May not be the best titles, but it was either that or a string of profanity. Check it out:
In case the trouble isn't clearly communicated by the images, what's happening here is a lack of clearance between the header and the underside of the manifold. To make matters worse, the flange thickness of the manifold is a fair degree beyond that of the header flange. Basically, shit's all fucked.
See, the manifold I used was a Dorman replacement, and while it technically acts as a replacement, they took too many liberties in their design to allow fitment with this particular header (which I'll admit is a tad out of the dimensions of the factory exhaust, but is nowhere near as wonky as the intake). This isn't the first time Dorman and I have butted heads, as I've found they have a tendency to stack deviations from OE designs to the point of a lot of their products being inadequate for non-stock or aged vehicles. That could just be me, though.
Luckily, my compulsion to acquire more parts than most people would think are necessary and then horde them for long after it would seem I've got any use for them saved my ass. Again. I happened to have the Chrysler intake (though will be removing the logo) that matches the head perfectly and a test fit indicated that it'll do the job, no questions asked.
While the downside is all of the work to the first manifold going to waste, the aluminum lining is that the second attempt will give me the opportunity to do the modifications right, instead of with JB Weld. I'll be honest: I would shudder at the thought of my epoxy slop job being seen by the folks at the exhaust shop when I take the Gremlin in soon.
Once the OE manifold is done in the degreaser bath(tub) and I eat a pizza, I'll be going to the Chinesium import depot and picking up a pack of aluminum brazing rods. From there I'll be heading to my friend's house to use his mill and grill. We'll see if this route leads to success or shame. . .
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