exhaust manifolds for '63 b body plymouth

[flatheadgary]

well, i am finally taking the ratty running 6 out and putting in a 318 la series i have. this is more necessity than fun, as my daily driver pt cruiser took a dump. i am not putting another dime in it just so my Belvedere can just keep sitting. besides, i hate electronic cars. you can't work on them and it cost a butt load to have them worked on. i would put tube headers on it but, this is going to be a cheep build. my problem is, no exhaust manifolds. i have a chance to get some truck ones real reasonable. i have read they have clearance issues. anybody have experience with this situation?

 

[threewood]

My car is a 62 Plymouth with a 318 poly motor. Drivers side manifold is a log style with rear angled exit. Pass side looks like a "T" with a center exit straight down. Mine was originally single exhaust so the pass side exited down and underneath the rear portion of the oil pan. The driver side exited down at an angle and met the pass side at a "Y" before turning straight back along the driver's side on the trans and drive shaft.

 

[flatheadgary]

wow! thanks threewood. i was wondering how they went. i haven't had any luck finding a picture of the stock pipes.

 

[Mopar Man 73]

Do you already have a V8 k-member to swap in to switch over to the LA318 ?

 

[KarNut46]

No experience w/ that particular swap but I do have a bit of experience w/ Dodge pick-em-ups. Depends on what era ex. manifold you are looking at. Those used in 70s & 80s (up to intro of mag. engines) were ram horn style w/ exit at the center facing downwards. The exit was tilted slightly inwards. down pipe (or Y pipe) exited on the pass side with the crossover from the drivers side passing across right in front of the trans lower bell housing. Truck oil pans had the deep part at the rear so the crossover pipe was fairly close to both pan and bell housing. Looking at my 65 b-body there might be interference w/ tie rod if trying to use the truck ex. pipe. Would be trial and error. Magnum ex. manifolds: plenty of these in salvage. They exit at the rear downward at about 45 deg. They won't fit in a 75 a-body (I've tried) but might fit a 62-65 b-body since the engine in these cars sit further fwd. than later b-bodies. Truck ex. pipes for the mag. engines exit on pass. side like the older models. Mag. ex. manifolds flow really well also. I put a set of them on a 90 Ram and they fit OK but wouldn't fit on an 83 1/2 tonner that I had. They collided w/ the firewall. Some slight diff between the 2. Any way you go there will be a bit of fitting to do. 318 poly ex. pipes will be too wide for any LA engine due to head design. Good luck w/ the swap. Be prepared for some hassles.

 

[threewood]

Here are a few pics of the factory exhaust. The straight pipe connecting the two collectors runs straight across the rear of the oil pan and in front of the bell housing.




Here are the factory 318 Poly exhaust manifolds. The one on top is the pass. side, bottom is driver. The end view pic is the pass side and shows how it dumps straight down.

 

[flatheadgary]

thanks again threewood. i think i have a chance to get passenger car exhaust manifolds but not sure what car they came from. you would think i could find a mopar in a salvage yard around here but no. after all, this is calif. cars don't last very long in the yard before their scrapped. if the buyers aren't all over a car and strip it clean in 60 seconds, that carcass is sent down the line to become a Honda.

 

[KarNut46]

FlatheadGary: Another option- 65 to about 67 Ply had an optional 273 engine (LA) and the ex. pipe off of a 65 or 66 should come close to fitting as should the ex. manifolds. Probably hard to find tho. Those ex manifolds in the pic are nearly identical to a set on a 65 poly engine that I have.

 

[KarNut46]

Here are a couple of pics of some Mopar ex manifolds. Magnum manifold is next to a 65 318 poly drivers side ex man. The poly ex ports (on cyl head) angle downward at about 45 deg whereas the LA 318 ex ports are nearly horizontal (surface is vert) making the LA engine width (overall) a little narrower than the poly. Ex pipe is off of a 92 or 93 Dakota and fits close to the oil pan and bell housing where it crosses over to the pass side. Exit is on the pass side and is 3". These are easy to find in salvage yards. Note of caution: 92 93 had a larger opening (2 1/8 vs 1 7/8) than the 94 up units. Be sure to get the matching ex pipe since the small won't fit the big and vise-versa. Some manifolds will have a date cast on them. Ex. I have a set of 383 magnum manifolds that have the code 22670 cast into them. They were cast in 2-26 of 70. Not all have this but some do. Good luck on your salvage yard scrounging.

 

[flatheadgary]

well i finally got a pair of manifolds. a friend of mine, that's a chevy nut, knew a mopar guy that had some. thanks for all the replies too.