With the transmission in place we could start on the motor mounts and exhaust. I had 3 sets of factory manifolds (1 pair of 4 bolt flange truck manifolds, 2 pair of 55-56 manifolds) and a set of shorty headers.

exhaust by M Patterson, on Flickr


We tried the shorty heads first and as I suspected it was no way/no how. Next was the 4 bolt truck manifolds (the ones I really wanted to use). No matter what we did we just couldn’t get the exhaust pipe flange to clear the steering box.

We finally tried a pair of the 55-56 passenger car manifolds. It’s tight but they do clear adequately. I’d really wanted to use the truck manifolds because of the 2 ½” exhaust outlet and the 55-56 manifolds only have a 2” outlet. That being said I ran a pair of the 55-56 manifolds on the 354 (364 CI with the overbore) in my 57 Plymouth. Even with the dual quads and 4 speed the engine always pulled strong with no issues. Frankly custom building a set of headers would not be too hard and if it weren’t for my back I’d probably do it. As it is I can live with trading off the HP I’m leaving on the table for the extra time I can use to get the car on the road.

In the process of fitting the exhaust we ended up raising the engine a bit.

install 1 by M Patterson, on Flickr


Besides giving the exhaust clearance we needed, it also allows enough clearance to run the aluminum valve covers I want to use. I’d already decided I was going to use an aftermarket AC/Heat combination evaporator under the dash (this works well as there is currently no heater in the green car and the fire wall hole for the blower motor was filled when the car was built). The master cylinder won’t be an issue as I have the brackets to raise it above the valve covers. There is adequate clearance to get the distributor in and out under the wiper motor. I may actually be able to run the steering shaft on a straight shot to the steering gear, but if not, it won’t be too difficult to build a 2 piece shaft with U joints to get the steering hooked up.

Next was to tack the frame mounts together, of course that was when the welder started to act up so the welds aren’t real pretty but as we’re going to remove the K member anyway I’ll be able to do some grinding and final welding before it goes into the green car.

After we got the mounts tacked in we decided to take a break from the car and start getting the 354 on the engine stand ready to install in the Green car.

The engine had a very minor oil leak from the valley cover and of course the manifold had to come off to access the bolts. The leak appeared to be oil wicking up around the treads on one of the bolts.

At some point I am still looking at trying aftermarket EFI on the car (after I get a few thousand miles on the motor). I’ve been leaning towards the Holley Sniper, and reading some of the forums on them it appears that there is an issue getting a good idle out of them with if you’re using a dual plane manifold with a full-length divider. The cure appears to be milling the divider down. Now was a good time to do this so it went over to the machine shop to have about 3/8” removed.


HHI2 by M Patterson, on Flickr



divider by M Patterson, on Flickr


When the manifold came back from the machine shop I decided to set it on the mock-up engine and see where I was going to be as far as hood clearance went. The Hot Heads intake is tall and even before we raised the engine I suspected we’d need a hood scoop of some kind. With the engine raised it will be mandatory …….and would require a taller scoop than I would like to use.


zz HR by M Patterson, on Flickr



I had a factory single 4 BBl intake laying around so I tried that one. It’s better (a bit over an inch lower), and push come to shove I can use that one with a couple of minor modifications.


zz Factotry by M Patterson, on Flickr



The lowest intakes I’m aware of are the 57-58 392 dual Quad units. That with a dropped base air cleaner may even let me use the stock hood without a scoop. I started putting the word out that I’m hunting for one of those or a Weiand 7263 which appears to be basically an aluminum copy of the factory intake.

DQS by M Patterson, on Flickr

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