The '64-'66 A-bodies have...
The '64-'66 A-bodies have suffered in the area of available performance exhaust. Tube Technologies, Inc. (tti) solves the problem.
Depending on what you're working on, parts availability can be sporadic. In the often overlooked early A-Bodies, some areas of restoration parts are available, and some . . . well, let's hope you have a good part you can restore.
In the past, if you were planning on building a high-performance engine and you wanted headers, you had to have a custom set made or settle for not having them. But those days are over. Tube Technologies, Inc. (tti) has just released a set of headers specifically designed to fit early Barracudas, Valiants, and Darts.
We know the available real estate under the hoods of these cars is limited at best, so we wanted to see for ourselves if they really fit. We talked to the guys at tti, and they were very up front with us, explaining the install is probably harder than any of their other fitments. Let's face it. These are small cars with small engine bays, so things will be tight.
The crew at tti did tell us that a four-speed car is easier to install headers on than an automatic-equipped car. With that in mind, we found a guy locally who just happened to be getting ready to restore a factory V-8-powered '65 Barracuda with a four-speed.
This article will not show you how much of a power increase you can expect. We all know headers make more power than manifolds. We will, however, show you what it took us to get them installed. Let's make one thing clear-these headers require patience and time to install; you cannot simply remove the manifolds and throw the headers into the vacant opening. You will need to do some minor modifications to the bellhousing if your car is a manual-shift car. you might also have a starter clearance issue. So be ready to put some work into the install, but the results are definitely worth it.
The car we checked fitment...
The car we checked fitment on is a '65 Barracuda that was ready for a restoration and has a V-8 with a four-speed transmission under the hood. You are going to need quite a bit of ground clearance to get the job done, so use the tallest jackstands you can find.
According to the instructions,...
According to the instructions, items such as the steering column, starter, and steering linkage needed to be removed. We also found that removing the steering box made a lot more room and was worth the effort.
Another way to get more room...
Another way to get more room is to loosen the engine mounts on both sides, and place a jack under the oil pan to raise it up. While it's on the jack, you can move it from side-to-side to help.
On a four-speed-equipped car,...
On a four-speed-equipped car, the bellhousing has tabs that stick out and have to be removed.
Some sort of cutting device...
Some sort of cutting device was needed for this install.
The torsion bars also had...
The torsion bars also had to be removed. installing these headers takes a while, but the final fitment was excellent.
With everything finally out...
With everything finally out of the way, the driver-side header slipped right in.
This car already had an aftermarket...
This car already had an aftermarket disc-brake upgrade, and the headers did not interfere with the lines or master cylinder-mounted prop valve.
Usually with A-Bodies, the...
Usually with A-Bodies, the passenger side is the easier of the two. The same was the case here.
You still need to remove things...
You still need to remove things to install the header, such as the oil filter/oil-filter adaptor and the casting tab on the bellhousing much like on the driver side.
After we removed the oil filter...
After we removed the oil filter adaptor, we needed to shrink the bolt's head to almost half its size. A bench grinder is key for this.
We found that coming up from...
We found that coming up from the bottom was easier on the passenger side.
Here you can see that there...
Here you can see that there was ample room between the header on the passenger side and the fender wall.
After the driver-side header...
After the driver-side header was fastened, we re-installed the steering box. Yes, it's dirty, but this was just trial fitment.
Before we tightened the passenger-side...
Before we tightened the passenger-side header to the engine, we cleaned off the old gasket and re-installed the oil filter adaptor and filter.
The steering column shaft...
The steering column shaft actually goes through the header to the box.
If your starter is too close...
If your starter is too close to the header tube, tti has a fitment specific unit available. Their starter is a smaller version with the solenoid clocked differently.
Much like the steering column...
Much like the steering column shaft, the torsion bars also go through the headers. Before we re-installed the torsion bars, we cleaned them and gave them a fresh coating of grease.
The factory crossmember needed...
The factory crossmember needed to be modified because the new dual exhaust would not fit.
We broke out the trusty plasma...
We broke out the trusty plasma cutter and modified the crossmember per the instructions. If you are unable to modify the crossmember yourself, tti can do it for you.
If your old single exhaust...
If your old single exhaust needs changed, tti can set you up with a free-flowing new dual system custom bent for your car. The tti kit features mandrel bends, header collectors, and turbo mufflers. Don't forget the hangers and other needed hardware.