JBA Headers Fitment Issue

[tx65coupe]

Have you tried to losen all the mounts (allso the transmission mount) and move the engine a little to the passenger side and then force it to the rear when tighten the bolts in the mounts? Still needing more space you could try some thick washers between the engine mounts and the engine block to raise it a little. Or enlarge some of the holes in the mounts, so the engine and gearbox can move just a little more rearwards. Maybe moving the engine 1/8" to the passenger side and 1/4" to the rear is all you need.

Pushing the engine to the passenger side wont' work for a couple of reasons.

First of all, We have to push the transmission a bit to the driver side to get it in the T5 crossmember. Also, there isn't really any movement available in the motor mounts. The mount has to sit inside the frame brackets and there is a tab on the inside edge of the frame brackets.

Secondly, The engine is nearly centered in the car already. Since the driver and passenger side headers are not mirror images of eachother that is where the problem comes in I think.

 

[tx65coupe]

Not sure it would do ANY good. JBA doesn't own the header company anymore. Hell, they haven't even been made in the US for years.

Who owns JBA now. Where are they made in China?

 

[tx65coupe]

I also noticed that the JBA 1650H H pipe that goes I have that goes with the headers is going to be very close to the bottome of the firewall and the emergency brake cable is in its path. Has anyone encountered this?

 

[jlangholzj]

Are your patriot clipsters stainless or ceramic coated? Which ones did you get?

stainless...I'm too poor to afford ceramic... lol. they fit beautifully though.

 

[tx65coupe]

Whats the part number?

I wonder if they will fit my 65 as well as they fit your 68. The 65-66 has less room under the hood. How much clearance do you have between the header and the steering box?

I was just looking at the Patriot clipster shorty/midlength headers. They look almost the same as the JBA headers. I bet they will hit the steering box too.

 

[tx65coupe]

I'm not even sure the adjustable motor mounts would allow it to work out.

If the motor is moved to the passenger side at all then that header won't clear the shock tower. Also, If the motor is moved back at all then the H pipe will be up against the lower firewall.

Also, The T5 crossmember and the transmission mount do not allow for side to side movement only front and back. However the slotted mounts on the trans still might work for a slight movement of the engine. I still don't think moving the engine will help.

I'm also a little pissed that neither Summit or JBA will email me back about this.

 

[golf4283]

the mounts for the tranny will allow side to side movement. The mount will act as a pivot point then instead of moving with the engine it is the pivot.

 

[mdjay]

fitment

Most of the issues I've seen with fitting headers is due to the sagging, bent or mis-aligned shock towers. The irony is we get the same issues come up when people put in the export braces and say, hey this doesn't fit! I had one customer call with a 69 stating he was an inch off and that there's no way the towers are going to move that far. After a couple of phone calls and an hour or so of him restling with it, he called me back saying if he didn't see it with his own eyes, he wouldn't have believed it. Got it on and he was happy.

If you have the motor bolted in, and you have to push the tranny one way or the other to get the trans to bolt up in the center of the tunnel, it means your shock towers are not square. This would definately cause a problem for snug fitting headers. Getting the adjustable motor mounts like TCP or RM definately makes moving the engine around much easier.

The JBA brand is owned now by Pertronix. The header quality is still there with 3/8flanges and 14ga steel. Patriots are a good brand too owned also by Pertronix.

 

[65 fastback]

I have JBA shorties in my '65 with '66 motor mounts and Z-bar clutch linkage. Everything clears fine.

Tim

 

[tx65coupe]

65 fastback, Do you have the same ones 1650S or 1650SJS?

MDJay, I am probably going to try the Ron Morris mounts. The TCP ones don't have slots in the pictures so Im not sure how they are adjustable.

Also, The shock towers are probably off my 0.25 inch. I do have a Shelby style export brace on the car right now.

The primary interference is with the steering box though. I don't see how that could be related to the shock towers.

I wonder how hard it is going to be to change the motor mounts out. I wish I would have put them on instead of the new 66 style ones when we dropped the new 302 in. I really don't want to put a floor jack on the oil pan and screw it up. It looks like that is the only option though.

 

[BornInAFord]

I put the RM mounts on my car in a few hours while the engine was installed in the car. It should have taken me even less, but I was working by myself and didn't have anything else waiting. They are similar to the TCP ones but aren't quite as "beefy". Do yourself a favor and pressure wash the mount area--mine had perhaps 40 years of grease deposits around the area and much of it got on me.
Daniel

 

[tx65coupe]

Thanks for the advice borninaford.

Thats a good point about cleaning up the shock tower where the motor mount goes. I had already done that before I put the new 66 style mounts and frame brackets on. If I do go with the RMP mounts, I guess these 66 style ones will be going on craigslist.

Mine was originally an inline 6 so I only really had a bunch of nasty greasy crud on one side of the shock tower.

 

[stonecoldtx]

Most of the issues I've seen with fitting headers is due to the sagging, bent or mis-aligned shock towers. The irony is we get the same issues come up when people put in the export braces and say, hey this doesn't fit! I had one customer call with a 69 stating he was an inch off and that there's no way the towers are going to move that far. After a couple of phone calls and an hour or so of him restling with it, he called me back saying if he didn't see it with his own eyes, he wouldn't have believed it. Got it on and he was happy.

If you have the motor bolted in, and you have to push the tranny one way or the other to get the trans to bolt up in the center of the tunnel, it means your shock towers are not square. This would definately cause a problem for snug fitting headers. Getting the adjustable motor mounts like TCP or RM definately makes moving the engine around much easier.

The JBA brand is owned now by Pertronix. The header quality is still there with 3/8flanges and 14ga steel. Patriots are a good brand too owned also by Pertronix.

I wonder if that's part of, or perhaps even all of the issue here . . .

tx65coupe--it might not be a bad idea to take the car to a frame shop and see if there are some areas where it's sagging/collapsed; they might be able to get it straightened out and provide the clearance required . . .

 

[tx65coupe]

I am going to swap out the 66 style mounts for the RMP adjustable ones. I ordered them.

Does anyone know a good frame shop in central texas. Most local autobody shops only want to do collision work and wont touch classic cars.

I do know that the car has not been in any major accidents though.

I also took some measurement to compare with a user on a different forum that has the same setup and headers escept he has the RMP mounts.

The outer rear bolt on the driver side valve cover measures 11 inches to the fender apron near the distribution block for the brakes and almost 7 3/4 to the firewall. His measures 11 and 7 3/8 respectively. So I'm thinking and hoping that moving the motor back a bit will allow them to fit. There is room in the slots on the transmission crossmember to go back a bit as well.

 

[golf4283]

It will fit. You can move the motor towards the passenger side a bit too. The tranny crossmember since it is slotted front to rear will act as a "pivot" and will stay centered and just the engine will move side to side. This is how my RMP mounts are working on my '66 stang with T-5 and Heddman headers. Everything is tight but it fits.

 

[mdjay]

measure

from the bottom, measure from your radiator cross support to the front of the shock tower brace that the mount slides onto. it should be square.

a frame shop can pull it back if it's out, or if it's too far gone, you may be into swapping the shock towers.

keep in mind, depending on how much they're off, moving the engine around may help square it up, but the headers will still have obsticles in the wrong places.

 

[mdjay]

forgot to mention

the tcp ones are beefier. not quite as adjustable though

the tcp ones adjust left to right by the slots in the flat vertical plates

they also move to center the trans by moving the spacers around on each side of the dampers.

 

[tx65coupe]

I got my RMP motor mounts on Friday.

They are installed along with the JBA 1650SJS headers and 1650H H pipe.

Everything fits well now. I did grind the edge of the steering box like many have done just for added clearance just incase.

 

[65 fastback]

I got my RMP motor mounts on Friday.

They are installed along with the JBA 1650SJS headers and 1650H H pipe.

Everything fits well now. I did grind the edge of the steering box like many have done just for added clearance just incase.

Great news! I'm glad it came together for you. There's nothing standard about 45 year old cars at this point; you have to tweak everything.

Tim

 

[2+2GT]

I was just looking at the Patriot clipster shorty/midlength headers. They look almost the same as the JBA headers. I bet they will hit the steering box too.
If so, it's pretty sad. It's not like the gearbox changed size, or location, etc.