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71 Charger Superbee Tribute/Restomod Build

While I wait on the MAT, I started working on the exhaust. The first thing I always do is modify the collectors, I add a small piece of pipe into the collector which helps to keep the gaskets from blowing out. These small/short pipes are welded inside the collectors.

I got this idea from Schumacher tri-Y headers which I have on my 70 Challenger.

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Nothing can ever be easy... LOL

So as I was preparing to build my exhaust system I could not help but notice that the collectors seemed to be pointed downward. At first I dismissed it and just thought about how I was going to get the exhaust angled up to nearer the floor but then it dawned on me that something was off, so I got out my angle finder and discovered that the trans is at a 4.4 degree downward angle in the mounted position. Cranking it up against the floor yielded about 4.1 degrees. Typically I want my trans to be at about ~3 deg. So not I have to "make some room" which will required me to cut a hole in the floor. Raising the back of the trans will definitely help with the angle of the exhaust.

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Nothing can ever be easy... LOL

So as I was preparing to build my exhaust system I could not help but notice that the collectors seemed to be pointed downward. At first I dismissed it and just thought about how I was going to get the exhaust angled up to nearer the floor but then it dawned on me that something was off, so I got out my angle finder and discovered that the trans is at a 4.4 degree downward angle in the mounted position. Cranking it up against the floor yielded about 4.1 degrees. Typically I want my trans to be at about ~3 deg. So not I have to "make some room" which will required me to cut a hole in the floor. Raising the back of the trans will definitely help with the angle of the exhaust.

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I admire your perfection, but I can definitely see myself putting in a "kick" on the exhaust to straighten her out...guess I'm just lazy.
 
Nothing can ever be easy... LOL

So as I was preparing to build my exhaust system I could not help but notice that the collectors seemed to be pointed downward. At first I dismissed it and just thought about how I was going to get the exhaust angled up to nearer the floor but then it dawned on me that something was off, so I got out my angle finder and discovered that the trans is at a 4.4 degree downward angle in the mounted position. Cranking it up against the floor yielded about 4.1 degrees. Typically I want my trans to be at about ~3 deg. So not I have to "make some room" which will required me to cut a hole in the floor. Raising the back of the trans will definitely help with the angle of the exhaust.

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Push it up or it will vibrate right where you want to cruise at. Ask me how I know. Only way to do it is to cut the tunnel.
 
I admire your perfection, but I can definitely see myself putting in a "kick" on the exhaust to straighten her out...guess I'm just lazy.
Thanks but this isn't perfection, this is a necessity. If this angle is bad it will destroy the driveline (U joints, seals, bearings, etc). It will also vibrate at speed.
 
Push it up or it will vibrate right where you want to cruise at. Ask me how I know. Only way to do it is to cut the tunnel.
Funny you should mention that... LOL With the trans pushed all the way up I can get 3 deg. I need to jack up the rearend to ride height and measure the entire driveline angle. Tremec has an app for this which is stupid easy (not that its all that hard anyway).

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After some research/investigation and measuring I have arrived at that I need about 2 degrees down on the rearend or so. I "may" not have had to cut the floor open but I am still not sure. It is not just the angle of the trans but that of the driveline and in order to get it "in spec" (according to Tremec, QA1, etc) I need to be at about 2 degrees of driveline angle.

My thought is to get the trans up as high as I can and then bring the rearend about 2.5 degrees down (its now at around 5.3 degrees up).
 
I wonder if the RMS mounts have the motor sit lower. I followed the Tremec recommendations and didn't need to cut the tunnel.
 
I wonder if the RMS mounts have the motor sit lower. I followed the Tremec recommendations and didn't need to cut the tunnel.
Well the TTI mounts couldn't mount the engine much lower because the oil pan is about an inch from the K frame.

As it turns out, I really would have only had to massage 1 spot on the floor plan and all of this would have been good. I really didn't need to cut out what I did.
 
So I got this sorted out today. I ended up moving the trans up 1/2" (using the 2 spacers that came with the TKX kit) and adding 2.5 deg shims to the rear end. I just need to replace the piece I cut out and we are back in the game.. LOL
 
So I got this sorted out today. I ended up moving the trans up 1/2" (using the 2 spacers that came with the TKX kit) and adding 2.5 deg shims to the rear end. I just need to replace the piece I cut out and we are back in the game.. LOL
That sucks, but at least you got it sorted out. I did have to massage my tunnel a little bit to the right of the gas pedal to get proper clearance.
 
I’m keenly interested in what you end up finding out with the air grabber.

I have both an OC Performance dual plane and the Mopar Performance dual quad. My plan is to mock both up and compare the flange height and location against the factory intake 400 in my 72 Charger. My thinking is with a 3/4” shorter 426/440 height air cleaner and a ~1” tall throttle body like an accufab, I may be able to get the height right to interface with the air grabber housing.

Hopefully within the next month or so I’ll be able to get the tape measure out and add some things up.

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I’m keenly interested in what you end up finding out with the air grabber.

I have both an OC Performance dual plane and the Mopar Performance dual quad. My plan is to mock both up and compare the flange height and location against the factory intake 400 in my 72 Charger. My thinking is with a 3/4” shorter 426/440 height air cleaner and a ~1” tall throttle body like an accufab, I may be able to get the height right to interface with the air grabber housing.

Hopefully within the next month or so I’ll be able to get the tape measure out and add some things up.

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That’s pretty cool, I am interested in your findings as well. I thought about laying the hood on there a few weeks ago but I know that I would start down that path and I am not ready for that just yet.
 
I’m keenly interested in what you end up finding out with the air grabber.

I have both an OC Performance dual plane and the Mopar Performance dual quad. My plan is to mock both up and compare the flange height and location against the factory intake 400 in my 72 Charger. My thinking is with a 3/4” shorter 426/440 height air cleaner and a ~1” tall throttle body like an accufab, I may be able to get the height right to interface with the air grabber housing.

Hopefully within the next month or so I’ll be able to get the tape measure out and add some things up.

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I think I posted it here but I am using the Holley single plane intake and at least right now I am using the Mopar DBW TB that came with the crate engine. I have an idea of making an adapter for the Mopar 440 AG intake but we will see how that plays out.
 
I haven't posted in almost a month but that doesn't mean I have not been working on the car. Most recently I got the exhaust system built and installed which should have been easy but required a fair bit of work.

First off the headers are on the low side (TTI with TTI mounts) so as I previously mentioned I jacked the trans up (and correct the angle at the same time). Even with that I needed to bump the exhaust up for some clearance which wasn't hard since I have an exhaust bender except that SS tubing does not like to bend in a machine, so it was a bit of a dance.

I made my own X pipe which was fine but ended up needing some fine tuning along the way. Then there was the rear soft brake line that runs to the rearend housing which was perfect before I ran some 2 1/2" tubing in there, so I needed to remake that.

Lastly I had to modify the rear valance for the exhaust tips. I ended up moving the tips up 3/4" from stock by modifying the factory strap that is welded to the tip.

In the end I am very happy with it, while I don't think it will leak we will see.

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Here is where I had to "fine tune" the X pipe. The left side was pointing upward more than the right so I fed it to the band saw and then rewelded it.

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