranged right beside each other on the side of the starter being easy access.
no, not that one. Summit had a mini starter that was a licensed Mopar product and it had good reviews - 5 out of 5 stars from 8 different purchasers. it was not real cheap - $170.00 - but it is made by Denso which i believe i've heard good things about.
Yeah that appears to be it.
That's the one I was talking about for the 5.7 Hemi. They are interchangeable with the regular mini starter and smaller even yet.
i worked on the $#%! Cuda today - all day after i dropped by NAPA and purchased a very heavy duty Pitman Arm puller ($37.00). i did get a LOT of "tearing apart" done today.
the NAPA puller worked great taking the pitman arm off in about 5 minutes after numerous 1 lb. hammer blows. after that i:
unbolted the steering box so it would move around.
"unloaded" the driver side torsion bar and beat it with a pair of vise-grips attached and the "big hammer" till it slid back about 24" out of the way.
unbolted the clutch Z-bar attachment from the bell housing and let the Z-bar drop loose.
removed the driver's side valve cover and two remaining plugs.
removed one of the starter bolts.
the steering shaft is still in the way ever with the steering box unbolted so tomorrow i'm going to put the steering wheel and slide the steering shaft up out of the steering box connector. once that is done. i believe the header will either drop down on the ground or go back up through the top of the engine.
over the years, i've collected probably $10k or more of tools and have about every wrench, socket and special tool you can think of the "old cars" often need. i now have a lot of them spread out on the floor under the car. naturally, all the bolts on a 69 Barracuda are good old "American" sizes but i did notice that the bolts for the OEM steering box are not "hex head" but are something like "star" head bolts. fortunately, i have both hex sockets and the "multi-facet" sockets (12 point sockets?). i had to use the muti-facet sockets on the special star bolts on the steering box. all the other fasteners were standard U.S. bolts and nuts.
Summit sent me an email saying my starter and master cylinder will be delivered tomorrow so maybe i'll be installing my new starter tomorrow. i did try to get the old starter working before i started this project but had planned on putting on a mini-starter at some point so this lousy job was going to have to happen at some point. i am also going to put a Borgeson mini power steering box on the car before i reassemble all the stuff i've taken apart. the smaller borgeson box along with the mini starter should make this job a lot easier if i ever have to go through this nightmare again. i bought this car off of Ebay with just a few pictures. spending all this time under the car i've discovered that the previous owner put a new driveshaft and all new universal joints on the car, changed some of the original brake lines, installed new disc pads and two new rotors on the original Kelsey Hays calibers. the 4 speed looks to be original to the car and the Hurst shifter is in very nice shape and is still very tight. the car does have some surface rust underneath but it isn't too bad. here are some new pics...
the NAPA puller worked great taking the pitman arm off in about 5 minutes after numerous 1 lb. hammer blows. after that i:
unbolted the steering box so it would move around.
"unloaded" the driver side torsion bar and beat it with a pair of vise-grips attached and the "big hammer" till it slid back about 24" out of the way.
unbolted the clutch Z-bar attachment from the bell housing and let the Z-bar drop loose.
removed the driver's side valve cover and two remaining plugs.
removed one of the starter bolts.
the steering shaft is still in the way ever with the steering box unbolted so tomorrow i'm going to put the steering wheel and slide the steering shaft up out of the steering box connector. once that is done. i believe the header will either drop down on the ground or go back up through the top of the engine.
over the years, i've collected probably $10k or more of tools and have about every wrench, socket and special tool you can think of the "old cars" often need. i now have a lot of them spread out on the floor under the car. naturally, all the bolts on a 69 Barracuda are good old "American" sizes but i did notice that the bolts for the OEM steering box are not "hex head" but are something like "star" head bolts. fortunately, i have both hex sockets and the "multi-facet" sockets (12 point sockets?). i had to use the muti-facet sockets on the special star bolts on the steering box. all the other fasteners were standard U.S. bolts and nuts.
Summit sent me an email saying my starter and master cylinder will be delivered tomorrow so maybe i'll be installing my new starter tomorrow. i did try to get the old starter working before i started this project but had planned on putting on a mini-starter at some point so this lousy job was going to have to happen at some point. i am also going to put a Borgeson mini power steering box on the car before i reassemble all the stuff i've taken apart. the smaller borgeson box along with the mini starter should make this job a lot easier if i ever have to go through this nightmare again. i bought this car off of Ebay with just a few pictures. spending all this time under the car i've discovered that the previous owner put a new driveshaft and all new universal joints on the car, changed some of the original brake lines, installed new disc pads and two new rotors on the original Kelsey Hays calibers. the 4 speed looks to be original to the car and the Hurst shifter is in very nice shape and is still very tight. the car does have some surface rust underneath but it isn't too bad. here are some new pics...
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Jim, just a word to the wise. You're going to want to clean the area up really good on that torsion bar where you vise gripped it. Dress it with a file and get it back as SMOOTH as possible. Any imperfections like that can lead to the formation of a crack, because they are very hard spring steel. That's why it's recommended you use a torsion bar tool to remove them. Make sure it's good, smooth and clean.
But man, you're gittin with it buddy! lol
But man, you're gittin with it buddy! lol
thanks for that tip... i would have NEVER thought of that!!
LOL! i'll be at Sonic in the Bridgeville Home Depot shopping center tomorrow with one of my cars if it's a nice day. i usually get there around 4:00 p.m. i hang out with about 5 other "old guys who love cars". look for my Turbine Bronze 68 Barracuda... the NAPA arm puller worked great!
i never seen a torsion bar removal tool. do you know where i can get one of those? i like to buy as many "specialty" tools as possible as they make various jobs much easier and some jobs can't be done without the special tools.
Yes sir, Mancini has them. You clamp in onto the torsion bar with the tang facing down. Tighten it up on the bar and then strike the tang with a hammer. I have one somewhat similar. I always put a block of wood in front of the tang, because I don't like hitting the tool directly. You sound like I am. When I need a tool, I buy the thing. I don't care if I only use it one time. If I ever need it again, I have it. Here's the link to the Mancini version. Very reasonable, too.
Mancini Racing Torsion Bar Remover/Installer
THANK YOU!! i just bought this tool from Mancini. $34.00 is cheap for anything that makes working on these cars a bit easier!
I thought it was a great deal. One thing I noticed though. Those look like grade 5 bolts. It wouldn't hurt to replace them with grade 8. That would be a good step up.
Not an A body, but a B body with a 383 and long tubes - had to disconnect the driver's side headers and motor mount, put a bottle jack under the oil pan and jack the left side of the engine up, then persuade the headers up as high and toward the front as possible, then shake the starter until it figured out a way to slip out...getting it back in was fun, too - that, probably more than anything, is why I don't have that car anymore ;-)
67 gt
A Wog boy who loves his Mopars !
Jim if you ever increase the torsion bar size buy some new bolts for that removal tool about an inch taller as the ones that come with it will be too short . Works well especially if the bars haven’t been removed for a long time. Clean sockets and bar ends apply some grease in there makes the next time a lot easier to remove.
Kendog 170
Let the boy go !
I was stuck trying to get a bar out so I took an old gooseneck from a BMX bike my kid had lying around, changed the four bolts to a little longer hardened steel bolts, cut some of the gooseneck down but left enough to hit with a hammer. Worked awesome. Which I had a pic. It's packed away right now.
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