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So I don't know what the part is (steering arm?), but part of the wheel setup is banging into one of my headers on my 69 Cutlass on the right side of the car
I was thinking this may be because of a broken engine-mount. Either that or a suspension issue, but I'm not quite sure, do any of you have any ideas?
Also is it bad for the header if it's slightly dented because if I can get off without lifting the engine out of the bay I'd be more than happy to do that
Circled the point of contact
Closer up
Actual dent created
Last edited by RustyOlds; Jan 5, 2016 at 02:52 PM.
Previous owner may have dimpled the tube with a hammer to get it to clear that upper control arm, as Eric said if your motor mounts are old they may be sagging causing the pipe to hit the control arm
My experience is this: 69 Cutlass came with a 350 so I'm assuming this is a 455 transplant. Maybe some where along the line your engine mounts vs. the frame pads is not correct-meaning that if the car had a 350 you should use 350 motor mounts on the 455. I do not know what headers these are but when using the same mounts as the original frame mounts the headers are very close but so far ( knock on wood) I have not to "alter" them to fit correctly. Usually this issue comes up on the drivers side where one of the header tubes will rub the steering shaft. So all said if you find out what engine the car came with get those engine mounts and I bet the headers will clear. Most of the time the mount will come apart on the drivers side from the torque and most likely the air cleaner will dent the hood. That's with drag radials, 391 and up rear gear set-somethings gotta give. My two cents
I was looking at your second picture, is the rubber missing from the control arm bushing? That would allow the Aframe to move around and contact the header.
I was looking at your second picture, is the rubber missing from the control arm bushing? That would allow the Aframe to move around and contact the header.
In addition to checking the upper A arm bushings, if you remove the arm (support under the lower arm, pop the ball joint taper, hit the cross arm so you can remove the serrated bolts holding the upper arm to the frame) you can profile the flanges of the arm for more clearance.
My experience is this: 69 Cutlass came with a 350 so I'm assuming this is a 455 transplant. Maybe some where along the line your engine mounts vs. the frame pads is not correct-meaning that if the car had a 350 you should use 350 motor mounts on the 455.
There is no way to combine motor and frame mounts to make a 455 sit any lower than stock. If you try to use 350 motor mounts with 455 frame mounts, the oil pan hits the crossmember first. If you try to use 455 motor mounts with 350 frame mounts, the engine sits higher than stock, which would have increased the clearance here. And as you have pointed out, matching the motor and frame mounts correctly results in the engine sitting in exactly the same (stock) location either way.
Most likely is that 1) the rubber mounts are old and sagging, as noted and 2) these are crappy headers.
As for the acceptability of the dent, anything you do to constrict the header tube reduces flow and compromises the performance gain of the headers.
I was looking at your second picture, is the rubber missing from the control arm bushing? That would allow the Aframe to move around and contact the header.
Wouldn't surprise me, most of the rubber and plastic in the car has cracked and eroded away by now
Does the rust on the dented area look the same as the rest of the header tube? If so, that dent (dimple) was probably put there on purpose by the previous owner, to prevent contact.
If the dented area is clean of rust, then it's still making contact on occasion and should be fixed.
Also, looks like a big stack of alignment shims on the rear of that control arm. How is the alignment?
Does the rust on the dented area look the same as the rest of the header tube? If so, that dent (dimple) was probably put there on purpose by the previous owner, to prevent contact.
If the dented area is clean of rust, then it's still making contact on occasion and should be fixed.
Also, looks like a big stack of alignment shims on the rear of that control arm. How is the alignment?
Ya, my headers are all rusty, there's a pretty big gap in between the arm and the tube so what you're saying could be possible. As of the alignment from looking at it it looks fine but I'm running drag tires up front so once I swap them to road tires maybe I'll be able to tell easier but as of now the tread wear looks pretty even
