headers

[ih8frds]

hi guys my 66 gto with 389, with headers and power steering i installed the rag joint and it hits the headers i ground the studs down and cut the studs off and now the nuts are hitting the front tube. what are you guys doing for this problem?

Thanks Jon

[MrPbody]

Jon,

Not sure. What headers are they? Had a '66 with Hooker SuperComps, no issues. Had another with some brand-X and they hit the rag joint. Dinged 'em until they quit... If you're careful and steady, using a brass drift and a ton of patience, you can "dimple" (ding) the header for clearance. Hitting too hard or with too large a device, can collapse the tube.

Another issue that can cause such problems are sagging motor mounts. The Pontiac can "sink" as much as 1" when the mounts get tired.

And even further... A-bodies of the era tend to "pull in" across the front crossmember, making the engine "closer" to the frame and attached stuff. A good body shop can correct it by "pulling" the outer rails down while supporting the middle. An alignment would be necessary afterwards.

Hope this helps.

Jim

[jprince3]

I just installed Flotech Headers on my 65 GTO 389, the headers are contacting the crossmember on both sides near the motor mounts without even running. Is there a higher/solid motor mount that can be used other than having the frame tweaked?
Thanks, Joe

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[MagicRat]

How old or tired are your engine mounts?. You might want to consider new mounts. The rubber in them does not last forever.
If new mounts still allow contact, try shimming the mounts where they meet the frame.

[jprince3]

Thanks a lot for the quick reply MagicRat,

I don't know how old the mounts are, they were on the car when I bought it, with my luck they're original, lol. I am planning on buying solid mounts and neoprene for the tranny mount. I thought about shimming, but wanted to find out if there were cons or something else would be better. Also wasn't sure about changing the angle of the engine. I just thought a second opinion couldn't do anything but help.

Thanks a lot,
Joe
blog- prince43147.wordpress.com

[jprince3]

OK, here's what I did about the headers, I couldn't find any solid or poly mounts and didn't see much profit in buying new rubber ones, so I decided to use the ones that I had but modify them a tad. I made small shackles for the lack of a better name, and raised the engine 2". As you can see in the pics it got the headers off of the crossmember,(the one small odd bolt was just to hold it), and I also installed a poly tranny mount. So far everything fits back on just fine. Thanks for the help.
Joe

[MrPbody]

Butler Performance (Leoma, TN) has all the "mounting" you need. They offer polys, solids and high-level "stock".

I've never tried FlowTech stuff. Often, from "bargain" manufacturers, Pontiac stuff doesn't quite "fit'. When I've seen Hookers "hit", mounts fixed it.

Jim

[GTOHunter]

Another option would be to buy some new factory reproduction Pontiac Ram Air manifolds!Most of the After Market Pontiac Companies carry them and they fit very well and sound great,You can also get them with larger openings for bigger exhaust!

[jprince3]

Thanks guys for the help. I ended up switching to a set of "Dougs" headers. The end result is at http://prince43147.me