Motor mount options for header clearance

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RON REAGLE

RON REAGLE

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I have read enough comments on installing TTI headers and the clearance problems on the drivers side of the engine. I have already installed a Flaming River steering coupler and am now experimenting with motor mount options to help with clearance. I AM NOT GOING TO TAKE A HAMMER TO $900 HEADERS "FOR CLEARANCE" UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES. I went to NAPA and bought these 3 motor mount inserts. 602-1130 which are 15/16" thick , 602-1170 which are 1-7/16" thick and 602-1653 which are 1-3/4" thick. The 602-1653's are made with a torque limiter set up which I really like. They are actually for a Dodge truck with a Cummins diesel. If they will work those are the ones I'll use. They are also inexpensive ($18) each

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There isn’t that much room to be moving the engine that far. You may gain clearance in one place and lose it in three others.

If you aren’t wanting to sing the header you should have used exhaust manifolds.

BTW and FWIW, MOPARMAGA and I just installed some TTI’s in a 73 Duster and nothing had to be clearanced. You may be jumping the gun a bit.
 
RON REAGLE said:
I have read enough comments on installing TTI headers and the clearance problems on the drivers side of the engine. I have already installed a Flaming River steering coupler and am now experimenting with motor mount options to help with clearance. I AM NOT GOING TO TAKE A HAMMER TO $900 HEADERS "FOR CLEARANCE" UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES. I went to NAPA and bought these 3 motor mount inserts. 602-1130 which are 15/16" thick , 602-1170 which are 1-7/16" thick and 602-1653 which are 1-3/4" thick. The 602-1653's are made with a torque limiter set up which I really like. They are actually for a Dodge truck with a Cummins diesel. If they will work those are the ones I'll use. They are also inexpensive ($18) each

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Subscribed. Very interested to see how this turns out. I also have the 15/16 & 1 7/16 mounts to go with my TTI's. The 1 7/16 mount I have has the torque limiter.
I'm curious to see if the same mount will be necessary on both sides, or if it'll be a combo of sizes.
 
You can't run those thick mounts in a AAR or a shaker hood car I know for sure. They really lift the motor higher than you think.
 
I didn't have to clearance anything to put TTI's in my small block powered 67 Barracuda. In fact, they were so easy to install that I managed to do so not long after being released from an extended hospital stay while my left arm was barely working. Edit: I guess I should add that this is a manual steering car. I don't know what kind of clearance issues a power steering car might have.

My 65 Barracuda was another matter. Engine compartment is smaller and everything is tight. I had to use a BFH on one header tube to clear the upper arm of the Z-bar (4-speed car), and another to clear the idler arm. Plus move various lines and wires out of the way. Relevant to this thread, the driver's side torsion bar, which feeds through the header tubes, just barely kissed them. After looking at the situation for a while, I decided that if I dropped the motor on that side just a bit, the torsion bar would clear the header tubes. So I pulled the driver's side motor mount and replaced it with a 67-up mount out of my stash (i.e., the one on the right in post #1). Had to drill one hole in the mount bracket to clear the locating bump on the mount. Gained just enough clearance for the torsion bar to fit without rattling against the header, but the engine didn't move enough that it no longer looked level.

By the way, Motor Trend posted a You Tube video a while back where they beat the crap out of a set of headers without affecting horsepower at all.

65 barracuda motor 29.jpg
 
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Use the 15/16 with a shim. The other two will be too thick and put the one tube against the torsion bar. I put TTi's in my 72 Duster and they were the hardest I've done in it. My old Hookers slid right in, but the TTi's nope. Not even passenger side. Couldn't get them in without pulling engine, setting headers in, then reinstalling engine. Quite a pain but that's the way it goes sometimes. They are nice and give great plug access tho. Drivers side I used just an old piece of steel I had, 1/16 or maybe a tad thicker, and cut a U shaped shim and slid it in which moved it up enough to clear factory manual steering box and T-bar. Also had to tweek the Z bar a bit.
 
I have the QA1 tubular K-frame and the Flaming River steering coupler. I'm hoping not to have some of the clearance issues I've heard about. TTI makes a great exhaust system I refuse to hammer them to make them fit.
 
RON REAGLE said:
I have the QA1 tubular K-frame and the Flaming River steering coupler. I'm hoping not to have some of the clearance issues I've heard about. TTI makes a great exhaust system I refuse to hammer them to make them fit.
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I'm using the QA1 K frame and the Borgeson PS box, with their steering knuckle. So, sounds like we have some similar equipment. I'm looking forward to your findings.
 
RON REAGLE said:
I have the QA1 tubular K-frame and the Flaming River steering coupler. I'm hoping not to have some of the clearance issues I've heard about. TTI makes a great exhaust system I refuse to hammer them to make them fit.
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Then headers may not have been a good choice for you. Some cars clear TTI’s without any dents, but many do not. Same for Doug’s, some have no clearance issues and others do. And some cars that clear Doug’s might not clear TTI’s and vice versa. Most instances can be fixed with a small dimple or two.

I wish you luck, but if I were 100% unwilling to even consider adding a small dimple to a set of A-body headers, I wouldn’t buy them. The factory tolerances on these cars are wider than the header clearance available on cars they do fit without any modifications. If you read between the lines, that means between factory tolerances and header production tolerances there are absolutely no guarantees they’ll clear without minor modifications. And you’re actually combining factory tolerances with several major aftermarket parts in addition to the headers, each of which have their own production tolerances.

I would wager there are far more A-bodies with TTI’s or Doug’s that have small dimples or minor mods than ones without. A quick search here will find you plenty of horror stories, a few success stories, and many that are somewhere in between.
 
67 barracuda 383 manual steering. TTI 1 3/4 tubes. I built a 1" spacer that goes ON TOP OF the schumacher BB motor mount for drivers side and 1/4" on passenger side to try to even it out a bit. no denting of headers. Have not had car on the road yet.
 
RON REAGLE said:
I have read enough comments on installing TTI headers and the clearance problems on the drivers side of the engine. I have already installed a Flaming River steering coupler and am now experimenting with motor mount options to help with clearance. I AM NOT GOING TO TAKE A HAMMER TO $900 HEADERS "FOR CLEARANCE" UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES. I went to NAPA and bought these 3 motor mount inserts. 602-1130 which are 15/16" thick , 602-1170 which are 1-7/16" thick and 602-1653 which are 1-3/4" thick. The 602-1653's are made with a torque limiter set up which I really like. They are actually for a Dodge truck with a Cummins diesel. If they will work those are the ones I'll use. They are also inexpensive ($18) each

View attachment 1715746005
Click to expand...
I wouldn't put those in I put my tti headers in my dart 360 sport laying on the ground didn't have a problem at all with the drivers side but the passenger side was a real ***** only because I couldn't get the car off the ground very far now if you have a hoist they would be much simpler it took me about a 1/2 hour for drivers side and about 3 hours on the passenger side
 
Noticed no mentioned that the engine sitting at the wrong angle on the motor mounts can cause header clearance issues.
 
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