Datsun Roadster Forum-311s.org

So I’ve got my engine mounted but my steering shaft is hitting the factory exhaust manifold. Has anyone found an off the shelf header for the KA24DE that will clear with minimal modification? I guess I should have had the steering shaft on while I was setting up the motor mounts, but hindsight is always 20/20 after the fact!

In all the KA24DE swaps I've seen the factory exhaust manifold is used and clears.

Where is your steering shaft making contact?

Late reply, and may not matter - but the Megan Racing Shorty header runs pretty close to the stock iron manifold, but likely a bit tighter, also has a single outlet which makes fabricating the rest of the exhaust a littler easier. Cant comment on the clearances for the roadster, but helped on both my 510 and 620 KA swaps. You'll lose the heat shield though - and the exhaust on the roadster looks to be a lot closer to the brake master then on my 510 or 620.

You should have enough clearance for the stock manifold. There’s a chance that you might have mounted the engine to low in to the frame. The engine can go go pretty high in the frame, I just raised mine about an inch so I could sneak the alt under the distributor. This still left me about an inch of clearance from the hood to the valve cover. I also found that you may not need to modify the frame under the main pulley, even though I already have.

Matthew

I didn’t think of that, but I’ll definitely give it a look before going back to the drawing board and re-doing the mounts or fabbing or modifying a header!

Thanks!