[PITTSBURGH 64]

Thats a piece of 1" X 1" angle iron to keep it ridged.

[stucky2947]

Did you box in the cutouts?

[gregneun]

We jammed th400 into my car. What year is your engine?

We used a long shaft th400, out of a Cadillac, which is even a stranger duck, Stevep can verify this and thanks to him again.

We changed the crossmember and used a different driveshaft. We found one that measured out and were able to install it.

I had the local muff shop do the dual exhust. They're pinched to 2" near the starter. The starter is touching the exhaust pipes. This is with stock exhaust manifolds. After the pinch point the pipes are 2.5" inches, but I know the most restrictive part is the small exhaust. Dynoflows after all that. Turndowns by the rear bumper. I made sure they used hangers and kept the welder away from the frame.

I bought an IMI mini-starter, but have not installed it yet.

With patience and a little bloodletting it can be done. Even the Muffler shop guy gave up some.

Good luck and let me know if I can "virtually" help,
Greg

[PITTSBURGH 64]

No, I didn't box the cut outs. Just welded the angle iron across the top of the cutouts with a little extra past the cutout. That stock crossmember is stronger then it appears.

[TheMonkey]

wow.... you guys are not kidding about the factory headers...

true to my style, i ended with more motor than i need through my motor build. a relatively stock build ended up with a combo that should be 525 hp. i thought for sure that would need tube headers or else i'd just be throwing away my last 50 hp. how could cast manifolds breathe like that?

i talked to RARE yesterday. they have the repro long branch, but they also cast a 'Super Long Branch Manifold' that is cast as ported and has a 3" collector. he said they have customers breathing loads of hp through these. cited a guy with 650hp in the deep 11's. they also have a full system for my '61 that i thought was going to have to be custom. i do not want a crazy idle, he recommended 3" back to the X, then 2.5" back from there through 18" Goerlich mufflers. he said that EGT drops enough by the time it gets to X that a drop to 2.5" at that point only affects sound, not performance.

the super versions are $599, and the ceramic coating is available for an upcharge. $199. ouch... but that has a 3 year guarantee on burn, fade, or peel. supposed to reduce temp of header by 40% which should keep under hood temps under control.

looks like super version is only avail for oval port, but D port guys get to choose from the aluminum $SD$ versions though....

this is really great news, i was concerned that the exhaust was a situation where i could not have my cake & eat it too.

i did not ask RARE, but i ASSume that the long branch headers clear column shift linkage? i thunked i was going to have to customize something with the tube headers. Jeff - you are column shift right?

Scott.

[Engine-Ear]

Monkey, I have the '65-'70 long branch HOs on one of my '62 Cats (column shift, stock slushbox hydramatic).

brief thread detour - someone wanted pix of fitment of the HOs in the Catalina...if you are reading this, I am sorry for the delay...PM me as a reminder!

[stucky2947]

Well I did a bit more work on the '62. It's dark now so I will post a few pics tomorrow. One of the things you won't be able to see is the bracket I made for the electric fuel pump. I still have to run the wiring, that's a tomorrow project. I had to fab a bracket for the accelerator linkage to adapt to a '69 engine. Turned out nice and works like a champ. Also had to modify the AC bracket to fit and make a spacer for the power steering pump. I ordered the long branch exhaust manifolds from RARE and the wiring harnesses from M-H. I hope to get it started by winter. Stay tuned tomorrow for recent pics.

[stucky2947]

Here are the pics I promised.

[59safaricat]

Looks great!! It's coming along nicely!

[Tim Younker]

Nice fab work Mike. I need to get over your way and check out your progress.

[kaptinkafeen]

Looking good....
I get motivated to tackle my own project to this same extent, but never have, for fear of getting stuck (not having the correct tools, or experience) and then having to farm out the work, which can lead to more headaches.
One day...
-Andrew

[stucky2947]

Well, it's been awhile since I updated my progress. As you can see from the pics, not much happened, to look at anyway. I did get the exhaust manifolds installed. You need the oil filter adapter for the needed clearance with the manifolds. I have been working on the AC motor and getting the pulleys to line up. I am trying to put '62 pulley set up on my '69 motor. I thought it was going to be a LOT easier than it has turned out to be. A spacer here, a shim there, but so far the power steering and alternator are lined up. The AC compressor and all other needed components are on the way, so when they arrive, I will tackle that. Thgen the wiring. It has benn sitting in the "car room" for about 2 months. Now that the weather is getting nicer, I'll be able to get out there and get more done. As you can see from the pic under the car, the tranny crossmember will need to be modified to allow the exhaust to get to the back. I am going to cut the crossmember and fab in 4" DOM tubing for the exhaust to pass thru. I keep you posted.

[Engine-Ear]

Stucky, in terms of the mods you're making, you and I are going to have very similar cars when they're done.

BTW, is that a dark blue steering column with a red dash board I see??

[TheMonkey]

you're doing a really nice job. thanks for sharing.

have you done some projects with this type of depth before?

[stucky2947]

No Matt, The pics were taken about three years apart. The dash WAS red when I bought the car, but I painted it to match the color of the car.

Monkey, No I haven't ever done a project like this before. That's probably why it's taking so long. But I am learning a LOT.

[stucky2947]

Here is a pic of my tranny crossmember modification. Overall not a bad project. I had to modify the crank pulleys to get everything lined up. I'll have to get to the auto parts store to get a few belts, then I can start the front end assembly. I will post a few more pics soon.

[64catdroptop]

Awesome!! Very nice.

Ron

[mike nixon]

looking good.

mike

[kaptinkafeen]

Thanks for the updating us. The project is coming along! Looks great.
-Andrew

[stucky2947]

Here's a pic of it installed and some of the engine.