Header install 69 Dart

-

Brian Arcella

Active Member
Joined
Jun 22, 2021
Messages
43
Reaction score
43
Location
New Jersey
Well not like I expected this to be a cream puff but I crawled under the Dart this morning in an attempt to find the engine numbers and found the driver side header tubes smashed falter than day old beer, so a couple of newbie A body questions for you guys. A. how hard are they to install I am guessing they need to go in through the bottom, my one saving grace is I have pretty much everything already removed, P/S pump and hoses and all of the other accessories and brackets

B. Can I solve or reduce the chance of this happening again by cranking the torsion bars to raise the front end up some ( one thing you never see on a Chevy which is making me more of a MOPAR guy)

C. Would it be a better idea to installation and clearance wise just to find a pair of stock exhaust
manifolds and call it done. While I am down there I may as well put in a new exhaust system don't have to tell any of you guys what its like working with rusty old exhaust and while I'm there a nice set of glass packs might be the ticket.

Once again thanks for all your help, you guys rock
 
Two sets of headers fit without handing down there

TTi and Dougs....all tubes are above the tie rods.
 
Both of those are $$$ What level of motor does it have? Stock hardly benefits from headers and the trouble involved is usually not worth the gain. A pair of $$ 340 or ¢ magnum logs tied to 2.5 headpipes and dual turbo exhaust make a nice rumble. Glasspacks are an aquired taste....I had a 351C with open flanged glasspacks right off the headers and that sounded bad *** until you drove it about 10 minutes and then it was just annoying.
 
ease of install, stock type manifolds are the ticket if you have them or can find them
headers can be tough, the cheaper ones usually require at least the removal of the drivers side torsion bar
the more expensive ones mentioned above are easier and IIRC are installed from above but may require lifting or tilting the engine
leave the glasspacks out if you are doing headers they rumble good enough, just a good set of mufflers to quiet the idle but give up the noise when you hop on it
with all that said, a lot depends on your combo and your wallet and your ultimate performance goals
to answer B: yes, and I would bet you need new shocks
 
Hedman makes nice shorty block hugger headers. On the LH side you run into having to snake a head pipe around the starter and center link. You will have to make your own headpipes, or have a muffler shop do it. The header dump flanges exit straight down about even with the oil pan mating flange. These will drop in from the top with very little issue.

68-71 340 hi perf exhaust manifolds if you dont want to deal with headers. Problem is these are old, and pricey if you find a set without cracks. Cast iron can be welded, but adds to the cost. There are repops of these that do not have chrysler PN#s or a pentastar cast in, or a heat riser flap. If your not a date code nut this shouldn't matter. They are 2.50" outlet. Will require a special hardware kit to install them. Repops are about $600. hardware kit about $40. Pic of the manifolds shown are a set for my kids car, the repops are unmarked. Last 2 pix are ebay repops with no markings. This should give you an idea what to look for.

TTI makes heavy gage headlines that bolt up to these manifolds.

Again a lot of what you do has to do with the HP of the engine. Stock 68 340s were 380HP from the factory. These manifolds will prob work just fine to 400hp. It's all about whatcha got and whatcha want

20210701_155210.jpg


Screenshot_20210705-113638_Samsung Internet.jpg


Screenshot_20210705-114034_eBay.jpg


Screenshot_20210705-114043_eBay.jpg
 
I've used Headman block huggers for years on Chevy's no complaints so far I like the Summit headers I'm thinking a mini starter might not be a bad idea as well
 
Last edited:
You cant go wrong with a mini denso off a magnum V8. You can find em on a ram van up to 2002. Last of the old skool engines.
 
Short headers tend to be better than manifolds but not as good at low rpm as long tubes.Longtube headers makes more power especialy low end tourqe,Dougs and TTI dont hang below the centerlink and tend to fit fairly well but we all know how these cars are. And yes they all suck more or less to install
 
Well this is my soon's first car and its just a cruiser with a rear the size of the one in my garden tractor not to many burnouts in its future. It has headers on it now and from what I've been seeing may be cheaper to go with headers that stock manifolds I'll make up my mind soon I think
 
Well this is my soon's first car and its just a cruiser with a rear the size of the one in my garden tractor not to many burnouts in its future. It has headers on it now and from what I've been seeing may be cheaper to go with headers that stock manifolds I'll make up my mind soon I think

Headers are a nice start that will pay of more with future upgrades :thumbsup: i guess it has a 71/4 rear and its capacity to handle torque is honestly limited enough that a set of headers wont make a difference,anything stronger than the 170six is more than capable of hurting the poor thing given some time.
 
Well hurting the rear which = a rear end swap to an 8 is not what I want or need right now, I have a narrowed Dana 60 sitting in my shop from my gasser but that would translate into $1000 in the blink of an eye so as big a fan of Roadkill that he is he'll be burnoutless for a long time
 
Get a ford explorer 8.8 and shorten the LH tube use 2 RH axles. These things come with good gear ratios, a mopar large 5 bolt 4.50" bolt pattern with 1/2" RH studs, are all SAE thread, use rear discs, and most have a limited slip. They all have 31 spline truck axles. The bonus they are all over the junkyards. You can prob get one for $125. Theres a sticky in the drivetrain section on all the swapperoo for this. First page at the top for the 8.8 swap. Even parts like brake discs are cheap. I got raybestos rotors for $15 each at rockauto. Look for the tag on the diff cover with the ratio you want. Example a 3.73. If the diff is a limited slip, the tag will read 3L73. If it's an open rear it will read 3 73. With a space and no L. When you narrow the long end to center the punkin it ends up being only 3/4" shorter than a stock mopar 8.75" axle. I put a bunch of info in there on that swap, including brake cables that are mopar in the front ford in the back. Only thing you need to for sure check is the build date in the door jamb. The disc calipers and pads change somewhere around march / april 1999 to a different design.
 
Last edited:
-
Back
Top