What headers will fit???

-
Lazares81

Lazares81

"Mopar: You're either with us, or behind us!"
Joined
Oct 21, 2010
Messages
86
Reaction score
3
Location
Los Angeles
I have a 73 dart swinger with a 360 727 combo swapped in. I bought Doug's 453-r headers and the drivers side is not fitting, hit the gear box and oil pan. I have a milodon 8 qt pan, qa1 subframe, stock gear box rebuilt by firm feel, schumacher engine mounts. Is there a set of headers that will boltake on and fit? Or do they all need some modification, these Doug's look like I need to cut and modify to make work....had 3 exhaust welders look and they all rec switching to manifolds lol that would be easiest....I see the schumacher headers would probably be best but they are on 4 week backorder......is there anything else?
 
Called them this morning, waiting on call back. I was thinking the shorties would do the trick if I went that route
 
I have the cheapo Headmans on my 75 Dart with P/S but stock oil pan. They are the ones that hang low on the drivers side though and can be smashed pretty easy.
 
Lazares81 said:
Called them this morning, waiting on call back. I was thinking the shorties would do the trick if I went that route
Click to expand...
I would like to see shorty models that work with power steering but seems like from what I hear that is an issue.
 
Have had tti headers on my 73 duster for 10 years, 340/727.
 
Thank u for the heads up....I guess without wasting more money....I'm alrdy on the third set of headers....I'm best off waiting for the schumacher headers or talking to a tech guy at tti and getting the closest thing to the schumacher...just getting frustrated this is the last thing stopping me from firing motor and driving the damn car :-/
 
can you post a pic of how you have the shumacher mounts installed?
and yours is a biscuit style K member ?
 
Instead of buying a bunch of different headers and they don't fit. Why not figure out WHY they don't fit? Are you sure you have the right K member and motor mounts? That can be a major reason why they aren't fitting.
 
64physhy said:
If the Doug's didn't fit, I doubt the TTi's will.
Click to expand...

Exactly. The Doug's should fit. They fit my '74 Duster with a 340,Milodon road race oil pan, 4 speed with all the mechanical linkage, etc. The only tight spots are at the torsion bars, but I have 1.12" torsion bars. Doug's 453's should clear the stock power steering unit. Not sure about that particular oil pan, but the steering box should be in the same place as every other power steering box.

Why are you running Schumacher mounts with a QA1 K-frame?
 
Adjust engine to fit the strg box, or sometimes a ratchet strap can be used to encourage a little clearance. Loosening the motor mount to engine bolts and shifting engine, then re-tightening the bolts can gain a little room.

then modify the pan.

(It's part of hot-rodding).. lol

cheers
 
Last edited:
Ok so an update on this issue. Monday I got the TTI shorty small block headers, with the header pipe adapters. I was trying to upload image, not letting me saying files too large. Anyways the drivers side is hitting the side of gear box. Specifically the #2 tube, is hitting, and I still have another 1/4 inch to lower the engine mount down to tighten it fully. I don't see any way the adapter pipe is going to sit onto the flange. Seriously don't understand why I am having all these issues. Wish I could upload a bunch of pics for you guys to help. 1973 Dodge Dart Swinger stock 318 setup, I swapped to QA1 K frame which is older style donut mounts. Got the proper schumacher engine conversion mounts to go the 360 block, stock gear box, flaming river steering column. The only thing I am coming up with is that I have the schumacher mounts sitting all the way at the bottom position for lowest engine position into k frame , i did these to prevent the distributor from hitting the windshield wiper motor. so if i can life the motor slightly by shimming the mounts? Or maybe the engine is not centered perfectly, supposed to be 16 1/8th inch to center of crankshaft according to schumacher and firmfeel.

20160526_125716.jpg
 
Lazares81 said:
Ok so an update on this issue. Monday I got the TTI shorty small block headers, with the header pipe adapters. I was trying to upload image, not letting me saying files too large. Anyways the drivers side is hitting the side of gear box. Specifically the #2 tube, is hitting, and I still have another 1/4 inch to lower the engine mount down to tighten it fully. I don't see any way the adapter pipe is going to sit onto the flange. Seriously don't understand why I am having all these issues. Wish I could upload a bunch of pics for you guys to help. 1973 Dodge Dart Swinger stock 318 setup, I swapped to QA1 K frame which is older style donut mounts. Got the proper schumacher engine conversion mounts to go the 360 block, stock gear box, flaming river steering column. The only thing I am coming up with is that I have the schumacher mounts sitting all the way at the bottom position for lowest engine position into k frame , i did these to prevent the distributor from hitting the windshield wiper motor. so if i can life the motor slightly by shimming the mounts? Or maybe the engine is not centered perfectly, supposed to be 16 1/8th inch to center of crankshaft according to schumacher and firmfeel.

View attachment 1714937834
Click to expand...
Wait... so you have tried three or four sets of headers of different types? There is either an problem with the QA1 kmember or the motor mounts, or both. As far as the oil pan, if it has a kickout sump it may interfere with some headers. Aftermarket parts sometimes(often?) require modifications to work correctly. Manufacturers can't take into account every possible combination of parts. As Inertia said above, "It's part of hot rodding".
 
I think you've got too many different aftermarket parts playing together. Why did you need Schumacher conversion mounts? The Qa1 k-frame should be set up for a V8 yes?

And the distributor shouldn't be in any danger of hitting the wiper motor if the engine is in the right spot. I mean, there isn't a ton of room there but you shouldn't have to worry about the engine mounts causing those two to interfere.

None of the brands of A-body headers fit every car perfectly. Some fit better than others, and some cars have better luck than others do, production tolerance and all. But since you've had issues with multiple brands and styles of headers, I'm inclined to think your engine isn't located correctly.
 
72bluNblu said:
Why did you need Schumacher conversion mounts?
Click to expand...

I'm going to guess this is spot on. If the pass side mount bracket looks very different from teh driver side, it's the wrong deal. You likely need a set of basic 318-340-360 pass side mount bracket. 70AARCuda has a QA1 in his car and didn't have any of these issues at all.
 
The engine mounts from schumacher I used are the #A83L. Needed those because my 73 dart came stock with a 318 and a spool mount K member, the QA1 K frame is made for up to 72 production with the donut style mounts. The engine mounts are correct for this application, considering K frame and situation. UPDATE: today i measured engine position, height is correct but I did find the passenger side is off by approx 7/16" possibly bent frame rail. I loosened the K frame and shifted it as far over as I could manage. Also was able to shim the engine mounts and the gear box. With these changes and the header cleared the gear box finally when setting back down on the engine mounts in the K frame. very close tolerance, too close for my liking. So from here I am going to semi flatten a 1/2" section of the header and shaved down the gear box where it is almost touching to hopefully give me a little under 1/4" of clearance, the undercarriage with the torsion bar clearance is very simple now. Thankfully it is looking like the TTI's are going to work at the end. Keep you guys updated and I put up a couple pics. Thank you for all the input!
 
This is the pic of the driver side fitment, super duper tight!

20160526_133227 (2).jpg
 
sure looks like you got those motor mounts on the front of the ears, instead of the back, where they go
that would case issues
 
That pictured driverside motormount is placed to the machined part of the engine ears. Looks good to me.

A nice and small Borgeson PS steeringbox would have 'saved' you the gearbox fitment issues AND be a very good upgrade in the steering department.

I've got a '1st gen' Borgeson PS box in my '73 which was a very welcome improvement in steering response.

I'm still waiting on a pair of Schumacher headers to arrive overhere, but I think they still need to dig up the ore to extract the iron from.
 
BigBlockMopar said:
That pictured driverside motormount is placed to the machined part of the engine ears. Looks good to me.

A nice and small Borgeson PS steeringbox would have 'saved' you the gearbox fitment issues AND be a very good upgrade in the steering department.

I've got a '1st gen' Borgeson PS box in my '73 which was a very welcome improvement in steering response.

I'm still waiting on a pair of Schumacher headers to arrive overhere, but I think they still need to dig up the ore to extract the iron from.
Click to expand...
Are you talking about the pic that Lazarus posted, or the one that crackedback posted as a reference?

They look different to me
 
diymirage said:
Are you talking about the pic that Lazarus posted, or the one that crackedback posted as a reference?

They look different to me
Click to expand...

I'm pretty sure they are different. I'm almost positive the picture posted by lazarus shows the mounts on the wrong side of the block ears, ie, the front. It's hard to tell based on the picture though.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
-

Back
Top