sidepipe fit

[cwareham]

Hi folks-

I attached the sidepipes before firing the car the other night, and noticed that both sides are pretty far off of fitting the headers if I try to bolt the sidepipes to the frame mounts. The passenger side is off by at least 3/4" forward/backward. Anyone know what is causing this?



Thanks!
Chris

[cwareham]

Also, taking a closer look, I think the motor is mounted too low in the car....the rear of the sidepipes as connected slope upward in relation to the chassis. Additionally, there's only about 3/4" clearance between the headers and the framerail on the driver's side, and less than 1/2" clearance on the passenger's side. I'm starting to think that the "Ford 2287" motor mounts don't fit this application properly.

Best,
Chris

[pgermond]

I'm not familiar with your setup, but it sounds like motor mounts to me.

[cwareham]

I'm starting to think so too, but I'll wait for confirmation. I wonder if there's a taller motor mount that I should be using other than the 2287's.

My setup:

289 FIA car, 302 block, edelbrock performer RPM heads.

Best,
c

[RJacobsen]

How far does your oil pan hang below the frame rails? Sealed Power brand part # 270-2287 or equivelant should be right.

[cwareham]

Oil pan (moroso 7 quart, should be about the same depth as stock) hangs right at 3" below the frame rails.

Best,
c

[RJacobsen]

3" is right in the ballpark

[nolastyankee]

cwareham,
I have a set of SB motor mounts that were a little too tall for my application - I bought to replace the ones that I had and realized that there were multiple sizes (heights) for the mounts. They are about 1/2" different from my originals. This may be the cause of your issue. BUT, be careful, as you get larger mounts the angles change and sometimes they get wider too since they come off the block at an angle.

If you are interested in the mounts that I have let me know...I'll make you a hell of a deal.

[cwareham]

Thanks fellas.

Thanks Brian. I'll call Alan later this week, don't want you to go through the trouble if my problems are only in my imagination :^).

Have a great new years everyone!

Best,
Chris

[Justin Upchurch]

Maybe a dumb question, but in what order did you bolt the pipes together? Did you leave everything loose and then tighten them to the frame? Also did you try to change sides?

Justin

[cwareham]

Hi Justin-

I did it a couple of ways, and the driver's side isn't THAT bad, and can be connected up if I allow for stress on the mounts, but the passenger's side is far enough off that I can't make both the header flange and the existing brackets work, even twisting the brackets some on their mounts.

I did try switching sides, but the flanges are 25* or so off on each side, and you can't adjust for that, so I think I'm on the right side :^).

Best,
Chris

[mbenoit]

Chris,
I did a couple of things to get my side pipes to fit correctly. First, I canned the side pipe mounts and made new ones from angle iron. Second, I milled the collector holes so I could rotate the pipes in relation to the header. Three, I measured and shaved the body with a Dremel cutoff wheel to get a 3/4" space beteen the pipes and the edge of the body. In short, I spent hours getting the pipes to fit the way I wanted 'em - that is, parallel to the edge of the body and symmetric on boh sides. As a side note, I recommend sending the pipes and headers off to get 'em Jet Hot coated - works like a champ.
Marcel

[weaver]

Chris, we had a engine bolted in the chassis when your headers were fabricated, we used a #2287 mount on both sides, check with your parts house to make sudre the mounts were not boxed wrong.

Alan

[weaver]

Something else you can try, loosen the side pipe mounting bracket from the frame then loosen your motor mounts, trans mount and headers. If the engine is off in the chassis you can put a floor jack under the pan and move it with a pry bar. Let me know the out come.

Alan

[cwareham]

Thanks Alan.

Do you happen to have a measurement on the #2287 mounts so I can check mine? Would be hard to tell if they were packaged properly otherwise.

Also, in the instructions there wasn't a recommendation for a Tremec trans mount. The one I used is a prothane unit that I had in the garage, and it's places the mounting flange on the trans about 2.5" above the trans mount plate on the cross member, if that makes any difference. I don't know how thick a stock unit is.

All the best,
Chris

[weaver]

Trans mount is a #2253 which is the same as a top loader. I looked at pics you posted that showed your engine mounts and they looked right, I think when you loosen everything up it will all work out.

Alan

[will butterworth]

in place and loose, found this works well with engine-sidepipes-trans-headers----may have to tinker with this or that before tightening bolts up--bolts started with fingers before you start tightening bolts down--all fun to do.Will-alabama

[cwareham]

Thanks guys....I'll do it.

All the best,
Chris

[cwareham]

Got a lot more movement than I expected loosening everything up, looks like everything will line up ok.

Does anyone have a 2258 toploader mount sitting under their bench and can make an estimate of how much space it will create between the trans mounting flange and the trans mounting plate on the rear cross member? The prothane mount I have on there makes about 2 3/4" between the trans and the crossmember plate. For some reason seems a little thick.

Thanks!
Chris