YES 5.9 Magnum manifolds work in early A bodies. Here is exactly how!

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Tad

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I just finished my project of installing 5.9 magnum manifolds into my 65 dart running a 340, 904LA automatic floor shift transmission. I did a lot of research on this site, did a lot of trial and error and here is exactly what I used to make these manifolds work in my car.

5.9 magnum manifolds off of a 98 Dodge Durango.

manual steering box to a power steering shaft with this coupler. Ensun 3/4-36 Spline x 34 smooth.(see pic)

3 1/8 thick washers to shim driver side motor mount.

here’s how I did it.

First off when I bought my manifolds the salvage yard had cut the exhaust pipes which left me about 6 inches of pipe on either manifold. This helps tremendously.

Passenger side of the motor, remove all studs from the head. You have to use bolts for all six holes on the manifold in order for it to slide in. That was the easy part.

Driver side, first I use the three 1/8 inch thick washers to shim under the driver side motor mount. So that I did not have to remove the entire mount I cut a groove in the washers so that I could lift the motor just high enough and slide them around the mount stud. I had a power steering box so I remove that and put in a manual stock steering box. Then I ordered the above coupler which fit perfectly between the steering box and my Power steering shaft. What I had to do in order to attach the Cupler to the steering shaft was: pull out the steering column, press out the pin that runs through the steering shaft, slide the coupler on and mark the hole to be drilled through the coupler. I drilled one side of the coupler and then put the shaft back in to line the hole up perfectly while I drilled through the other side of the coupler. I pressed the pin back through and then reinstalled the steering column and attached it to the steering box. This fits perfect once the engine is shimmed up three eights of an inch. I also cut off about 3 inches of the housing of the steering column. You have to do this in order for it not to hit the manifold.

With both manifolds on and everything tighten back up I personally chose to use 2 inch flexible exhaust repair pipes that were about 18 inches long. I use these to attach to the 6 inch piece of exhaust on the manifold and bend it to fit down through the torsion bar and next to the transmission. I then purchased two pieces of exhaust stock which I attached to the end of the flexible exhaust piece and that went into the Flowmaster delta 40 mufflers. I fabricated my own hardware to hang the mufflers. I also had to modify the passenger side of the transmission mount to allow for the exhaust pipe to come straight back through.
 
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Well hell that just freed a whole bunch of money but not having to buy headers.Maybe my v8 swap will come sooner.
 
Does the steering shaft rub on that manifold?

It looks like the steering shaft is being pushed down and to the side, it should be in the middle of the column jacket. But that could just be the angle the picture is taken from?
 
Perfect, glad someone made the effort to document the fit of these fine cheap *** manifolds! How hard was it to press out that pin? I had to grind the casting numbers off a pair of B hi-pos to fit, I get tight fitting parts....

3/4-36 to 3/4 smooth is Sweet Mfg 12-06 combo, and not that common...
Steering Universal Joint 3/4 Smooth To 3/4-36 Spline Steering Shaft Or Rack And Pinion - Kartek Off-Road
Surprisingly the pin popped right out. I put it in a small to medium size vice with a socket on one side to take up the pin as it got pushed through. About half a turn and it popped and slid right out.
 
Does the steering shaft rub on that manifold?

It looks like the steering shaft is being pushed down and to the side, it should be in the middle of the column jacket. But that could just be the angle the picture is taken from?

It can't be pushed anywhere, its supported on 2 bearings: steering box and steering column unless his steering column is shifted inside? That's why I never got the lower column 'bearing' as it would be the 3rd 'bearing' on the steering shaft.
 
One question. How much thread engagement do you get on the motor mount nut? Id imagine enough to not be too worried.
 
Does the steering shaft rub on that manifold?

It looks like the steering shaft is being pushed down and to the side, it should be in the middle of the column jacket. But that could just be the angle the picture is taken from?
It’s not rubbing as far as I can see. I probably do need to adjust the jacket so that it sits more centerline
 
One question. How much thread engagement do you get on the motor mount nut? Id imagine enough to not be too worried.
Yes, the stud is actually coming through the nut. It’s locked down on there very well.
 
Surprisingly the pin popped right out
Thats great, I beat on one with a hammer once and it didnt budge. ended up cutting it off (manual length) and grinding it to fit a deep 5/8 socket and using a 3/4 drive U-joint in some sort of death trap socket to socket weld up derby quality mess. It worked but I wouldn't drive my mom in it.
 
It’s not rubbing as far as I can see. I probably do need to adjust the jacket so that it sits more centerline

Ok. It looks pretty tight but it’s hard to tell from the angle of the picture.

It can't be pushed anywhere, its supported on 2 bearings: steering box and steering column unless his steering column is shifted inside? That's why I never got the lower column 'bearing' as it would be the 3rd 'bearing' on the steering shaft.

It can move around quite a bit, the steering coupler provides quite a bit of movement and the top bearing is so thin it provides very little control at the bottom of the column jacket.

And the factory put a bearing at the end of the column jacket on most of the manual steering, stick shift cars. Not to mention the column shift cars that had a bushing and a bearing there that had the additional effect of centering the steering shaft in the column jacket and supporting it with a bearing. I didn’t make up the bearing at the end of the column, I just replaced the really expensive factory bearing and housing with an ER-16 bearing.
 
Ok. It looks pretty tight but it’s hard to tell from the angle of the picture.



It can move around quite a bit, the steering coupler provides quite a bit of movement and the top bearing is so thin it provides very little control at the bottom of the column jacket.

And the factory put a bearing at the end of the column jacket on most of the manual steering, stick shift cars. Not to mention the column shift cars that had a bushing and a bearing there that had the additional effect of centering the steering shaft in the column jacket and supporting it with a bearing. I didn’t make up the bearing at the end of the column, I just replaced the really expensive factory bearing and housing with an ER-16 bearing.
Bearing or no bearing, I’m just showing everyone what I did to make these manifolds work. I know there’s always tons of questions as to whether or not these manifolds will fit or work. I’m just saying that they worked for me.
 
Bearing or no bearing, I’m just showing everyone what I did to make these manifolds work. I know there’s always tons of questions as to whether or not these manifolds will fit or work. I’m just saying that they worked for me.

Yeah no worries man, I was just curious about the clearance and position of the shaft. Steering is obviously a safety issue, and having the proper clearance so nothing binds up is important. I’m glad you found a solution that works for you!
 
Now this is a very cool idea. I like the look a lot better than than using an old 273 exhaust manifold on the driver side. How much clearance to the inner fenders do you have on each side?
 
Now this is a very cool idea. I like the look a lot better than than using an old 273 exhaust manifold on the driver side. How much clearance to the inner fenders do you have on each side?
Passenger side is very close especially since I shimmed up the driver side. There’s probably in one section about an eighth of an inch between the inner fender and the embossed numbers on the manifold. Driver side has plenty of clearance
 
How about between the steering shaft and the exhaust? Thanks for posting this!
 
How about between the steering shaft and the exhaust? Thanks for posting this!
The distance between the steering shaft and the manifold is very close. A little tiny bit of the pin barely touches the manifold when it turns. The shaft itself does not touch but it’s probably between a 16th and an eighth of an inch distance
 
Passenger side is very close especially since I shimmed up the driver side. There’s probably in one section about an eighth of an inch between the inner fender and the embossed numbers on the manifold. Driver side has plenty of clearance
You can grind those number off ...as well as a little casting roughness for extra clearance!!
 
That what I was also wondering. Wonder how thick those manifolds are in that area.
 
That what I was also wondering. Wonder how thick those manifolds are in that area.
On the Jeep Grand Cherokee (large hole) magnums there is plenty of casting thickness. The smaller hole manifolds like the ones used by Tab are still pretty thick. But the casting numbers are actually in addition to the manifold itself as well as that "nub" you see on the manifold. You can easily remove the numbers, the nub and a good 1/32 (smooth out the rough casting) without any issues. I actually dished out the large hole magnum manifolds for a early A in the inner fender well area!!
 
When you say large hole vs small hole, you referring to the port size? What’s best for fairly stock 318 or does it matter?
 
large hole is the '92-early '93 617/618 casting castings that had a larger exit flange. depending on what head pipe diameter you go with it probably wont make a diff on a 318.
 
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