64 Valiant 440 build

[abdywgn]

Great work! waiting for more...

 

[RustyRatRod]

Heck yeah man! That sounds great! I have a question. And I'm not knockin your idea to use the RB motor at all.......I'm just curious, how much do you think using a low deck like a 383 or 400 based engine would have helped with the headers? Do you think maybe the tubes could have gone in unmodified? Or.......maybe even some type log manifolds might have fit? I wish I had half the talent to build headers like that.

 

[Matto]

Heck yeah man! That sounds great! I have a question. And I'm not knockin your idea to use the RB motor at all.......I'm just curious, how much do you think using a low deck like a 383 or 400 based engine would have helped with the headers? Do you think maybe the tubes could have gone in unmodified? Or.......maybe even some type log manifolds might have fit? I wish I had half the talent to build headers like that.

Oh man, a B motor would have made life so much easier. I’ve seen some guys with low deck engines get away with milling hipo manifolds at an angle a few degrees. If I had to do it over, I’d get a 383 so the extra room would help with them pipes (not to mention the valve covers wanting to hit everything as well). I started this build as a naive 23yr old who wanted the biggest motor I could get. My friends recommended a 440 ‘cause they’re cheaper and plentiful, there’s plenty of junk motor homes around here if I blow this one up.....and because racecar.
Thanks RRR!

 

[RustyRatRod]

Oh man, a B motor would have made life so much easier. I’ve seen some guys with low deck engines get away with milling hipo manifolds at an angle a few degrees. If I had to do it over, I’d get a 383 so the extra room would help with them pipes (not to mention the valve covers wanting to hit everything as well). I started this build as a naive 23yr old who wanted the biggest motor I could get. My friends recommended a 440 ‘cause they’re cheaper and plentiful, there’s plenty of junk motor homes around here if I blow this one up.....and because racecar.
Thanks RRR!

"And because racecar" I gotta have a shirt with that. lol

 

[Brad4406]

Hey guys, I did some stuff this weekend. First time uploading a video on YouTube, so I apologize for the quality. Still a good teaser of the beast running!

Congratulations!

 

[subcom]

Sounds bad ***! Congratulations!
What wiring kit did you use?

 

[Matto]

Sounds bad ***! Congratulations!
What wiring kit did you use?

Rebel wiring 16 circuit.
Really nice kit at a good price and good customer service

 

[Billb1960]

And here's how she sounds at the track on a 13.88 sec run

 

[Matto]

Double posting in case that link didn’t work. 13.88 sec run
Managed to make it to Mopar Nationals up here in Woodburn, OR.
The beast lives! Ran with street tires and third gear was giving me trouble. This car can easily get to the 11’s with a little work

 

[Matto]

Another run at 13.92
Took a while to get dialed in. Had a tranny line blowout and trouble with getting traction, but eventually found my groove here. 3rd gear is still being a turd

 

[Matto]

Feels incredible to finally drive this thing! Thanks FABO for letting me share my project for the last 5 years. I can’t thank my friends and family enough as well, especially my brother-in-law, Bryan. The help and support kept me motivated to make continuous progress, even when I was broke and frustrated to hell. It may have cost me most of my 20’s, but I hope this thread can inspire ideas and help others with your sweet old Mopar.
This being said..... she ain’t done yet!

 

[RustyRatRod]

Livin the dream!

 

[Dartsun]

Nice pics and cool valiant. I’ll keep my eye out for it at woodburn next year. Dustin.

 

[Matto]

Some more good ones

 

[Matto]

Got a good deal on some 29x10.5 Hoosiers, so I decided to commit a heinous act and narrow an A-body rear housing! Custom wheels are spendy and hard to get.
Took 2.375” off each side, so I should be able to fit a 15x10 wheel with 5.5” of backspace.
Total length is 47.875” flange to flange.

The first cut was scary, but I’m happy with how it turned out so far. The kit was from EBay and housing ends from summit(mosier). Added a drain plug because why not?

 

[Gearhed73]

I like it. I ended up cutting down a 8.8 for mine.

 

[Matto]

I like it. I ended up cutting down a 8.8 for mine.

I like that 8.8 swap. If I ever do another A-body, I’ll probability go that route. I’m curious how those rearends hold up to drag racing

 

[Keith Mopar]

Great build, I don't know how I missed this build until today. Nice work cutting down the diff and I'm adding a drain plug on all mine after seeing this.

 

[Matto]

Got the dash dialed in, because racecar baby! Had to go with cheap equus gauges for now. Idiot lights for oil and water, along with turn signal indicators. Maybe upgrade to AutoMeter down the road. Definitely need a bigger tach in this beast. Still waiting on that stimulus check, Ha!

 

[Darter6]

Equus are very good gauges for the money. I have used them in many builds and no failure.Even the gas gauge is accurate.Looks great !

 

[Matto]

I decided that because of the sticky tires, I am at risk of breaking my torque arm. I’ve seen on other forums that the geometry of these Spohn torque arms is not great. There’s not enough spread between the rear mounting rod eyes, which causes the adjuster to bend and the top tube to snap. I’ve decided make my own, starting with rebuilding the mounting bracket.

 

[Matto]

Next up, I ordered some 1-3/8 .188” wall tubing and built the new arm with my brother in law at his shop this weekend. Braced with 1-1/4” tubing. I feel much better about this one. You can see the difference in spread compared to the Spohn arm.

 

[Matto]

Here’s the comparison of the changed torque arm geometry. Much happier with my new setup. Now just waiting for some wheels to show up and the Hoosiers will go on next!

 

[Brad4406]

The improvements/progress is looking good!

 

[belmateo]

I stumbled across this yesterday. I think this is the pro-touring stance I'm gonna shoot for.

Fenderwell headers make it hard to get that stance, was shooting for that when I had a 1964 Valiant. Those early A's look badass slammed.