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Well I finally got my 318 mounted, now I start hooking up linkages and things.
The fuel and brake lines that ran inside the DS frame are now within 3" of the exhaust manifold, I plan on shielding these with highly reflective aluminum and probably some insulation. Is this enough or is there a better solution?
I cut away about 3/4" off the top of the frame to fit the exhaust manifold leaving about 3/8" gap for the engine to move. Is this enough?
My bell housing has a lever arm that stuck out to far, it hit into the suspension bolt and old engine mount. A little butchery with the band saw to remove ear off the the old mount and the end of the clutch arm was the quick fix. How much room should I leave between the lever arm and suspension bolt keeping in mind the shorter I go the harder it is to work the clutch?
Or is it best to modify the bell housing to take the original yoke?

Should I install a Y pipe and single exhaust or go duel exhaust?
If I go dual exhaust, how do rout to get past the master cylinder?

Any help or thoughts would be appreciated.
Rich

Picture is worth a thousand words Rich - but I'll try...

A simple heat shield should protect your fuel and brake lines from issue.

3/8ths gap should be ok around the exhaust - unless the motor mounts are very soft, or sloppy. You could always chain the engine down so that it can't jump around. I used a short piece of 5/16" chain from an unused head bolt to the frame and tightened it down. The chain allows for some engine movement back and forth, but not to "torque over". The chain also does not transmit vibration like a solid rod would do. It works very well, and will not harm the engine or chassis...

If your truck will see any type of suspension or chassis flex, will it contact your shift linkage preventing you from shifting or engaging/disengaging the clutch? If the answer is yes, or maybe, it might be worth looking at the other bellhousing. Can the suspension bolt be turned around and inserted from the other side to reduce how much sticks into the clutch lever area? Might be the simplest solution is the easiest....

As for exhaust - my vote is y pipe with large diameter single tube. All the small blocks I've ran had a dual setup that ran down each side of the inner frame rail to a "Y" just behind the tcase (usually 2" tubing). After the tubes joined at the "Y" I ran a single 3" tube out to the rear of the truck. Nice mellow tone, but it scavenged really well, and produced alot more torque (seat of the pant feeling) than my old standard duel exhaust setup.

Hope this gives you a few idea's...