69 Notch Barracuda - Rebirth
FYI... the 383 is history.
After a bit of drama, and my lovely wife convincing me not to quit on it... the saga continues...
I’ve been back at it since just before the new year, when I purchased a running (yes, I actually saw it fire up and run in-person on the seller’s garage floor) 1977 motorhome 440, with 452 heads, and 55K miles on it. $600 or so.
Not concerned one bit about horsepower (I know it’s low on these stock late 70’s motors), I just wanted a good base level, non-rear-Main-seal leaking, running motor, for my last, best chance to get it on the road. This was my original plan anyway... and I veered way off coarse and decided I wanted to build the motor. Oh well, it was a great learning experience to say the least.
Just last weekend I fired it up in my own garage with a new O’reilly’s 4 pin ECU and the proper ballast resistor. I wanted to test all the wiring (starter and ignition components) outside of the car. It fired right up, with a little ‘starter’ liquid down the carb. Scared the crap out of me... open exhaust ports.. shut it down quickly... then smiled for a while, as the family came out to see what exploded in the garage and if I was okay :)
Since I bought the motor:
-sold a lot of the 383 parts (block is still for sale)
-separated and sold the 727 trans that came with the 440
-purchased/installed a new, externally balanced flywheel to match the cast crank (Brewers). Also measured face runout.
-purchased/installed crank pilot bearing, since there was no way in $&@* I was cracking open the long block and removing the crank to properly drill it for the input shaft (Brewers).
-measured and cut my transmission input shaft (made me a little sad, but no big deal at all).
-redialed the bellhousing from all angles and installed offset pins. Everything is right on and within specs.
-removed original dipstick plug and installed new A Body dipstick tube (I really hate installing these).
-removed original oil pan and installed my 699 pan (and pickup) from previous 383 project
-installed pressure plate from previous 383 project
-purchased new stock ECU and ballast resistor
Getting ready to mate the transmission to the engine, hopefully soon.
FYI... the 383 is history.
After a bit of drama, and my lovely wife convincing me not to quit on it... the saga continues...
I’ve been back at it since just before the new year, when I purchased a running (yes, I actually saw it fire up and run in-person on the seller’s garage floor) 1977 motorhome 440, with 452 heads, and 55K miles on it. $600 or so.
Not concerned one bit about horsepower (I know it’s low on these stock late 70’s motors), I just wanted a good base level, non-rear-Main-seal leaking, running motor, for my last, best chance to get it on the road. This was my original plan anyway... and I veered way off coarse and decided I wanted to build the motor. Oh well, it was a great learning experience to say the least.
Just last weekend I fired it up in my own garage with a new O’reilly’s 4 pin ECU and the proper ballast resistor. I wanted to test all the wiring (starter and ignition components) outside of the car. It fired right up, with a little ‘starter’ liquid down the carb. Scared the crap out of me... open exhaust ports.. shut it down quickly... then smiled for a while, as the family came out to see what exploded in the garage and if I was okay :)
Since I bought the motor:
-sold a lot of the 383 parts (block is still for sale)
-separated and sold the 727 trans that came with the 440
-purchased/installed a new, externally balanced flywheel to match the cast crank (Brewers). Also measured face runout.
-purchased/installed crank pilot bearing, since there was no way in $&@* I was cracking open the long block and removing the crank to properly drill it for the input shaft (Brewers).
-measured and cut my transmission input shaft (made me a little sad, but no big deal at all).
-redialed the bellhousing from all angles and installed offset pins. Everything is right on and within specs.
-removed original dipstick plug and installed new A Body dipstick tube (I really hate installing these).
-removed original oil pan and installed my 699 pan (and pickup) from previous 383 project
-installed pressure plate from previous 383 project
-purchased new stock ECU and ballast resistor
Getting ready to mate the transmission to the engine, hopefully soon.