One of the problems that arise when putting a Chevy engine in a fat fendered Ford is the exhaust. Now if you are running a Mustang II suspension with a rack and pinion this isnt an issue. But who in thier right mind would do that?....he he. On my paticular 40 I am running a dropped axle, with split wishbones. Steering is via a Saginaw manual box, and the engine is mounted using a Hurst saddle mount. Exhaust is routed through rams horn manifolds....now this is where things get a little tricky kids. One of the old ways to clear the steering box was to use a right side 265 manifold. Which does work well but as far as manifolds go they are pretty restrictive. Now the rams horn dumps right over the steering box. Using a Hurst mount the front of the oil pan wants to settle on the u-bolts and needs to be spaced about 1 1/2". Now spacing the front mount now takes care of 2 problems at once...it gets the oil pan off the crossmember and sets the engine at just the right angle that the collector of the manifold is moved slightly forward and up so that now there is room for the head pipe. I started with a couple of flanges Walker part number 31803 , a 2" ID exhaust sleeve that I cut in half and two 2" OD u-bends. I first took the halves of the sleeve and tacked them to the flanges. Then I took a chunk of one the u-bends and cut a section out that was easy to work with in the confined space. Installed the donut and bolted on the flange. Got the first bend going in the direction it needed to go and marked were the cuts needed to be and marked the bend and sleeve with alignment marks. Pulled it all out and tacked the bend to the sleeve. This process was repeated 5 other times, the last was a clearance check for the 2 bolt flange attacked to the end of the head pipe. The head pipe needs to snake down between the oil pan steering sector.....and betwwen the sector and oil filter. While setting this, turn the wheels to full left lock, as you need to check for pitman arm interferance. Heres the finished head pipe. I didnt get agreesive with cleaning up the welds because we are already working with thin material and I didnt want it to get any thinner. So I just knocked them down a bit. And heres the pipe installed. Like I said it is a tight squeeze in there. And I'll throw in the right side for comparison, its a pretty easy install just made sure I had clearance for future starter changes. As a note the exhaust pipe will run between the X-member and the wishbone, just like Henry had it. I left the the pipe close to the X-member allowing for suspension travel.
I need to make almost identical bends to clear my steering box. I really need to try that. The stuff in there now is an absolute mess, and it leaks. Slonaker
Chevrolet also made rams horn exhaust manifolds for 60's pickups that dump to the rear on the pass side I am using two reproduction pass manifolds on my 39 Del. The drivers side now exits toward the front of the motor which requires less tight bends.
Nice writeup and nice work on a tough bit of pipefitting. Fenderwell headers are another option, although they do restrict turning radius/front tire diameter a bit. On the positive side, they allow really easy access to the starter, steering box and oil filter I brought my exhaust back inside the frame just behind the collectors. The dip under the frame is not visible once the car is on the ground and there's about an inch of clearance to the frame. The second shot was taken with the camera set on the ground.
My initial plan was to run fenderwell headers, but I coudnt bring my self to cut my innner fenderwell. They are almost perfect shape, and seemed a shamed to ruin them. Im also going to make up some Lakes Plugs that exit out under the front fender once the body goes back on. 39... I also looked into using those manifolds. Im running early heads on the 327 with no accessory holes and wanted the generator mount, helps tidy things up a bit on the top end IMHO. Hey Tudor got a shot of the top side where the headers go through?
Nice welding job! Looks like the flow will be nice and smooth. What size pipe are you planning on using for the dump tubes? Flatman
Neat idea with the spacers on the motor mount! Thanks for sharing the pics and details with us! (Always been a*****er for 39-40s done right!!!)
Nothing wrong with that. Another driver for the fenderwells was my use of a power steering box and even tighter clearance than you have with the manual box. Seems like I have some pictures here somewhere - no secrets, though. Just a big gaping hole in the back of the inner fender
that was a nice job of snaking an exhaust pipe in a very tight place. another option would be to buy the headpipes premade from weedeter street rods.....about $70 for the pair
I couldnt find a websight for them. I remember you mentioning them a while ago, looks like they have a nice setup. Ive got about 15.00 in flanges and the u-bends were lefovers from the A build, plus a couple of hours.
On my '36 (with a 283) I encountered a similar problem. I ended up using what I believe is about a 1970 Chevy pickup left side manifold. It exits to the rear of the steering box. Unfortunately, I am too stoopid to post a photo. Wayno
I'm running the weedeeter pipes with no problems. They were great to deal with. Good job on that welding! fj
The Jalopy Journal
