340 upgrades.

[QUOTE='64 Cuda]This is kind of opening a can o' worms, but this thread seems to be the place to do it.

I have an early 340. Completely dis-assembled. The heads had a valve job 25 years ago & were bagged. I have Isky adjustable rockers & a new Direct Connection (Racer Brown) P3690769 Hyd. Cam & lifters (292 deg. .510 lift don't know lobe ctrs.) that I bought close to 30 years ago. I have 1 5/8" fenderwell headers w/fairly long primaries, factory windage tray, new Ansen 1 piece bellhousing, Savage racing flywheel, Savage clutch (somewhere) hardened tip distributor drive, high vol. oil pump, Moroso deep sump chrome oil pan Don't think I'll be using this), new Direct Connection magnafluxed double row timing set, might have a set of Isky valve springs (don't remember for sure), & probably a few other things, all bought when I was younger & stupider than I am now.

My car is a 1964 Barracuda with a 3.91 sure grip 8.75 rear, factory 4 speed (Unfortunately it has a 3.09 low & that awful drop to a 1.92 2nd. I would like to put in the OD conversion that changes to a 2.66 low and a .8 something OD but that's about $2000!), & hood scoop to seal to the engine.

This car WILL ABSOLUTELY have a six pack on it. (This portion is not open to negotiation) I also plan to add a Mopar electronic ignition distributor to it.

The car will mainly be street driven, hot rodded, cruising, etc. & will have air conditioning.

Soooooooo........... What does everybody think I should do when I build this engine? What C.R? I live in the boonies & will have to run it on whatever premium swill I can find. What cam? I'm sure there are better hydraulic grinds out there now. What about my heads? Leave them as is (maybe a port match) or should I try to do something to help them run on unleaded? I'm open to just about anything, suggestions, criticism, rants, whatever.

I plan to take my time, do it right, & hopefully never have to it again.[/QUOTE]



A lot has changed..I'd keep the rockers, the timing set, the headers,and oiling system stuff (minus the pan). A 25 year old valve job isnt good enough for my tastes. It wont have hardened seats (the value of which is still debated, but for a pure street car, I think they need to be in them), wont have an accurate machine that did the seats, probably has knurled guides.all stuff I dont accept as good any more. The cam is a cool peice, but I dont think it's for this build. Some idea of the piston type is needed really, but I'd go conservative on a cam too. A lot of tech has changed, even in the last 8 years. heavy forged pistons dont need to be used. Balancing processes are much better, as are the machines that do the machining. Many steps that years ago were "blueprinting" steps, are now part of how the tooling does its' work. Cam science is light years ahead, especially in the "street" area. It's worth a good modern performance build, using the new parts that will work well, and not depend on 30 year old tech for the inmportant stuff.