273 or NOT 273?
Drive train: Full syncro Chrysler A833 four-speed built by Pepe's rear ends in Los Angeles (3.09 low gear later replaced by 2.66 low gear version), 1970 Challenger 8 3/4 sure-grip differential (4.56 ratio), super-stock leaf springs and super stock rear shocks w/pinion snubber, 10 inch wide M & H slicks on black rims with rim screws (inflated to 10 psi), custom balanced drive shaft retaining ball & trunnion front joint and Zoom rear u-joint (without grease fitting for strength), drive shaft safety loop, bolt-on frame connectors, VW 15 inch front tires on narrow Centerline wheels, Lakewood scatter shield, and Mcleod diaphragm clutch, 30 lb. steel flywheel, firewall brace to eliminate clutch movement. Manual steering and manual drum brakes with metallic linings. Stewart Warner mechanical oil pressure gauge mounted on cowl outside windshield in plain view, 8,000 RPM Sun tach mounted on top of dash, Hurst shifter linkage with pistol-grip shifter later replaced by T-handle canted 45 degrees to the right to assist in power shifting. Full seats, windows, horn, rear bumper, headliner but heater box, front bumper, and floor coverings removed. In street trim: dual turbo mufflers with 2 1/2 inch pipes dumping in front of rear axle.
Bracket Racing Routine: One brief water burnout in second gear, then launch from starting line with engine turning 6,000 rpm and the same 6,000 rpm shift points (always full-power shifts with accelerator never lifted from the the floor until passing the finish line). Trap speed was 6,400 rpm and still climbing rather fast (probably could have used a 4.89 or lower rear end ratio). Used an rpm limiter (don't remember where it was set-must have been 6,500 rpm or higher). Oh, I built the vehicle at my Auto Technology class while attending Hartnell Community College in Salinas, California circa 1973-74. I believe I performed all the work except for polishing the crankshaft for clearance and balancing the rotating assembly.
Renteria Brothers purchased my Valiant in 1980 and installed a 340 (first photo) and then they went to a big block and painted it black (second and third photos):
Starting from the top: Velocity stack, 600 cfm Holley double pumper carb, stock cylinder heads re-surfaced (gasket matched with Dremel tool) with blocked crossover passage and steel shim head gaskets using copper wire placed in gasket bore ring as a kind of "poor man's" o-ringed block, polished stock valves, cylinder block bored .060 over and decks resurfaced and oil drain back holes drilled in lifter valley, inside surfaces of block de-burred and painted inside with Rust-Oleum rusty metal red primer, splash shield in lifter valley to prevent hot oil from heating bottom of intake manifold, factory 273 adjustable rocker arms, chromed stock rocker arm shafts, Isky 1012B solid lifter camshaft and lifters (.580 lift and 312 advertised duration), Isky dual valve springs with dampers, chrome moly pushrods, aluminum valve retainers, knurled valve guides, teflon valve seals, TRW forged dome pistons (10.5:1), connecting rods reconditioned with aftermarket bolts (factory full-floating pins), beams polished smooth and then shot-peened, 318 forged truck crankshaft, rotating assembly balanced, main and rod bearing clearances of .003" with full oil grooves on Clevite main bearings, stock oil pan and pick-up deepened by 2 inches, high volume oil pump, double-roller timing chain, Chrysler electronic ignition (blue box), Packard 440 spark plug wires with Rajah snap terminals, Champion N9Y spark plugs, orange performance flex fan (these days not recommended), 160 degree thermostat with stock radiator, Cyclone fenderwell headers (not equal length), round aluminum cool can and dual see-thru fuel filters at carb pumped to the front with Holley electric fuel pump and pressure regulator, 1/2" aluminum fuel line, trunk mounted battery with welding cable as positive cable.
Drive train: Full syncro Chrysler A833 four-speed built by Pepe's rear ends in Los Angeles (3.09 low gear later replaced by 2.66 low gear version), 1970 Challenger 8 3/4 sure-grip differential (4.56 ratio), super-stock leaf springs and super stock rear shocks w/pinion snubber, 10 inch wide M & H slicks on black rims with rim screws (inflated to 10 psi), custom balanced drive shaft retaining ball & trunnion front joint and Zoom rear u-joint (without grease fitting for strength), drive shaft safety loop, bolt-on frame connectors, VW 15 inch front tires on narrow Centerline wheels, Lakewood scatter shield, and Mcleod diaphragm clutch, 30 lb. steel flywheel, firewall brace to eliminate clutch movement. Manual steering and manual drum brakes with metallic linings. Stewart Warner mechanical oil pressure gauge mounted on cowl outside windshield in plain view, 8,000 RPM Sun tach mounted on top of dash, Hurst shifter linkage with pistol-grip shifter later replaced by T-handle canted 45 degrees to the right to assist in power shifting. Full seats, windows, horn, rear bumper, headliner but heater box, front bumper, and floor coverings removed. In street trim: dual turbo mufflers with 2 1/2 inch pipes dumping in front of rear axle.
Bracket Racing Routine: One brief water burnout in second gear, then launch from starting line with engine turning 6,000 rpm and the same 6,000 rpm shift points (always full-power shifts with accelerator never lifted from the the floor until passing the finish line). Trap speed was 6,400 rpm and still climbing rather fast (probably could have used a 4.89 or lower rear end ratio). Used an rpm limiter (don't remember where it was set-must have been 6,500 rpm or higher). Oh, I built the vehicle at my Auto Technology class while attending Hartnell Community College in Salinas, California circa 1973-74. I believe I performed all the work except for polishing the crankshaft for clearance and balancing the rotating assembly.
Renteria Brothers purchased my Valiant in 1980 and installed a 340 (first photo) and then they went to a big block and painted it black (second and third photos):