1961 Valiant

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A/MP

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Never owner lower than a 1964 Valiant. I know the body looks big but can you stuff a SB w/o any problems? Wonder if '65 Barracuda fenderwell headers would fit?
 
IIRC, anything prior to '64 you have to pound some clearance in the firewall for the distributor
 
The '60-'62 Valiant and Lancer had a narrower engine bay than the '63-and-up models, so exhaust can be a challenge. I am using the stock manifolds from a Duster/Dart 340, which do fit, but I don't think they flow very well.

'60-'61 Valiant and Lancer had a different K-member than '62-and-up cars. In '62 they started using the same K-member as the Plymouth. Schumacher mounts won't work with your car. You may be on your own for mounts.

FWIW, using Schumacher mounts in a '62, I didn't have to do anything to the firewall.

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Swap out the front k-member, suspension and steering to 62 and newer to make the V8 swap easier. If you keep the heater, you have to notch the fiberglass box for distributor clearance. The battery tray is super close to the valve cover.
 
I agree with most posters on here that you DO NOT have to clearence the firewall for the distributor, merely modify or remove heater box but this is dependant on the fore/aft placement of the engine. While you can use the '62-'66 K member to make the conversion a little simpler, the steering column won't line up with the new steering box (but it's fixable) and you'll have to clearance the inside edge of the frame rails on the underside to clear the later style torsion bar tensioning levers (again, it's fixable). Point is it's not just wrench work.
 
62 with 360 Magnum Schumacher mounts maybe it is possible to fit -62 K member on -61 ?

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