thanks yank
I went to a car gathering this last Sat night, lots of early mustangs and a 65 Ranchero with a 289 in it. all the V8 mustangs and the Ranchero exhaust manifolds all sit within 1/8" of the side rib on the shock tower. that tells me i should have no problem now with my 1 7/8th clearance on each side. and my motor sits the exact same heigh as the Ranchero in the engine bay, all the mustangs sit about 1-1/2" higher than mine and Ranchero. so im back on track and after vacation ill be back at it to finish up the project. BTW, Im keeping the Granada exhaust manifolds on it now. | 
