TTI header clearence on a 65 Valiant

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65 Valiant

65 Valiant

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Now its done.

engine sits in the right place and headers are in. Now the problems are coming up:

header clearence on both sides.
I have a 65 Valiant, engine is a 360 with Edelbrock performer heads. Headers are from TTI with 1 7/8"
torsion bars are from FFI with 1.06" ( i think this is the problem )

looks like the torsion bars are too thick. What do you think?
is it possible to do some hits on the headers to get the needed space?

i don't want to throw out the engine one more time!!!!

BTW: trans is a 4 speed with a hydraulic clutch-no space for the standard Z-bar!!

thx for good answeres.

JAN
 
if you go beating and denting the headers be prepared to blow block-to-header gaskets all the time!
 
i would love to know what size bars they designed the headers with.. djvcuda had the same issues installing those TTI headers on his cuda. he is running 1" bars.

after seeing what he went through and how tight the tti headers are i would sacrifice some power and go with the dougs if i ever do another early abody...lol
 
x2.

Those guys from TTI are not very courteous in giving tech help for their products.
They shoot me a couple of pictures from their headers installed in a 73 Dodge combined with a 4 speed trans . I told them that i have an early A body with a 4 speed. Only answer was that they don't have any knowledge with early A bodys combined with their headers and a stock trans.
What a mess!! So i switched the fork assembly and put in a hydraulic system for big money. With the fork it would have never worked. Only space for a stamp!!
I bought the RobbMC starter they prefered on their internet page and it will work with it. The XS starter will not fit!
Now we are talking about 0.500" more space on the passanger side and something like 0.180" on the drivers side. But if you have no space this tiny small numbers are so BIG!!!
So what to do? smaller torsion bars? I have the stock ones with 0.76" diameter. Not the best choice for a street car, isn't it?
This is really fuxxing

some suggestions??
 
TTI Exhaust on 65 barracuda /with stock bars, not headers I had to gain the needed clearance here and there. It is very tight in a early a-body, just mark where it interferes and tackle them one at a time and test fit often.
 
My 1"bars aer real tight - they might still rub in spots but its too hard to tell looking down them

the schumacher mounts i got were worse fitting then the rubber at the time so off came the mounts and i went back to the old ones - it seems they designed the headers with work rubber mounts.
 
I have the Schumacher engine mounts,too.Not the poly loc ones-the standard mounts.
It looks like that the engine sits too high in the front. Not much but could be about 0.250" lower.
I will try to use 0.89" torsion bars and give the header tubes some hammer hits.
Building an early A-body is more adventure than 2 weeks alone in the jungle... :-/
 
it seems they designed the headers with work rubber mounts.
Click to expand...


i htink the dumb asses designed them around a puny 273 torsion bar. they could have actually thought ahead and figured someone may want a bigger bar in their car. apparently that was too much trouble
 
abodyjoe said:
i htink the dumb asses designed them around a puny 273 torsion bar. They could have actually thought ahead and figured someone may want a bigger bar in their car. Apparently that was too much trouble
Click to expand...


and saggy old motor mounts
 
They have pix on the site showing a clapped out early a they fit the headers on - thats at least what i think happened
 
what do you think, is it possible to hit the tubes when installed? and what about the ceramic coat inside?
this is learning by doing for children. So many problems with these ******* headers.
 
I had the same issues with TTI on my 64Dart. First, the headers are based on an early A with a 273 and standard rubber mounts. You stated you have a 360. Taller block therefor the headers are going to ride closer to the torsion bars and possibly the floor. Second, you mentioned you are using Schumacker motor mounts. Their mounts are poly which means they don't give like the stock rubber mounts when settling in the engine. In both instances the engine is riding hight in the engine bay. If memory serves me right the instructions state that the engine angle in the engine bay is crucial. also, are you using the standard 9 inch clutch assembley or are you using the 10.5 later clutch setup? I used the later 10.5 assembly and found that there was hardly any clearance for the torque arm and the headers. Because of my expereince with TTI I went ahead and sold them and went with fenderwell headers.
 
65 Valiant said:
a friend has some Doug headers for sale. They look similar to the TTI ones:

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/DOU-D450/

will throw them in tomorrow and hope they will fit better.

Has anyone knowledge with these ones?
Click to expand...

I have those & they fit OK but tight with 0.89" bars. If you're just driving on the street the 0.89" ones are very firm, I wouldn't want to go any bigger, smaller would be OK. I also have stock mounts but use a torque strap. The Doug's are not super-difficult to install but the bars do have to come out as a minimum. I cheated and put them in with the A-frame out so it was very easy that way.
 
so 1.06" bars will be difficult,hm??
i have the stock 0.76"bars and could get 0.89"ones from a friend,but everything on the car is for performance on the street and the 360 engine weighs a lot more than a /6
aren't the 0.89"one too skinny for performance?
 
I have stock V8 bars with a 360 and it looks bad when you trying to fit everything and its very close in some spots, but they work and i have no issues so far with them.

and great performance
 

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65 Valiant said:
so 1.06" bars will be difficult,hm??
i have the stock 0.76"bars and could get 0.89"ones from a friend,but everything on the car is for performance on the street and the 360 engine weighs a lot more than a /6
aren't the 0.89"one too skinny for performance?
Click to expand...

0.89" was the factory size for A-body with big block that was used with the later heavier body style. They're very stiff on an early A small block but that's just my opinion. Some people like hard tail Harley's.
 
I have .920 bars on mine and they fit but I did have to favor the drivers side a bit when setting the engine in so they wouldn't knock under hard throttle. The main thing I have been disappointed with is the lack of room to work on anything with them installed. At some point I will probably just end up selling them and use a set of magnum manifolds till something better comes out.
 
so 1.06" bars are defenitely too thick. Hope that i can install the Doug's next week to see if they will work. In combination with the 0.89" ones it MUST work.
I have red Konis in the front which are adjustable. So i can make it a bit stiffer.
QA1 shocks in the rear. I think a good combination.
 
some news with the headers:
today we marked the header tubes where to work on with the hammer and pulled the engine out again.
drivers side has only a small section, passanger side was difficult.
Now i think we have it done very well. 1.06" bars are still inside and it seems that they work. TTI headers are still inside. The Dougs only have 1 5/8" tubes and 2,5" collectors. So i think the 1 3/4 TTI's with 3" collectors are the better performance choice.

And here is our tiny problem: the trans mount must sit about 1/2" lower so that the headers have enough space all around.
I have a new Schumacher poly trans mount and the stock crossmember but modified for dual exhaust.

who has knowledge about lowering the trans mount. i also have the old rubber one but don't think that it will get lower with it.
what about an adjustable one like an adjustable pinion snubber? does such a trans mount exist?
or does i have to cut off the mount and weld it together with 1/2" off?
problems with the geometric stance?

thx for good comments
 
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