Thread: NEED HELP 54 Chevy Question

Tweet

I am swapping out the engine in my wifes 54 chevy. Everything is out and set a 350 in it's place. I have searched and searched threads in forums everywhere and it seems those I found regarding this problem are still not getting an answer. Is there a drivers side exhaust manifold out there that will bolt on and still let me use the stock steering? I have tried a newer Chevy truck manifold and it dumps out slightly in front of the last port but still gets into the steering. I need a manifold that dumps out the rear, is there such a thing??
Has anyone here had this problem and if so how did you get it solved?

SHAGGY

What a lot of us do, is to use aftermarket engine mounts that move the engine to the passenger side about an inch and a half. This will give you the required room for the stock steering, and a stock exhaust manifold.

I used stock Chevelle manifolds on my '54 Bel Aire, the driver's side dumps between the third and fourth cylinder,no problem.

No matter where it dumps, it's going to interfere with the steering. If the manifold doesn't get in the way. the exhaust pipe will. He needs to move the engine at least and inch over to the passenger side for clearance.

I might have put the 283 in offset, don't recall. That was 37 years ago! If i do it again (and I probably will, same car, 350 engine) I'll put in a power rack and pinion from a Citation, hooked to the rebuilt stock front end.

Whoops! My bad. I meant Cavalier R & P, not Citation.

Well guys we solved the problem! We ended up using the driver side header from a 95-97 Chevy dumping out the rear. Shaggy had only to cut away some more of the opening that already existed above the steering arm on the firewall, trim away a little support and it worked GREAT! He is gonna weld in some additional support once the exhaust is in place permanantly where he had to trim the original away. It sounds crazy but we have quite a bit of clearance below the header, enough for the arm to move freely.
He raised the front of the engine about 1 1/2" also. He took out the vents and will weld the original openings closed with thin steel plates too. Eventually I hope to have a Mustang II front end but till then.....................I'm happy.
This has been a NIGHTMARE!!!!!!!!!!!!! I threw a rod through the pan coming home from a cruise, couldn't believe it with only 59,000 original miles on the stock 6 cyl. Now with the 350 SB and an automatic, I'll be really "CRUISIN"!!!!!!
I appreciate all your help, Shaggy said if anyone wants particulars on this build, let him know.
LowJo

That's one way of going about it. A little extra work, but probably well worth it. Good job Shaggy. You were lucky to find a rear dump. Most dump between the 3rd and 4th. Keep that aftermarket engine mounts in the back of your head, it might come in handy one day. I just installed a set in an Chevy S-10 for a small block Chevy engine. They're adjustable to move the engine 1"-3" forward/back, 2" up/down, and 1"-2" sideways.

He used aftermarket front mounts from Speedway, seems it will work fine. The rear dum wasn't hard to find, funny thing is we had one in the driveway! We realized his 97 Chevy truck had the manifold he needed so he went to the junkyard and bought one. Anything from a 95 - 98 SBC pick-up will work. All he will need to do is bolt a small plate to the toe board. THen weld a bar between that and the frame rail to support the body. He refused to move the engine over to the passenger side not even an inch, said it would look stupid so this was his solution.
We wanted to post the solution so that anyone else contemplating what to do if they run into the same issue, will see this possible solotion.
Show season is in full gear here in Indiana and I am DYIN without my car
We're still talking out the issue of the shifter, I think we will remove the column shifter and maybe install something kinda high and rat rod style. I won't know how to act without shifting constantly or keeping my foot in the clutch on cruises around town.
LowJo

In case anyone runs into the problem we had swapping out the original 235 to a small block in a 1954 Chevy, email me. I have pics of some of the modifications we had to do to the firewall to allow for the exhaust manifold on the drivers side.
LowJo