Looking good. Glad to see all the progress.
64 Valiant 440 build
- Thread starter Matto
- Start date
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Matto
Well-Known Member
Well gentleman, the time has come
Good luck. With the way everything looks so far, I'm sure they'll turn out great.
What kit did you go with and what size tubes?
Matto
Well-Known Member
A place in California called cone engineering. It's their basic header kit. 2" primary's into a 3" collector.
65cuda340
Well-Known Member
Looking good! Headers should be fun. My '65 Barracuda is approaching the header stage:
Matto
Well-Known Member
That's a hell of a build you have going on. Looks like you may have a little more header room than I do
65cuda340
Well-Known Member
Well, it looks wide open now, but it might close in a little when the fender wells and dry sump pump and plumbing are in place. I think I have a little more engine width than you do, but getting rid of the torsion bars and stock frame certainly helped!
Tom Hoover said everyone should have to build one set of headers....but no one should have to build two.
I built a set for my first Hemi / A body build......and concur with Mr. Hoover.
famous bob
mopar misfit
was a brilliant man !
65cuda340
Well-Known Member
Yes, he was. Although most people associate him with the hemi, one of my favorite A-body cars was his '69 notchback Barracuda featured in this mid-'70s issue of Popular Hot Rodding. One line that I will always remember from the article states that he was a practical man, and "if he wants to know what's going on in an oil pan under acceleration, he will put an oil pan full of oil in the seat next to him and go for a ride!"
Matto
Well-Known Member
Round one, had to shorten the column and convert to a u-joint to get the clearance needed. Also got a couple tubes tacked in.
65cuda340
Well-Known Member
Looking good! Gonna be tight!
mopowers
Well-Known Member
Keep plugging away! Looks good.
Matto
Well-Known Member
I think I found my true calling....
65cuda340
Well-Known Member
Okay, I can see the line forming to order headers from you!
Did you use a program such as Dynomation or Engine Analyzer to calculate pipe diameters and lengths, or did you do it manually? I'm doing some "ciphering" myself, but thinking about buying one of the programs to check the numbers.
Matto
Well-Known Member
Thanks man, unfortunately I didn't calculate anything. I'm not too concerned with keeping them equal lengths, just wanna get them built as conveniently tucked away as possible. Everything clears so far BTW
65cuda340
Well-Known Member
You are gonna have fun with those two rear plugs--a couple of small access holes in the inner fender wells might be a great time saver!
Equal lengths are nice, but not a big deal with the firing order of a V8 (unless it has a flat plane crank). In fact, a little variation in primary tube length will give a broader torque curve. However, most headers leave a lot of power on the table by not optimizing primary size and length, collector design, and secondary size and length. That's the beauty of building your own! What size tubes are you using?
Matto
Well-Known Member
Actually those spark plugs are somewhat easy to get to using a wrench from underneath. It'll be like a game of twister, but tune ups will be doable. Access to all the bolts and plugs is a major concern of mine while taking on this build. The tubes are 2" primary's into a 3" collector.
famous bob
mopar misfit
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Better be thinking about header tube heat on the valve covers. I have trouble w/ # 2 tube melting my cover gaskets. Am going to eggshape (not beat it w/ a hammer) the tube when I get around to it. As for now, I glued a piece of header wrap on the valve cover, it looks ok, but the on en engine header wrap it self looks like hell. Stuck a piece of thin alum. in between for a heat shield. will redo it some time this summer. May not be a big problem w/ a close to stock engine that doesn`t produce a lot of heat.
65cuda340
Well-Known Member
Yeah, I figured you were planning on access to those from below--just wasn't sure you would be able to reach through there after the down tubes are complete. You will definitely want to do any plug changing on a cold engine! You will probably want to stick a heat shield between those top two tubes and your master cylinder. Are you going to have a removable tube, or just disconnect the steering shaft for installation/removal?
2 inch primaries would have been my guess. Without knowing your cam specs, maybe somewhere in the 36 to 40 inch range for length. I would have guessed 3-1/2 inch collectors, about 18 to 20 inches long.
Matto
Well-Known Member
I'm definitely planning on ceramicoating and some header wrap on those top tubes. The tube that runs along the valve cover has a decent gap, it isn't as close to the cover as it looks in the pic. No removable tubes, just gotta slide the steering shaft out, which is the main reason for the u-joint conversion.
Looking good. I'm really enjoying watching the progress.
Matto
Well-Known Member
Drivers side fabrication is done, now it's back to the tig welder. This things slips out fairly easily for the size of it, installation won't be a problem. Passenger side is gonna require a some inner fender modification.
Once again, looking great!
Matto
Well-Known Member
Passenger side fabrication is mostly done. Unfortunately, I had to heat and beat a couple tubes, even with some major shock tower modification(it's not as bad as it looks!). But so far I can slip the header in and out with only jacking up that side of the motor. The real fitment test will come when I weld the collectors on.
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