in the thick of it...

So after a long winter I'm back underneath my '65 Barracuda. I'm trying to squeeze in a 360 that I had rebuilt and its beautiful to look at. It has 340 heads, power steering, and power brakes. I've asked and searched and I've never found an exact answer, but this is no longer an academic question because I'm actually at the stage where I can't continue without having a real exhaust solution.

I have a set of the original manifolds off the original 273, but I've been warned not to use them because not only do the exhaust ports not line up perfectly, but because the constricted size will probably create a thermal issue and crack the heads. I don't want to do this. So instead I heard that I could use the manifolds from a 340 (1970 I think? Maybe 1971?) and so I spent a bunch of money on a set. While they do physically match and I can drop them into the engine bay, they butt right up next to the power steering gear and it looks impossible to get any kind of exhaust pipe hooked up to them - the bend would put the exhaust connection right inside the power steering gear. So this option is out, too. I should add that I have a 10.5" clutch/housing but I've lost the z-bar because I'm going to install a hydraulic clutch pedal kit from Chuck's.

So the question is .. now what? I need to keep the power steering so replacing it with a manual box isn't an option. The car will be a driver + fun weekends, but it will never race. I should say that I'm less interested in an all-out performance modification (i.e., no cutting into the fenders) and more interested in just finding something - anything, really - that will work correctly without the possibility of cracking my heads or creating a major loss of power from incorrect port alignment.

Can anyone weigh in authoritatively?