-64 Dart steering coupling

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Mr Dart

Mr Dart

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I swapped 318 to my originally slant 6 Dart. I used Schumacher engine mounts and engine seems to be sitting in correct place according dimensions I found online. Problems is steering coupling doesn't fit In it's place it hits exhaust manifold. Have you experienced this? What is wrong? Manifold has tail Pipe connection on The drivers end of manifold like it should be.

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I am using 360 heads and manifolds have same Port size than heads. Bought them separately.

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chewy said:
Only Early A (64-66) 273 manifolds or headers built for 64-66 a bodies will fit.
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Without some sort of other mod, this is true, but there are specific magnum manifolds that will work.

in general though, yes, the old 273 manifolds drop right in as intended, but they are really restrictive.
 
Cuda416 said:
Without some sort of other mod, this is true, but there are specific magnum manifolds that will work.

in general though, yes, the old 273 manifolds drop right in as intended, but they are really restrictive.
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My mind must be gettin old. I wasn't aware some magnum manifolds fit. Thanks
 
chewy said:
My mind must be gettin old. I wasn't aware some magnum manifolds fit. Thanks
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It depends on the specific manifolds and the tolerances of the car. Some folks get away with not doing much, some need to shave a little off the mating surface. Sometimes grinding casting numbers off to clear inner fender panels. I think the drivers side comes from a 96 Jeep Grand Cherokee if memory serves. It also has the largest opening at 2-1/8 inches.
 
Go look here..

www.forabodiesonly.com

340 Exhaust Manifolds on Early A-Body??

Hey! Thanks for getting back to us and not forgetting..... How much did you have to shim the drivers side and how did you do that? Are there any other options other than shimming to get clearance so you don't wreck your ride?
www.forabodiesonly.com www.forabodiesonly.com
 
Early 340 A body manifolds will fit if you have manual steering, with some mild work.

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I got mine when they were relatively cheap. I don't disagree with opinions above that the 68-70 versions, at least, aren't worth the money. In fact, I sold mine for enough money to buy a set of TTI's:

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The 72-73 versions would be cheaper, and the center-outlet 71-73 passenger side would fit better. The driver's side, early or late, will likely hit the steering coupling, albeit lightly. Mine cleared if I removed the coupling cap. Later, I switched to a power steering column with manual steering adapter, which moved the coupling back far enough to clear completely. Went back to a manual steering column when I switched to TTI's, but I did shorten the steering column jacket so the rubber insulator on the end wouldn't butt up against a header tube.

The early A engine compartment was never designed for a V8. When the 273's came out, they were shoe-horned in, with a pretzel shaped driver's side manifold to clear the steering and a right angle turn at the end to shoot the exhaust straight out the back. The trick with any later manifolds (which won't have that 90 degree bend) is figuring out where to run the driver's side exhaust pipe. I ended up running mine between the torsion bar and the frame rail. Just enough room there for a 2.25 pipe.

Even the best driver's side 340 manifold is pretty restrictive. That's the advantage of the early Dakota manifolds over the 340 manifolds. The early (68-70) passenger side manifold flows better than any Dakota manifolds. But they are likely to hit the inner fender where it bulges out over one of the lower control arm bolts. On mine, I made clearance with a BFH, but the manifold still barely cleared when the motor was at rest, and I suspect touched the inner fender protrusion under power.

Above discussion is A body manifolds through 73 (and 74?). 71 and later E body manifolds, any similar manifolds used in later A's or other applications, won't fit an early A, as you've found out.

The TTI's fit really well, considering how tight the engine compartment is, but they cost $$$$$$$ and you will need to move some things around.

I've not tried the Dakota manifolds, and I'm guessing they are your best bet, just offering the above to give you some idea of the alternatives.
 
Cuda416 said:
Without some sort of other mod, this is true, but there are specific magnum manifolds that will work.

in general though, yes, the old 273 manifolds drop right in as intended, but they are really restrictive.
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Ok how bout this? The manifolds he has will not work.
 
RustyRatRod said:
Ok how bout this? The manifolds he has will not work
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Well no kidding, I didn't say they would, only that certain magnum manifolds WILL work. I'm not sure what your point is other than you feeling a little jumpy this morning.

It's a much more cost effective way to get some "decent" flow on a street car. For what the engine is, they will be loads better than the 273, and headers, for that engine, aren't going to do much more and not enough to justify the cost in my "opinion" and so I offered an alternative that he migtht not have otherwise explored.

At the end of the day, I don't have a dog in the fight, nor do you. So again, not sure what your point is.
 
Cuda416 said:
Well no kidding, I didn't say they would, only that certain magnum manifolds WILL work. I'm not sure what your point is other than you feeling a little jumpy this morning.

It's a much more cost effective way to get some "decent" flow on a street car. For what the engine is, they will be loads better than the 273, and headers, for that engine, aren't going to do much more and not enough to justify the cost in my "opinion" and so I offered an alternative that he migtht not have otherwise explored.

At the end of the day, I don't have a dog in the fight, nor do you. So again, not sure what your point is.
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No, not at all. I know for a fact and back, that the Magnum manifolds do work but not on all cars without some clearancing, because not all these cars are the same. I have a friend in north Georgia who put some on a Duster, which as we know is a lot wider than a 64 in the engine bay. They hit the steering coupler. He had to grind that driver's side down pretty good before it cleared. So no, I wasn't "jumpy" at all. I just left a part of my post out. My bad.
 
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RustyRatRod said:
No, not at all. I know for a fact and back, that the Magnum manifolds do work but not on all cars without some clearancing, because not all these cars are the same. I have a friend in north Georgia who put some on a Duster, which as we know is a lot wider than a 64 in the engine bay. They hit the steering coupler. He had to grind that driver's side down pretty good before it cleared. So no, I wasn't "jumpy" at all. I just a part of my post out. My bad.
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They absolutely do require some work in most of not all cases. Most people seem to need to shave the driver's side down about 0.100 or the abouts. I have a 64 valiant and we are planning on doing the same thing. It's been done, no trails being blazed. Direct bolt in? No but it can work. As you said the steering coupler is the problem so either people shave the manifold, shim the motor mount, or even swap the coupler altogether and sometimes all three. Still way less cost than TTI headers.. I wouldn't even suggest it if this was a hot 408 or some such thing but for tooling around it will do quite nicely. Btw the engine bay is roughly an inch narrower per side on the early A vs the 67 and up. I'd probably never buy one again. That said it's a fun car for sure.

The magnum manifolds that are the best ones are very comparable to the early 340 manifold with a huge opening (2.125) opening and can easily be opened up to 2.25. that on and of itself makes the 273 manifolds look stupid.
 
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