Howdy HAMB-ers, I put a 289 in my 63 Comet, stock motor mounts, stock exhaust manifolds. Runs great, but the driver side exhaust manifold touches the steering box creating a little knock that can be felt through the firewall and the steering wheel. I tried to loosen the motor/tranny mounts and move the motor over, but the passenger side mount is already moved as far to the passenger side as possible. Anyone recommend a mount that has some adjustability? Any other recommendations? Thanks all! RNY
Can you put some spacers between the mount and the motor to raise it up slightly? I had to do that on a 351W into '57 Ranchero swap I did a few years ago. Used some 3/4" long heavy wall steel bushings to raise the motor to gain a bit of extra steering clearance. Worked well.
Are the exhaust manifolds stock 289 or the original 260 ones? There are a few options- fabricate a spacer plate to go between the mount and the chassis, grind away the spot where the manifold hits the box, or use headers.
^^^ X 2 Comet driver-side manifold is different than other models. Use the original 260 manifold if you have it. Spacers will work if you are running auto transmission, may wonk up Z-bar alignment. No one makes OTC headers that fit well (that I know) w/o some hammer work. Nice ragtop, BTW Joe
Thanks for the response, sir! So grind away how much do you think? I'll try the spacer thing first and see what happens.
I would not grind away more than 1/16", and taper the grind to avoid a hot spot. As you said, spacers first.
Find a rear dump D.S manifold. mustang or maybe van. that's how I solved the problem on my '41 ford. was a 302 but I believe 289/302 will fit. first time I milled the manifold matting surface at an angle, but it still touched a bit. second time I found 2 identical manifolds and cut them in sections, shuffled them around,welded them together so dump was in the rear but they tended to crack. found a D.S. rear dump and that solved the problem for good (Mustang I believe).. check bolt patterns because some are different, straight and angled.
Hey gents. The plot thickens... Yesterday I pulled off the manifold on the driver's side and ground off the tiny spot that was resting on the steering box, looks like plenty of clearance now which is awesome. BUT...when I put it all back together, I realized this is how the shop (that recently rewired the whole car) had the firing order set up (see pic). Any ideas as to why they might have set the firing order like this? It was running pretty darn good as far as I can tell...so how could it run alright with this setup? Thanks y'all!
^^^ X 2 The wire routing you drew is correct for 289 (1-5-4-2-6-3-7-8). 351W distributor cap interchanges w/ 289 but has different firing order (1-3-5-7-2-6-5-4-8). You're good. Joe
I'm not that familiar with the Comet steering box location, but have you looked at an Explorer manifold? That's what I used on my Lincoln with the 302 transplant. The first two ports go up and back, and drop at the third port, the fourth port drops straight down and connects to the first three and exits down and slightly toward the oil pan. I had to use them because my steering box was right at the motor mount, and they had to run high to clear it. But if the box is right at the firewall, they probably won't help.
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