You can........

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JDMopar

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Learn something new maybe every day if you pay attention.

I'm 65 years old and have been turning wrenches on my Mopars for 49 years now. I have seen and done quite a bit with my cars in that time too. That being said, I learned something new a few weeks ago from a member here who is probably less than half my age. :) I'd like to give a shoutout to @65barracudaLA for posting the difference in 90 degree oil filter adapters between Early A bodies and later A bodies. I have had several Early A's over the years and I suppose it was just my dumb luck that I never encountered the problem he had with the adapter while installing a V8 into his 65 Barracuda. If you use the later adapter in an Early A, the oil filter will hit the frame rail. I'm in the final stages of getting the 273 that I built ready to go in my own 65 Barracuda and sure enough, the 90 degree adapter that I already had cleaned, painted and was about to install was the wrong dang one! He saved me a lot of rework and probably even more cussing....lol.

The pic below is by @65barracudaLA and shows the differences in adapters. I stole and have posted his pic a few times, but the credit all goes to him. I would imagine that the even later aluminum 90 degree adapters are clocked like the one on the left in the pic below, part # 2951995 is for later A bodies. The adapter on the RIGHT, part # 2463661 is the one needed for an Early A.



90 degree adapters - SBM.jpg
 
Learn something new maybe every day if you pay attention.

I'm 65 years old and have been turning wrenches on my Mopars for 49 years now. I have seen and done quite a bit with my cars in that time too. That being said, I learned something new a few weeks ago from a member here who is probably less than half my age. :) I'd like to give a shoutout to @65barracudaLA for posting the difference in 90 degree oil filter adapters between Early A bodies and later A bodies. I have had several Early A's over the years and I suppose it was just my dumb luck that I never encountered the problem he had with the adapter while installing a V8 into his 65 Barracuda. If you use the later adapter in an Early A, the oil filter will hit the frame rail. I'm in the final stages of getting the 273 that I built ready to go in my own 65 Barracuda and sure enough, the 90 degree adapter that I already had cleaned, painted and was about to install was the wrong dang one! He saved me a lot of rework and probably even more cussing....lol.

The pic below is by @65barracudaLA and shows the differences in adapters. I stole and have posted his pic a few times, but the credit all goes to him. I would imagine that the even later aluminum 90 degree adapters are clocked like the one on the left in the pic below, part # 2951995 is for later A bodies. The adapter on the RIGHT, part # 2463661 is the one needed for an Early A.



View attachment 1716040223

All the later adapters and what came from Direct Connection/MP look like the one on the left.
 
Learn something new maybe every day if you pay attention.

I'm 65 years old and have been turning wrenches on my Mopars for 49 years now. I have seen and done quite a bit with my cars in that time too. That being said, I learned something new a few weeks ago from a member here who is probably less than half my age. :) I'd like to give a shoutout to @65barracudaLA for posting the difference in 90 degree oil filter adapters between Early A bodies and later A bodies. I have had several Early A's over the years and I suppose it was just my dumb luck that I never encountered the problem he had with the adapter while installing a V8 into his 65 Barracuda. If you use the later adapter in an Early A, the oil filter will hit the frame rail. I'm in the final stages of getting the 273 that I built ready to go in my own 65 Barracuda and sure enough, the 90 degree adapter that I already had cleaned, painted and was about to install was the wrong dang one! He saved me a lot of rework and probably even more cussing....lol.

The pic below is by @65barracudaLA and shows the differences in adapters. I stole and have posted his pic a few times, but the credit all goes to him. I would imagine that the even later aluminum 90 degree adapters are clocked like the one on the left in the pic below, part # 2951995 is for later A bodies. The adapter on the RIGHT, part # 2463661 is the one needed for an Early A.



View attachment 1716040223

Thanks for the shoutout @JDMopar! I'm working on my first engine swap and one of the most annoying things is buying the wrong parts. Especially the '65 Barracuda I'm working on (essentially all early A-bodies) has a lot of parts that are not only hard to find, but it's also not that obvious that they are different. So if I can help someone else avoid the same mistake I made, I'm happy to do so.

I'm swapping from a slant 6 to a '69 318 with #163 smog heads, Edelbrock Performer intake, 1406 carb and '70 up timing cover/ water pump. I bought a stack of pulleys until I found the right ones. I currently still haven't fully figured out what dipstick/ tube I need for the A904. The tube from the slant 6 doesn't clear the exhaust manifold. The tube that came with the transmission is about 3" shorter than the slant 6 ones and is bent differently. I'm assuming the early A-body V8 (!) dipstick is also 3" shorter, but I haven't been able to find one. Now I have 3 dipsticks and 3 tubes and none of them work. I plan on cutting the top 3" off the slant 6 one and adding it to the V8 tube. The angle is different, so it should actually clear the manifold...

Anyways, I'm grateful for all the advice I've gotten here on FABO and also the Early Valiant & Barracuda Club! Hats off to everyone who managed to do all this before you were able to look it up or ask dumb questions online! And before you could find parts here, on ebay, Jegs, craigslist etc.

Here's what I found is different on the early A's from other small block mopars:

-transmission ('64-'65 is cable shifted)
-torque converter/ input shaft
-intake manifold/ heads (if you're using '64-'66 273 heads)
-exhaust manifolds
-exhaust
-motor mounts (340 & 360 require aftermarket mounts)
-center link
-timing cover/ water pump/ pulleys
-radiator
-gas pedal
-kickdown
-oil pan
-smog heads need a pad under the very right exhaust port removed to make the early manifold fit and A.I.R. holes need to be plugged.

I might be forgetting some things and I haven't fired it up yet, but I hope it helps! If you're swapping a Magnum engine there's more to consider.
I will bring all the wrong parts I bought to the next Chrysler Performance West Spring Fling swap meet in Van Nuys in April haha.
 
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