Headers not fitting after engine removal

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Bl1zzard

Bl1zzard

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Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Hi there,

We've been rebuilding our 360 in our 1974 Dart all winter. This weekend was time for reinstall. The engine is seated in the mounts properly and 904 transmission is all lined up straight and the yoke is attached.

I have Hooker Competition Headers, beat up, but they were installed. For the life of me I can't get the drivers side on now. It's hitting the steering linkage and stopping about a quarter inch from the front mounting stud. The back stud is hanging fine. I've tried swapping and hanging the front end first but even with the back end hanging free, I can't get it on front stud. It's so close, I even tried a pry bar with no luck. Even stuck a jack under the tube that's hitting the steering linkage. No dice.

They were on the car before we pulled the engine. Never left the engine bay, just tied up out of the way. Any ideas? Could the engine be somehow sitting higher by a quarter inch? I don't know how that could be on the drivers side because the bolt for the engine mount went in fine on that side. Nothing seems to be twisted or sitting higher or lower than before.
 
Are the motor brackets bolted in the correct location on the block?
Both mounts sitting equally on the kframe?
 
The answer to your question is yes. You can move the engine quite a bit with repositioning the motor mount bolts. Meaning, the bracket bolts to block. You can shift the engine up, down, left or right.
Do what you gotta do, you will have to lift your engine to move it around. Maybe just lift your engine to get the header on.
 
The motor mounts have slots and are arranged in a wedge so the engine can "rotate" slightly as well as tilt with a spacer. Don't forget the possibility that when the exhaust was installed, it wasn't "pushed" into place down at the pipes. Sounds like from your description the engine is either tilted fore/aft, or left/right, or both. Someone suggested the motor mounts being in the right place. It's possible to moint them on the wrong side (left/right) as well as the wrong side of the bosses on the engine. Just things to check/ponder. if it came out, it will go in. But something changed. Trick is figuring out "what"....
 
Support motor on a jack under the pan (with a big piece of plywood) and remove the motor mount brackets so motor is just floating in there. Install headers and find out where the mounts need to be in order for the headers to sit properly. May just be a perspective issue.
 
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