360 exhaust manifold

[napaguy]

got a 72 challenger with a 75 360 in it. would like to replace manifolds that I have got with better ones. I have read pre hemi oe manifolds will work on 360's. what should I look for that will bolt up to my heads? will all magnum 360 manifolds work on older engines?

 

[mopar74]

Yes they will fit. I'm going to run a jeep grand Cherokee passenger side manifold and a dodge Dakota manifold on the drivers side. The drivers side is very close to the power steering gear box but I took it to work today and will machine about 3/16 of an inch off the mounting face to give me about a 1/4 inch clearance to the gear box. You want to get the Dakota manifold ending in 6619 casting number I believe. It has the larger opening at 2 1/8 and can very easily be opened up to 2 1/4. The more common manifolds you will find in the junk yard are 1 7/8 if that matters to you. Even the 1 7/8 will out flow stock 360 e-body manifolds which are also 1 7/8 but are a true log type manifold. hope this helps and hit me up if you have any questions.
Kevin

 

[mopar74]

Couple more of the passenger side grand Cherokee manifold

 

[napaguy]

I have ben looking at the dorman manifolds from summit racing. are these any good.

 

[mopar74]

I bet those will be the 1 7/8 outlet diameter for the head pipe.

 

[mopar74]

The reason I'm using a grand Cherokee manifold on the passenger side is because of the bigger outlet diameter of 2 1/8 and the older Dakota manifold casting number ending in 6619 for the driver side is also 2 1/8. From what I have heard Dakota manifolds on the passenger side puts the outlet close to the fire wall allowing more transfer of heat to the passenger compartment.

 

[mopar74]

exhaust sound 360 10.5 to 1 comp XE268 idle at 750RPM after cam break in last Friday night. sorry about my piss poor videoing skills LOL

 

[quapman]

Mopar74, What flavor heads are you running? Is it a Magnum motor or an earlier 360?

 

[mopar74]

1976 360 .030 over with older J heads upgraded to 2.02 valves ported in the mid 1990's and milled .050 at that time (used them on a Duster that I used to race back in the day).
Kevin

 

[napaguy]

will I run into any problems with pass side manifold , since it exits at rear? will it interfer with the oil filter?

 

[mopar74]

No you should not. I'm running the short oil filter with no right angle adapter. I'm also using the Grand Cherokee exhaust manifold. The jeeps have the starter on the passenger side so the manifold kicks out away from the engine a little bit. Not sure if you'll have issues with a Dakota manifold as I have never tried it. But it would probably work it just dumps a little bit closer to the firewall.

 

[mopar74]

little update and pictures for OP or anyone else looking at these manifolds. The Jeep Grand Cherokee fit like a champ, using a small Wix filter and NO right angle adapter. I could probably fit a full size 1qt filter and I'll give it a go when I change the break in oil in another couple of hundred miles. The drivers side Dakota manifold I had to machine about 3/16 of an inch off the manifold to engine mounting face and would/should have done a 1/4 inch. With the gasket it was just barely touching the power steering gear box. So back off it came and touched the interference area with a sander, problem solved. Took the car over to a local muffler shop to have new head pipes bent and installed to my existing exhaust. All in all it worked out great and I highly recommend this route to headers for us old guys and street cars . Also added some flat stock to the exhaust head pipe bolts as an anti-rotation device so you don't have to fight putting a wrench on the bolt head, just use a socket and long extension from under the car, works out great.
Kevin

 

[valkman]

One thing to consider is that the ports don't quite match, but it's a pretty easy to fix this by taking a die grinder to the manifold.

 

[challenger6pak]

Using the modified Jeep steering box would solve the clearence issues in that area.

 

[Coupe]

Looks like a great solution for my problem. What part number or year Cherokee for the passenger side?

 

[mopar74]

I want to say 93 to 98 5.2 engine Grand Cherokee. I pulled this one from a 96 in the junkyard.
I'll go out and get the part number off the manifold later today. I'm totally happy with the sound and performance. Do I give up a bit of HP and Torque to headers... sure but this an almost daily driver and it runs great for what it is.

 

[mopar74]

here you go Coupe or anyone else interested in which manifolds to use:
Passenger side is a Jeep Grand Cherokee PN-53009376 has a 2 1/8 outlet to head pipe
Driver side is a Dodge truck, van or Dakota PN-53006619 also 2 1/8 outlet to head pipe
hope this helps in your quest for manifolds

 

[Jonny]

Hey, what size exhaust did you use after the manifolds? Thanks

 

[mopar74]

2 and 1/2 still running the system with no issues. I did install a homemade torque strap on the drivers side. Even after machining 3/16th of an inch off the manifold mating surface and grinding on the manifold as shown in the pictures it would still hit the steering gear box in reverse. Since installing the torque strap no more issues... but the torque strap does transfer engine harmonics to the car. Only noticeable at idle and stoplights. All in all I'm still happy with it
Kevin

 

[Jonny]

Kevin thanks for the reply, I did everything you did to the T even the 3/16 milling. I even ground a little off of the steering box case. In your opinion looking back is there anything else I can do before installing to avoid the contact? Thanks again