Hi there I recently bought a pair of fenton cast headers for my 37 ford. According to the ad they said to fit a 37 ford with stock steering. Of course the did not. I use a 8ba engine and the middle tube hit the top of the steering box and one of the bolts hit the main tube. I have tried to shim the engine mounts but i just wont get a satisfying result. Am i missing something here ? I dont want to grind in the header until i know it is absolutly necesary. Is it possible to mill the flanges down about .080" and in that way solve the problem. Does anyone know what is causing this?? i have read that some wont have any problems at all while some have. Are there variations in the castings or is it the frame that differs. ?? // Christian
I put a '37 box on my '36 with Fentons on an 8BA. What I had to do was move the steering box back a little. I might have also tucked it in a little tighter to the frame rail. Since I had to change the mounting brkt. it was no problem.
I've got about 1/2" of spacers above the biscuits to raise the front and did a little grinding on the Fentons to get about 1/4" clearance with a '39 box that has the 59A mounted in my '36. Lots and lots of postings about clearance problems with these headers but it is do-able.
I'm not sure what chassis the Fenton header design was based upon but all 1935-40 chassis are not the same. The front crossmember changed with the 39 dlx model and the engine mount pods on the cross member are positioned higher on the 39-40 chassis crossmember than the 35-39 std frames . I think that this is where the issues develop with steering box clearance close to the headers. Between the compression of the engine cushions and the spacing differential between early and late frames a 1" +/- spacer under or between the donut and the water pump ear might be necessary for clearance.
Got room for a heat shield? Even a 1/2 inch clearance will be a great help for keeping it cool. Iceman
Would Two hockey pucks do the trick ??? Otherways its time to spin a chunk of aluminium in the lathe Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!
I have the same issue with 1937 truck, stock frame, and steering box with a 1949 8ba motor. The Fenton Headers are repops the original owner bought and installed along with the motor in late 70's. It looks like the header and steering box have been rubbing since then because a big divot worn is in the box but the header is only worn a little. I noticed the lower radiator hose was not lined up and water pump side was lower by 1/2" to an 1". Dick Spadaro said the cross members were different in an earlier post. The water pump part numbers are 30114-1 and 30115-1. The right water pump is touching the cross member and the left one is close. So my questions are: 1) if I raise the motor, with a spacer, about 3/4" to 1" do I have to raise the transmission the same amount and/or should I raise the tranny by the same amount? 2) Will I have any clearance issues with the firewall, floor panels or drive shaft clearing the frame. 3) If I raise just the front of the motor and/not the tranny will that create any angle issues with the drive shaft. It is still the original closed drive line. 4) Last, will lifting the motor solve the header and steering box problem. In this case if I lift the motor, I will have to repumb the exhaust. I also have an issue with the steering link too close to the oil pan and I can see where it has rubbed before. Not sure if lifting the motor will solve this problem, and maybe I should have mentioned this in another post.
38stock. It was tight install and clearance after install was the same. I just had the flanges milled a little, can't remember how much. You can grind a relief also, which may work better being that the dipstick tube may need to be bent to clear the header if you mill the flanges to much.
Saxon reminded me about the dip stick. That, too, is such a pain in the rear that I moved it to the other side. If you think about doing that, you might look at the Lokar dipstick for a f/h. No, if you raise the front, you don't need to raise the rear.
I had Fenton header to fastener issues. Had to grind several divots in the headers to clear the bolts (even fancy super trick bolts). Naturally I painted them before and after each grind. I'll never learn! However they cleared the steering box by a 1/4". They look nice when finally installed...
Well in my case raising the motor by a 1" wont fix my problem i´ve tryed it yesterday. The middle tube wont hit just by shimming the donut so it wont compress under the weight. But the bolt still hits the main tube. I have 2 possible ways to go as i see it, grind of the bolt and grind in the header or mill the flanges. What do u suggest ? How thick is the casting i dont want to risk grinding a hole in the header.
I was able to get a few hours in this weekend and raised the engine and transmission 1/2" with large diameter thick washers under the motor mount cup holding the rubber doughnut. Now the header clears the steering box by 1/4 - 3/8". The bottom radiator hoses line up better. The transmission floor pan does not fit and I will have to do some altering. I don't have them yet but it looks like I will use 5/8" x 3-3/4" bolts with a lock nut or will drill it for a carter pin.
The Jalopy Journal
