BBD/ A body - B body Headers

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moparhunter

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QUESTION ! I remember reading a few years ago on another Dodge site, that it was possible to use a B body style Header with the 383/400 ( low deck ) block in a Abody .

How many on here I’ve tried it and what were the results? Given that looks like Schumacher is completely out of business.
 
Yup. They fit. A little differently on each car, but they fit. Sometimes you have to dent a tube here and there and sometimes the just fit. @rumblefish360 either has some on his Duster or had them on it. He can back me up on it. I've considered getting a pair for my 64 Valiant 400 swap and see how close they'll come. I still may.
 
I would be curious if they would work with power steering.

That's what I am looking for.

Power steering and 2" primary

They do not. If you'll look at the link above, you'll see that.
 
Yup. They fit. A little differently on each car, but they fit. Sometimes you have to dent a tube here and there and sometimes the just fit. @rumblefish360 either has some on his Duster or had them on it. He can back me up on it. I've considered getting a pair for my 64 Valiant 400 swap and see how close they'll come. I still may.

Thanks Gents. @moparhunter, with a low deck 400, I used the Hedman Elites (standard but coated header) @1-7/8 exhaust tube. I followed the BBD instructions and had to dent only two tubes mildly to clear the front end linkages.

Was it easy to install? About the same amount of cursing was used. Just in different areas of the install.
Did it work? Yes and very well.
Would you do it again? **** no!
What was the problem? Headers designed for a B body are very different than an A body header. Spark plug clearance is an issue. I would be better off drilling a hole in the inner fender to replace some spark plugs.

Is that the only issue to complain about? Yes since I had manual brakes and steering, there was nothing else to ***** about, well, I just remembered the after market radiator was a bit thick, and I didn’t have the extra short (Jaguar) clutch for the fan. So an electrical fan was used. 100% because it was in my son in laws junk box waiting for this day to be used again.

Is this a good “On the Cheap” move? Yes!
 
The don’t think so but just stroll over to BBD and double check. That crazy narrow engine bay thing....

I'd rather be skinned alive and tabasco sauce dumped on me than go on that site. I hate it. It sucks now.
 
I'd rather be skinned alive and tabasco sauce dumped on me than go on that site. I hate it. It sucks now.

I`ll have to go check it out , used to be the most informative ------------not all bitchin about the political things .
 
Problem is, there's very little activity. Everyone seems to be here or on Moparts...

Anyhow, the Hedman 78030 B-body headers (shown in the BBD pages) fit with very minor dings. Low deck, manual steering, shorten column jacket back to the firewall, access hole in inner fender for #6 plug (nearly impossible otherwise). Working nicely for my 451 Dart.

Keep in mind that they don't line up with the torsion bar crossmember notches. I made a pair of doglegs from 3" 18 degree mandrel bends. From there, a Summit x-pipe kit was a bolt-in (until I had my local muffler shop weld them).
 
Problem is, there's very little activity. Everyone seems to be here or on Moparts...

Anyhow, the Hedman 78030 B-body headers (shown in the BBD pages) fit with very minor dings. Low deck, manual steering, shorten column jacket back to the firewall, access hole in inner fender for #6 plug (nearly impossible otherwise). Working nicely for my 451 Dart.

Keep in mind that they don't line up with the torsion bar crossmember notches. I made a pair of doglegs from 3" 18 degree mandrel bends. From there, a Summit x-pipe kit was a bolt-in (until I had my local muffler shop weld them).

I had to cut/make wedges to get around the trans crossmember w/my TTI`s too, they are 31/2'' all the way tho--
 
.. I've considered getting a pair for my 64 Valiant 400 swap and see how close they'll come. I still may.

Ha, Rob..you kill me! :rofl:

You know darn well the driver side is a complete no go on the 64 driver side....Passenger side is right into the center link/tie rods. Drop the link down 3 inches or raise the heads.....and the passenger side will fit. Go rack and pinion and the driver side may fit if you mod the center link like the passenger side. They just sit right in the way of the steering. Now make a really dropped link and you can run the steering under the headers. Our chassis sucks for a big block, the 67 and up has a fighting chance. I think you could make a custom center link that dropped 3" more at the ends. Easier than adapting dropped pitman and idler arms.
 
Ha, Rob..you kill me! :rofl:

You know darn well the driver side is a complete no go on the 64 driver side....Passenger side is right into the center link/tie rods. Drop the link down 3 inches or raise the heads.....and the passenger side will fit. Go rack and pinion and the driver side may fit if you mod the center link like the passenger side. They just sit right in the way of the steering. Now make a really dropped link and you can run the steering under the headers. Our chassis sucks for a big block, the 67 and up has a fighting chance.

Yeah probably. You couldda let me dream, butthole. lol
 
I had to cut/make wedges to get around the trans crossmember w/my TTI`s too, they are 31/2'' all the way tho--

I paid $100 for my set of slightly used Hedmans, so I expected that a little "adapt, improvise and overcome" would be required. But it would be unacceptable to have to ding and adapt an $800-1000 pair of TTIs...
 
Rob, seeing that Duster with the Chebbi front clip made me think: What about using a Chebbi steering gear up front in the 64? That would put the GM steering box forward of the 383 headers and even K and maybe get your header clearance? Where there is a will there is a way, Mopar or not.
2012-08-18-14-35-15.jpg
 
Rob, seeing that Duster with the Chebbi front clip made me think: What about using a Chebbi steering gear up front in the 64? That would put the GM steering box forward of the 383 headers and even K and maybe get your header clearance? Where there is a will there is a way, Mopar or not.
View attachment 1715578383


Interesting thought.
 
Rob, seeing that Duster with the Chebbi front clip made me think: What about using a Chebbi steering gear up front in the 64? That would put the GM steering box forward of the 383 headers and even K and maybe get your header clearance? Where there is a will there is a way, Mopar or not.
View attachment 1715578383

Man, you lost me. Howinell are you gonna hook that up to Mopar spindles?

AND NOW AN ANNOYING story from the old days.

Somewhere around 75 a new friend in my home town had a great little muffler shop. Back in those days, owners of the original Broncos were trying to convert them to PS. Only thing that would fit is the optional Ford box, which back then was?? 400 or so, something out of a ??61--62 buick, or 1 or 2 years of old T birds. So swap boxes were hard to find. This is because they mounted on the opposite side of the frame and went the opposite rotation.

So one day a friend of mine and I had got off work, wandered by his shop (nearby) and here he had his Bronco on the hoist, .........just letting it down...... I looked in, and there, welded up nice and neat, were fabbed mounts and a Chrysler steering box.

I LOOKED at that, and said "don't those turn the wrong direction?"

He gets this STRANGE look on his face, sorta like his eyebrows were sinking right into his forehead, and his eyes looked like they were just gonna fold up and quit, and my friend Roy--who owned a Bronco--reached in the window and turned the wheel. And the tires moved.........THE WRONG DIRECTION!!!
 
Flip the spindles? F, I don't know....I never even seen a pic of the Chevy steering..had to google it, but I always see those strange idler arms and now I know how they mount. Someone smarter than me should figure it out. :realcrazy:
 
Flip the spindles? F, I don't know....I never even seen a pic of the Chevy steering..had to google it, but I always see those strange idler arms and now I know how they mount. Someone smarter than me should figure it out. :realcrazy:

You`d think by now , someone would have invented/made front steering spindles that work.
 
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