Nightmare header instalation

[smallblock]

Ok here goes.....either Im a complete idiot or I have  the wrong headers for my 74 challenger. Typing with one eye as i just spent the last hour digging the piece of rust out of my left eye that fell in there sometime during the last 4 hours that I spent under the car screaming cusing and throwing things. I have put headers on just about every make and model of chevy out there ( before I saw the light and got rid of that junk) and on a couple of of B body mopars with no problems except mabye a little massaging with a hammer to clear some column shift cars. Anyways, I have the manifolds off and cut the exhaust pipes off for clearence, took the valve covers, oil filter, hood spring, ignition box, washer bottle and anything else that the headers seem to be hitting as Im trying from the top and bottom with no luck at all. I have a set of Summit headers that I bought from a Mopar guy who knows his stuff and says there for an E-body but I cannot see any way they fit. Is it usually this hard to put headers on an E-body? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[Topcat]

You've got to get the front end up really high while rear wheels are on ground. Put in front tip first, 45 degree angle shooting up from below. Wiggle and wiggle them in some more. It can be done.

[smallblock]

Thanks Topcat. Its been up on ramps the whole time. how high you talking?

[Topcat]

Thanks Topcat. Its been up on ramps the whole time. how high you talking?

When I did mne years ago, I used a floor jack with a 4 x 4 to raise it up an extra bit.
Get creative, but do it safe. Ya gotta really jack this sucker up to get the angle right.

Get it to the point where the collector flange doesn't hit the ground as you aim it up at a 45 degree angle. 

[jimynick]

I've got a 74 and before I tore it apart, I put new headers on it. I put them in from the bottom and had to drop the centre link and idler arm and take the oil filter adapter off the block. It's a ba$tard size and I think it was 1 3/16". The left one went right in but the rt one wanted to play a bit. It was a pain, but not too much, once I got the stuff removed. I don't think I had to loosen the motor mount, but hey, ka-ka occurs. Good luck! 

[cudabob496]

Ya, jacking up the front a lot, and coming in from underneath can work well at times too.

Just when it seems impossible, they slip right in, and then you wonder if you will remember
what you did right to make it happen!

[Chryco Psycho]

If ti is a small block the steering center link may go through the header meaning the center link has to be disconnected form one side & swung out of the way to get the header in at all

[smallblock]

Jacking the car up more does the trick. I esed the floor jack and some boards and the passenger side went right in. Unfortunatly I had to take it out 7 more times as it was hitting a @ 10 inch brace that bolts to the side of the engine block and the transmission. I ended up grinding some off of it and finally doing a little hammer massage on the tube it was hitting. Going to tackle the other side later. Is there any certain way to get the center link out for the other side? I removed all the nuts off the bottom and it wont budge. Thanks.

[Chryco Psycho]

hit the side Hard with a 3+ lb sledge it should pop the joint out of the center link

[74 challenge]

I did summit brand ceramic headers into my 74 challenger.

On the passenger side I removed only the Oil cleaner and the big bar in the middle that connects the steering.

Drivers side I removed the starter, steering and the wire from the positive side of the battery.

Put the car up in the air and it poped right in, actual time car was in the air was like 10 minutes max.