i have a 1979 dodge d150. it's my first vehichle. its's really awesome.. already slightly customized and it hauls... also looks really clean, all stock except for paint job... navy blue with ghost flames. the previous owner dropped this monstrous engine into it. a 440 i believe. i took it to get cheked out at a local kustom shop and the guy started cussing his head off when he saw what i have under the hood. i thot that was a good sign until he told me that the HEADERS WERE RESTING ON THE FRAME on the left side... what do i do?? the guy wants 200 to fix the problem. cant i just put longer motor brackets in there? or would that tilt the whole setup too far downward and mess with my transmission? help please?



also: where should i post this? i only saw forums for the ram and dakota, none of the klassiks.

 

Welcome to the site. I will move this thread to the first generation Ram section,
FF

 

This is very hard to answer for sure without knowing what kind of clearance issue it is (up & down or side to side) and how much you need to clear the frame. I would ask him what he intended to do to fix the problem for $200.00. If it is just touching I have seen people notch the frame slightly to get clearance. You could always find headers that actually fit. Depending on what kind of engine mounts are used, shimming the mounts up some might work and won't do any harm if there is clearance at the fire wall, hood, and radiator to fan/shroud.

 

sorry, i need to raise it.. only about half an inch (says the dude). i think i want to stray away from cutting the frame, at least if i can. i want to know if i were just to raise it about half an inch to an inch, would that jack with my trucks performance? i have hood clearance and whatnot to raise it.

and if i can raise it, do i just use taller motor mounts, or do can i even cut n paste the ones i do have.

 

i would probably just chop and weld the header so that it no longer resting on the frame. i would not even mess with the motor mounts. i have heard of people notching the frame to make a 440 with header fit. my dad bought a dodge with a blown 440 years ago and the frame was notched.

 

I see three choices here. This is all personal preference and depends on your skill level.

1. If raising the engine, the clearance issue is in the three places I mentioned. You need to look at all three before you decide too raise the engine. I would choose shimming, if possible, rather than mount modification if you decide to raise the engine. If you only shim the motor mounts the engine/tranny assembly will pivot on the tranny mount. This means the fan area will rise more than what ever the shim thickness is. If you have the clearance you should shim motor and tranny mounts the same amount. This choice will not effect the performance of the truck.

2. I would notch the frame and reinforce it if necessary for strength, depending on how big the notch is. This also will not effect performance.

3. The only choice that may effect performance is modification of the header itself. The amount of the effect would depend on the amount of modification that is required but should be negligible.

 

i guess i'll just put a small notch in the frame... shouldn't be a big deal... just cut it with a grinder, right?

 

That would be my choice. If you have to cut more than an inch from the frame rail I would reinforce it.