My "new" '74 Duster- or why I need a project like a hole in the head
Cotter pin is there. The Doug's are still installed!
Well, not still, again. :rolleyes:
Yeah. So, I bought the TTI shorty's because the Doug's were really close to the torsion bars in a couple spots. Like close enough that they were rubbed some of the ceramic coating off. I also assumed that I would be able to pick up some more ground clearance, and lose my oil filter relocation for just a shorty filter (like a #2004). The relocation looks cool and is easier for filter changes, but I was using some 90* AN fittings and the o-rings in those were dripping on my header anyway. Figured if I'm going to oil the pipe I might as well just do it on oil changes and not constant dripping. So, I went through the process. I did find that by pulling the Z-bar, mini-starter, and dropping the steering center link (and cycling the steering side to side depending on which side I was working on) and removing the torsion bars I did not need to raise the engine. You heard that right, the Doug's came out (and went back in!) without moving the engine off the mounts. On the passenger side I also had to drop the oil filter relocation pickup, just like you'd have to drop the oil filter as in the instructions. And I pulled the exhaust studs on the passenger side too, easier to drain the radiator than jack up the engine.
So, with the Doug's out the TTI headers went in super easy, since all that stuff was out of the way. The driver's side would have gone in with some of that stuff still installed, the passenger side needed everything out still but the studs (including the torsion bar and steering link!). But right off I didn't like the TTI's. The coating looks like aluminum spray paint. And although they're both 1 5/8" tubes, the TTI's just looked smaller. And not just shorter obviously, but even the tubes look smaller. Maybe it's an optical illusion, whatever. Yes, my Doug's are a little worse for wear, you can see the "red" looking spot where they were hitting the torsion bar. But they're 1.12" torsion bars, so yeah.
So anyway, the TTI's were easy to install with all that stuff out. I did the passenger side first because I already saw that the exhaust would be easier on that side, and I have my 02 sensor on my driver's pipe so I was avoiding it. But after I attached the head pipe, problems started. Like right off the bat I had to cut the corner off of my inspection cover for my bellhousing. The Doug's needed the corner of the bellhousing trimmed, but the TTI's were worse. This is after I took a grinder to the inspection cover. Hard to see, but there's less than an 1/8" there. The Doug's cleared the corner of the inspection cover fine the way it was.
The other thing I found was that the shorty oil filter didn't fit. It says right on the TTI website you don't need the 90* adaptor with a short filter. Well, my canton oil plate is taller than a stock plate, and yeah, the shorty filter didn't fit. And I didn't want the stock 90* adaptor, nor do I have one ready to install. So, on with the relocation again. And yeah, still gonna be tight on that torsion bar.
The final nail in the coffin was when I measured the headpipe to the frame. Less than 3/8" of an improvement in ground clearance. Yeah, that's right. The Doug's are less than 3/8" lower. As I started looking at the driver's side, and what a pain it was going to be to adapt my exhaust to the head pipe, and how close the head pipe was to the z-bar, the stock prop valve for the brakes, and yeah, the torsion bar again, I realized that I was just trading spots where the clearance was tight.
So I took the TTI's off and reinstalled the Doug's. Fortunately I only made one cut on my passenger exhaust pipe, so I just welded it back up. Before I put the Doug's back on I added/deepened a couple of the dimples for the torsion bars. The result was plenty of clearance after the reinstall was done.
Now, I'm not totally bashing the TTI's. I think if I were building the whole exhaust at once I might not have worried about it. So, I'm going to use them on my '71 Dart GT. It's also a floor shift auto with smaller torsion bars, so I should eliminate a couple of the tight spots I had on the Duster.
Bottom line is, I like the Doug's better, so they're back on. Oh, and that oil filter? The shorty filter fits fine with the Doug's. I knew it would fit, but I didn't like that when you change the oil you end up spilling some on the headers. Well, given the o-ring leaks I had on the AN 90* swivel ends that's moot anyway.
Cotter pin is there. The Doug's are still installed!
Well, not still, again. :rolleyes:
Yeah. So, I bought the TTI shorty's because the Doug's were really close to the torsion bars in a couple spots. Like close enough that they were rubbed some of the ceramic coating off. I also assumed that I would be able to pick up some more ground clearance, and lose my oil filter relocation for just a shorty filter (like a #2004). The relocation looks cool and is easier for filter changes, but I was using some 90* AN fittings and the o-rings in those were dripping on my header anyway. Figured if I'm going to oil the pipe I might as well just do it on oil changes and not constant dripping. So, I went through the process. I did find that by pulling the Z-bar, mini-starter, and dropping the steering center link (and cycling the steering side to side depending on which side I was working on) and removing the torsion bars I did not need to raise the engine. You heard that right, the Doug's came out (and went back in!) without moving the engine off the mounts. On the passenger side I also had to drop the oil filter relocation pickup, just like you'd have to drop the oil filter as in the instructions. And I pulled the exhaust studs on the passenger side too, easier to drain the radiator than jack up the engine.
So, with the Doug's out the TTI headers went in super easy, since all that stuff was out of the way. The driver's side would have gone in with some of that stuff still installed, the passenger side needed everything out still but the studs (including the torsion bar and steering link!). But right off I didn't like the TTI's. The coating looks like aluminum spray paint. And although they're both 1 5/8" tubes, the TTI's just looked smaller. And not just shorter obviously, but even the tubes look smaller. Maybe it's an optical illusion, whatever. Yes, my Doug's are a little worse for wear, you can see the "red" looking spot where they were hitting the torsion bar. But they're 1.12" torsion bars, so yeah.
So anyway, the TTI's were easy to install with all that stuff out. I did the passenger side first because I already saw that the exhaust would be easier on that side, and I have my 02 sensor on my driver's pipe so I was avoiding it. But after I attached the head pipe, problems started. Like right off the bat I had to cut the corner off of my inspection cover for my bellhousing. The Doug's needed the corner of the bellhousing trimmed, but the TTI's were worse. This is after I took a grinder to the inspection cover. Hard to see, but there's less than an 1/8" there. The Doug's cleared the corner of the inspection cover fine the way it was.
The other thing I found was that the shorty oil filter didn't fit. It says right on the TTI website you don't need the 90* adaptor with a short filter. Well, my canton oil plate is taller than a stock plate, and yeah, the shorty filter didn't fit. And I didn't want the stock 90* adaptor, nor do I have one ready to install. So, on with the relocation again. And yeah, still gonna be tight on that torsion bar.
The final nail in the coffin was when I measured the headpipe to the frame. Less than 3/8" of an improvement in ground clearance. Yeah, that's right. The Doug's are less than 3/8" lower. As I started looking at the driver's side, and what a pain it was going to be to adapt my exhaust to the head pipe, and how close the head pipe was to the z-bar, the stock prop valve for the brakes, and yeah, the torsion bar again, I realized that I was just trading spots where the clearance was tight.
So I took the TTI's off and reinstalled the Doug's. Fortunately I only made one cut on my passenger exhaust pipe, so I just welded it back up. Before I put the Doug's back on I added/deepened a couple of the dimples for the torsion bars. The result was plenty of clearance after the reinstall was done.
Now, I'm not totally bashing the TTI's. I think if I were building the whole exhaust at once I might not have worried about it. So, I'm going to use them on my '71 Dart GT. It's also a floor shift auto with smaller torsion bars, so I should eliminate a couple of the tight spots I had on the Duster.
Bottom line is, I like the Doug's better, so they're back on. Oh, and that oil filter? The shorty filter fits fine with the Doug's. I knew it would fit, but I didn't like that when you change the oil you end up spilling some on the headers. Well, given the o-ring leaks I had on the AN 90* swivel ends that's moot anyway.
