Dad’s 1969 Dodge Dart Swinger 340
Been working on the engine and engine bay and the wiring.
On the engine bay, we have been cleaning and sanding it down in preparation for paint. I know Dart's typically have a body color engine bay, but we are going to be different and do a black engine bay, up to the cowl seam. Two reasons. I have black epoxy paint that I need to use up that will look REALLY good there, and with the engine being red, and the body being red, I dont want any mismatch in color to be on full display in the engine compartment. We havent picked the body color yet, but I am betting it will be a different color than the engine. If the engine bay were a different shade of red then the mismatch would be obvious.
Wiring was... crispy. No fire damage, but 50+ years have made some of the wiring, particularly the parts NOT wrapped, very brittle to the point that the insulation snaps when you bend it. So I have been replacing wiring in the harness. I am going to integrate the headlight relays into the wiring harness vs. creating a separate add-on harness.
On the engine... well it's been interesting. I decided I wanted adjustable rockers. I also decided that since I don't have a big cam or a lot of valve spring, I don't need super high dollar rockers. @Valkman had a set of rockers he has reviewed here before and they look like they are well made, bronze bushed, and sturdy enough for my needs. Thanks to the USPS, it took over 3 weeks to receive them from him, but they are going to work. I have test fit them to the heads, and they contacted not only the 1.500" diameter springs, but also the 1.33" retainers. To fix that I did two things. First I purchased different springs - Comp Cams 942-16 - that have the correct seat and open pressures, and are a smaller diameter at 1.437" Second, I clearanced the rocker arms a bit on the underside where they were contacting the retainers (as seen below). You can see where I clearanced on the near side against the stock shape on the far side. It's also circled in yellow.
I also got some assembly work done on the engine. The oil pump and windage tray are installed. I do have a high pressure spring coming for the oil pump, so it will come back off. I also got the timing cover installed. My son wanted to mock the engine up with the intake and a carburetor (heads are final installed, but not torqued yet). He's drooling.
More sanding to do in the engine compartment today. The plan is to have the engine and transmission back in the car and started for Father's Day.
Been working on the engine and engine bay and the wiring.
On the engine bay, we have been cleaning and sanding it down in preparation for paint. I know Dart's typically have a body color engine bay, but we are going to be different and do a black engine bay, up to the cowl seam. Two reasons. I have black epoxy paint that I need to use up that will look REALLY good there, and with the engine being red, and the body being red, I dont want any mismatch in color to be on full display in the engine compartment. We havent picked the body color yet, but I am betting it will be a different color than the engine. If the engine bay were a different shade of red then the mismatch would be obvious.
Wiring was... crispy. No fire damage, but 50+ years have made some of the wiring, particularly the parts NOT wrapped, very brittle to the point that the insulation snaps when you bend it. So I have been replacing wiring in the harness. I am going to integrate the headlight relays into the wiring harness vs. creating a separate add-on harness.
On the engine... well it's been interesting. I decided I wanted adjustable rockers. I also decided that since I don't have a big cam or a lot of valve spring, I don't need super high dollar rockers. @Valkman had a set of rockers he has reviewed here before and they look like they are well made, bronze bushed, and sturdy enough for my needs. Thanks to the USPS, it took over 3 weeks to receive them from him, but they are going to work. I have test fit them to the heads, and they contacted not only the 1.500" diameter springs, but also the 1.33" retainers. To fix that I did two things. First I purchased different springs - Comp Cams 942-16 - that have the correct seat and open pressures, and are a smaller diameter at 1.437" Second, I clearanced the rocker arms a bit on the underside where they were contacting the retainers (as seen below). You can see where I clearanced on the near side against the stock shape on the far side. It's also circled in yellow.
I also got some assembly work done on the engine. The oil pump and windage tray are installed. I do have a high pressure spring coming for the oil pump, so it will come back off. I also got the timing cover installed. My son wanted to mock the engine up with the intake and a carburetor (heads are final installed, but not torqued yet). He's drooling.
More sanding to do in the engine compartment today. The plan is to have the engine and transmission back in the car and started for Father's Day.
