1968 Barracuda Notch 340
Back at it this morning. To hopefully minimize the tube denting I chose a 3 tiered approach.
1. Driver side engine mount shim
2. Grinding Borgeson box. Via text with Bergman I think we agreed on 1/8" depth of grind
3. Flatten #1 tube
The passenger t bar was 1/8" from header so a radical engine move was out. I found the factory bumper bracket rem I had modified, perfect for the shim, 1/4" thick with a slot ready to go. I jacked engine under oil pan using plywood and 2" packing foam, worked nice, i did crank down a little on passenger mount to help a tilt effect in order to get shim to clear the bolt. This moved the engine about1/4" to passenger side , install passenger header and t bar to check fit. It's good. I decided to give the headers and box a test fit. nope too tight. So sequence again:
Unbolt box leave one bolt loose and flop box towards fender so headers will extract. Unbolt headers and hang as high and as far back as possible.
Back under car, remove steering box. Slide crate and bundled towel under header connector to catch.
Back up top, lower header onto crate.
Back underneath, lower header and remove.
Grind as needed on steering box. This first attempt was before I heard from Bergman to grind about 1/8" off so I went light.
Fix up the bench and header to prepare for tube flattening. I used tape on header and a towel taped to socket . Beat header tube.
Reinstall box and header in reverse step order. I
Still have part of the tube touching the box and know exactly where to smack and grind for round 3 tomorrow. Shoulder says we're done for today
Back at it this morning. To hopefully minimize the tube denting I chose a 3 tiered approach.
1. Driver side engine mount shim
2. Grinding Borgeson box. Via text with Bergman I think we agreed on 1/8" depth of grind
3. Flatten #1 tube
The passenger t bar was 1/8" from header so a radical engine move was out. I found the factory bumper bracket rem I had modified, perfect for the shim, 1/4" thick with a slot ready to go. I jacked engine under oil pan using plywood and 2" packing foam, worked nice, i did crank down a little on passenger mount to help a tilt effect in order to get shim to clear the bolt. This moved the engine about1/4" to passenger side , install passenger header and t bar to check fit. It's good. I decided to give the headers and box a test fit. nope too tight. So sequence again:
Unbolt box leave one bolt loose and flop box towards fender so headers will extract. Unbolt headers and hang as high and as far back as possible.
Back under car, remove steering box. Slide crate and bundled towel under header connector to catch.
Back up top, lower header onto crate.
Back underneath, lower header and remove.
Grind as needed on steering box. This first attempt was before I heard from Bergman to grind about 1/8" off so I went light.
Fix up the bench and header to prepare for tube flattening. I used tape on header and a towel taped to socket . Beat header tube.
Reinstall box and header in reverse step order. I
Still have part of the tube touching the box and know exactly where to smack and grind for round 3 tomorrow. Shoulder says we're done for today